Sustainability On Our Farm
Land is a finite resource, so we are careful in how we utilize it, what we put on it and how we protect our natural environment for generations to come.
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Christmas trees are a renewable resource. After they have been used they can be recycled and used as mulch, weighted down and placed in a pond or lake for aquatic habitat, used as wildlife habitat or even a tasty snack for goats who love to eat old Christmas trees.
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Organically Grown
Cackleberry Pines offers organically grown trees in our U-cut fields. We are not certified USDA but we do follow almost all criteria with the exception of using fertilizers around the drip line of each tree. Unfortunately, the process to become certified is not cost effective for small farms like ours and there is a lot of tedious paperwork that must be submitted yearly. This is not an exuse but just the facts. We have never used any herbicides on the farm. Our trees have never been sprayed with any pesticides. When pests or issues present themselves we only use certified organic sprays or granulars. Worst case scenario is we simply cull the tree to prevent issues from spreading.
Soil & Water Conservation
Over the past few years we have focused on seeding new fields with Dutch White Clover ground cover. This offers several benefits to the farm. It is a natural weed control method, it helps to retain moisture in the soil, it's a natural fixation plant for the soil and it provides added organic material. The added ground cover helps to slow water runoff and helps to collect any sediment that may wash through the fields during heavy rains.
Biodiversity
When we talk about biodiversity we are considering all living things on our farm. Our trees provide habitat for all types of living things as seen in the picture below.
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Your future Christmas trees provide a safe haven for birds to use as protection and as a food source from insects on the trees. Beneficial predators like the Praying Mantis use the trees to stalk their prey while protecting the trees from the "bad insects".
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Pollinator biodiversity is an area that we are starting to increase on the farm. Native plants such as Black-Eyed Susan, Coneflowers, Butterfly Weed and Clover are just a few of the many species of that help our pollinators like honey bees, butterflies, moths and beetles.
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Our Christmas trees are interspecies planted on an 8' x 8' or 7' x 7' grid. This means that you will find several different species of different ages in a field of trees. Interplanting species helps to eliminate a monoculture which is all one species of trees. By interplanting multiple species, we are helping to reduce the spread of disease and pests. The larger grid system allows more air flow between our trees reducing the amount of moisture on the needles that can contribute to fungal issues and then spread to other trees.
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Christmas trees help clean the air! Studies have shown that one acre of 8- to 12-year-old Christmas trees produces a half ton of new biomass each and every year. Younger trees will produce even more. This removes more than 500 pounds of CO2 from the atmosphere and refreshes the air with 1,000 pounds of life-giving oxygen. Real Christmas trees also help to remove dust and pollen from the air.
