AUBURN, Mass. - For many Christmas tree farms, the holiday season is wrapping up, if it hasn't already.“We bale the trees, wrap them up for you; that's free," Richard Luks said. "Supply the saws; that's free. And we'll recut the base a quarter inch and it'll take in more water. And that's free too.”Richard Luks said, with about two weeks until Christmas, he still has trees available at Luks Tree Farm.“$95. That's eight feet," Luks said. "I have a lot of nice six seven foot is here an...
AUBURN, Mass. - For many Christmas tree farms, the holiday season is wrapping up, if it hasn't already.
“We bale the trees, wrap them up for you; that's free," Richard Luks said. "Supply the saws; that's free. And we'll recut the base a quarter inch and it'll take in more water. And that's free too.”
Richard Luks said, with about two weeks until Christmas, he still has trees available at Luks Tree Farm.
“$95. That's eight feet," Luks said. "I have a lot of nice six seven foot is here and a few eight footers, but enough supply to keep everybody happy for another week or so.”
Luks said it’s been a busy year at his Auburn farm where he’s been selling Christmas trees for more than 60 years.
“We sold more trees this year than we ever have on the precuts because they are very nice trees," Luks said. "I've already done, 300 precut trees, which is almost double what we normally do. This year it seems that more people like the real trees. I had quite a few that had fake trees, and they went back to the real trees this year.”
Between caring for 16 varieties of Christmas trees trees, making decorations, and selling chicken eggs and his wife’s jams, Luks said the work lasts year-round. And this summer was tough on the trees he planted.
“Some years you have a good year and they take good, other years you don't," Luks said. "But this year I lost quite a few because it was too hot and dry. I put in, 1,200 trees and I probably lost about 500.”
Luks looks forward to making holiday visions a reality, any time of the year.
“Last year, I had one after Christmas," Luks said. "They wanted to cut down a tree. They were away on vacation. They came home and they wanted Christmas. So, they cut a tree and they got one. I even had one in July, 2 years ago. When a service member came home from the service and they wanted Christmas.”
And similar to taking care of a farm, he said as long as you take care of your tree, it’ll last you through the holidays.
“I've had people keep them up well into the end of February, and they said it never shed a needle," Luks said. "It's a wonderful life being out in the open and being outdoors; I love it. You take care of the land, it takes care of you.”