[ad_1]
Karabin Farms is located smack bang in the middle of Connecticut, which means that for the past four decades Diana Karabin has been selling Christmas trees to the good families of Bristol, Waterbury, New Britain, and every other borough in between. She and her husband moved to the state in 1972 and started the farm so that it could serve as an idyllic setting for their children. But by the 1980s, the Karabins had amassed more than 100 acres of land, and Diana decided to give the Christmas business a shot.
The average evergreen pine takes about 11 years to grow to 6 feet and requires repeated cutting to maintain its picturesque appearance. Once a crop is prepared for the market, it will be sold out in a matter of weeks. Diana says her busiest weekend is the one following Thanksgiving, as the country enjoys the holiday season for the first time.
No business is built exclusively around Christmas trees, and Karabin Farms has diversified far beyond its seasonal décor. Diana sells freshly picked apples from her orchard, meat products from her livestock, and bouquets from the farm’s greenhouses. In fact, Diana tells me that growing pine trees is one of the most stressful parts of her business. Mother Nature is fickle and there is always something on the horizon to worry about. The Karabins do not depend on irrigation to keep their trees alive. Instead, they simply wait for it to rain. This season, Connecticut was engulfed in a severe drought, meaning hundreds of Diana saplings died in the parched soil. That won’t matter this Christmas, remember, these trees take a long time to mature, but 10 years later, Karabins customers could be suffering from a light harvest.
Still, it’s easy to socially distance yourself when choosing a tree, and Karabins are lucky enough to work outdoors. The family farm is exempt from some of the more pernicious questions facing other businesses in the pandemic, but Diana makes sure to enforce all the rules. Hand sanitizer is everywhere, as are portable foot-activated sinks and one-way directional signs. He has made a habit of telling his clients to hold the mask over their nose, even when they are attacking a Douglas fir with an ax. We talked about that, as well as his favorite Christmas tree varieties and why he thinks business will be better than ever during the pandemic.
What is your experience in the Christmas tree business?
We bought this property in 1984. We decided we needed to get some money off the land to pay for it, and one of our ideas was to grow Christmas trees. So in the mid-80s, we started planting trees. We think that each year’s sales would allow us to pay for our children’s college tuition.
What are some of the mistakes people make when they start growing these trees?
I don’t know if we’ve ever learned to be completely successful, because mother nature has a way of humiliating you. This year, for example, we planted 500 seedlings of one variety and of those 500, 480 died from the drought. We are not able to water. We depend on the rain. So, at the end of the day, we lost a large part of our planting. However, Christmas trees take a long time to grow. So this loss will be felt in eight years. That’s when those trees won’t be available.
How long does it take to grow a field of trees?
It takes about 11 years for a tree to reach 6 feet in height. When they fall to the ground, they are already 4 feet tall and it takes another seven years, at least, before reaching the required height. So, you are talking about a very long-term investment. Along the way, he is shaping and trimming the trees. Christmas trees don’t look that perfect naturally; that’s all man-made. So it takes all those years of pruning to get it right. And of course, feed and fertilize them, making sure they are free from insects and diseases. Many things are happening.
Is that difficult for you? Is there a chance that something will go wrong in those 11 years that ends with a tree harvest?
Obviously, we are at the mercy of the weather. We are at the mercy of any insect that flies by. But for the most part, due to our intense maintenance, once we have the trees up and running, we are in good shape. Although, once, we planted a particular variety of trees and about three years later they died. We were really stumped as to why that happened because it seemed like they were doing well. It turns out that the land we live in was once sown corn. The chemical used in that corn fell to the ground and is toxic to that particular variety of Christmas tree. We have successfully planted other trees there, but not that one. This chemical was used before we were here, which tells you how long ago. And that chemical has since been taken off the market.
Do you have a favorite type of Christmas tree that you grow?
We have always grown Douglas firs. That is a squishy tree. If you have children or pets, they will not poke their eyes out. The last few years we have been bringing Concolors into the house. They are incredibly tough. We tend to keep our tree tall all year long to see how far we can go further. This year we removed it around July 1 and it was pretty crispy. But Concolor needles do not fall off. This year, we are bringing a Meyer Spruce into our home, which is supposed to be even tougher. If I talk to you next year, I will let you know if we withdraw it in November.
Is important for you? To get the user experience of how all these different trees work in a home?
Absolutely. We have greenhouses here where we grow a wide variety of flowers and foliage. We plant them for ourselves and treat them as our customers would. Consumers most likely will not fertilize their plants after purchasing from us. They will just water it and forget about it. I want to see how those plants work so I can educate my consumers about what works and what doesn’t. This is also the case for Christmas trees.
What is your busiest time of year?
This coming weekend [after Thanksgiving]. That has changed over the years. The busiest weekend before Christmas used to be the second week of December. But the entire Christmas production has changed over the years. These days, you see Christmas stuff in stores alongside Halloween stores. People feel the pressure to raise their trees. I am speaking with you on Monday of Thanksgiving week and today I am selling a lot of trees.
Basically, Christmas trees are only sold for a month at the end of the year. What is it like to be in a business where you are expected to make a profit in a very short time?
I don’t think you’ll ever get used to it. We are very nervous. They promise rain this weekend, and that could mean sales are down. We can only hope that we can recover in the coming weekends. We just have to keep going with the punches. We forecast our sales the best we can with our experience. And then we hope that everything works out.
How has your company reacted to the Covid-19 regulations?
I have the full nine yards. I have the signs on all the pre-cut Christmas trees and the Christmas trees cut by yourself, asking people to respect social distancing. I have an activated hand sanitizer for my feet. I have a portable sink with soap and water outside. In the store, I have arrows that go in one direction. I have the plexiglass screens on the records. And masks are required, and I annoy a lot of people because I say, “Could you put the mask over your nose? Because he’s not doing anything for me or you right now. “I don’t want to see your nose.
Do you think the pandemic will change the demand for Christmas decorations this year?
I honestly believe that sales are going to increase. People stay home more. They are in their own cocoon. They want something that makes them happy and cheerful, and Christmas decorations around the house do. I hope I’m right. I felt that way when we were selling pumpkins in the fall. We didn’t expect to be busy, but we were.
