What To Expect At The Farm
How it works
- Grab a saw and a sled from any staff member if you're cutting your own.
- Measure first. Trees look a lot smaller out here than they do in a living room.
- Only cut tagged trees. No tag and no price means it isn't ready.
- Cut it, or wave someone down to do it for you. Once it's cut, it's yours.
- Bring it to the processing area and tell us what stand you have. Need one? We'll match it to your tree.
- Take the bottom half of your ticket to the gift shop to pay. Keep it — you need it to collect your tree.
- We shake, wrap and load it while you warm up at The Pines.
Good to know
- Dogs welcome, on a leash.
- Keep children with you — working farm, sharp tools, moving vehicles.
- Drive slowly in the parking areas.
- Use our saws. Please leave your own at home.
- Please don't climb on the equipment.
- No outside food or drink — there's plenty here.
- No smoking or vaping anywhere on the farm.
- Card or cash both work in the gift shop.
What we grow, what we bring in
Virginia Pine is ours — grown here, cut by you. Strong branches, dense, and the pine smell people remember from childhood.
The pre-cut firs come in from Oregon and North Carolina:
- Fraser — stiff branches, excellent needle hold. Best for heavy ornaments.
- Noble — very symmetrical, dense, holds needles well.
- Nordmann — superb needle hold, barely any scent. Good if someone's sensitive to fragrance.
- Balsam — classic shape, strongest smell of the lot.
- Douglas — soft blue-green needles, sweet scent, best value.
- Grand — soft glossy needles with a citrus smell.
Taking it home
- Cut an inch off the bottom and get it in water within an hour or two. The fresh cut is what lets it drink.
- Check the water every day. A tree can take a gallon in its first day. If the water drops below the trunk, the cut seals over and it stops drinking.
- Keep it away from heat — vents, fireplaces, direct sun.
- Check your light strings for frayed wire before they go on.
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