Tree Harvest is an exciting time for us here at the farm. We have two harvests each year; one in late fall and one in early spring. We select a wide variety of deciduous trees to be grown here. Choosing only premium rootstock and disease resistant varieties, that are well suited for our Northwest soils & climate, allow us to grow well acclimated and hardy trees for you. The trees are grown in our fields for approximately 4-8 years, until they reach the right size. From tender saplings to large impressive trees, the years of care and attention is evident in each tree we grow. You can easily see why we are so proud to share them with you. When the trees are ready to be dug, we use a large tree spade that is attached to the front of our loader. The amount of dirt that is dug with the root ball can be changed by adjusting the spade. The size of the root ball depends on the caliper inch (size of trunk) of the tree. Larger trees need larger root balls because they have more roots. We dig trees usually from a 3" caliper in a 30" root ball, to 6" trees in a 50" root ball. Once the root balls are dug they are placed in wire baskets that are lined with treated burlap. The burlap helps protect the roots until the tree is planted, but easily breaks down once the root ball is in the ground. The baskets are then tied to the tree (around the trunk) and notched to ensure that the root ball will remain tight. After the trees are balled in burlap (B&B) they are moved from the field into the nursery, where they are placed in sawdust. The sawdust helps hold in moisture so that we can maintain the tree's high quality. At this point the trees are available for our retail customers, and they can be removed from the sawdust as virtually any time of the year.
