A Christmas tree grown nearby is an ecological alternative. Kuusen can also be rented and returned. After that, it continues to grow in the forest and can move to a new home the following year.
1.4 million Christmas trees will be erected in Finland this Christmas as well. The group includes spruces picked from the forest themselves, imported from abroad and grown in Finland. Artificial spruce can also be found in many homes.
– As an individual farmer, you have to invest in quality. The fir has to grow for 18 years before I put it up for sale.
The farm has about 20,000 vines, each of which must be cut separately. The business beats the bread, when in addition there are also spruce fences for sale.
All the effort will be rewarded at Christmas, when the trees get to their new home.
– Christmas time crowns this work. It’s nice to be able to chat with customers and exchange ideas. These spruces are a bit quieter friends, the grower mumbles.
Some of Palosaari’s customers are those who have already been shopping six times for the third generation, and he thinks it’s always a pleasure to see satisfied people.
At Christmas, the spruce farmer’s summer vacation also begins.
– On the eve, I usually sell the last fir trees and then the summer vacation starts. If it’s really hot, I might go to the farm to drop cannon snow, but otherwise the work will continue in the spring.
A Christmas tree grown nearby is an ecological choice
– The biggest emissions are caused by transportation, so a spruce grown and sold nearby is a good idea. Similarly, spruce picked from the forest itself is a recommended option.
Plastic fir must be used for almost 20 years in order for its carbon footprint to be offset.
– The vast majority of plastic fir trees are made in China and this creates production and transport emissions. Longevity compensates for emissions.
There is no need to feel bad about cutting down the Christmas tree, thinks the researcher.
– During these times, a lot of firewood is needed, and if the Christmas tree warms the heart while inside, then after Christmas it will warm the house.
The tenement fir returns to the forest to grow or ends up as biochar
In recent years, rental fir trees have appeared on the market. Spruce trees come to Vuokrapuu planted in pots from the nursery, after which they are delivered to customers for Christmas care.
After Christmas, the firs are collected from the customers and planted in pots in the field to wait for the following year’s rental.
– We will deliver approximately 300 trees to customers this Christmas. The customer has the tree for three weeks and then it is retrieved. People appreciate that the fir lives on even after Christmas.
It is possible that the tree will end up in the same family the following year as well, says Daniel.
– Yes, some have claimed that they have the same six as last year and that is practically possible.
It is not always possible to replant a spruce in the ground. Then the wood is made into biochar. Through experience, we have learned how to cope with six even better.
– Rental periods have shortened. It has been noticed that the smaller the tree, the better it survives. Big fir trees are perhaps more popular, but it is more important for us to get as many trees as possible to survive and grow bigger towards next Christmas.
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