Only in Texas...
Christmas Trees All Year
Makin' a List...
When you think of Christmas trees, you think of cold, crisp, December air. Fire ants, drought, and sweating under a merciless Texas sun doesn't usually come to mind when you think of Christmas trees—unless you're Duane and Kathy Patrick of Sunset
Hill Tree Farm.
For Duane, Kathy, and their four children, seldom a day goes by when they don't think about the needs of their flourishing crop of trees. Whether it's a weekly trip around the field to examine the health of the branches, or a grueling afternoon in the Texas sun repairing the irrigation system, or planting a new crop of trees as they do each January, members of the Patrick family are engaged each day in the process of raising a healthy crop of Christmas trees for your family and hundreds of other families in the Central and North Texas region.
"We don't take shortcuts when it comes to the health of our trees or our land," says Duane Patrick, who made a commitment to using organic farming methods long before planting the first crop of Christmas trees for the "Choose and Cut" enterprise in 1997. "Organic methods require more sweat, but produce more peace of mind and a consistently healthier crop over the long haul."
From the looks of the healthy trees stretching across the fields, he's right. The Patricks' long haul perspective seems all the wiser considering the fact that Christmas trees require four to seven years of growth before harvesting.
The Patricks are also involved in educating young people in the community about planting and maintaining trees, including the organic methods they use at the farm. We'll visit the Patrick's at Sunset Hill Tree Farm more as the holiday season approaches. In the meantime, if you're looking for a fun-filled, educational trip for your own youngsters, drop by the farm's website at www.sunsethilltreefarm.com to learn about educational farm tours they offer.