THE CHRISTMAS season has rolled around and for Nat and Jared Medham at Richmond Christmas Tree Farm, their farm once again becomes an annual hive of activity.
Across a 10ha plot just to the south of Richmond is a 2000-strong pine tree plantation that for a few days each year year is brimming with families looking to add an authentic edge to their festive season with a genuine Christmas tree.
The house-ready pines are raised and nurtured across the course of the year, pruned and cared to grow between four and seven feet tall, perfect for an indoor tree.
“We’ve actually become a bit of a team this year, the two boys are on the saws for the first time, which has taken some of the load away,” said Mr Medham.
Over the past few years, the tree farm has established itself as an early December tradition for many families, with tree allocation often selling months in advance.
This was a tougher season for pine growth.
“We’ve never lost so many losses from the rains, these trees don’t like wet feet and where we have dips in the paddock, they got waterlogged,” Ms Medham said.
“But that’s not stopped anyone, since we’ve started, we’ve always been able to sell every tree we’ve had to sell.
“It’s a tradition for a lot of people, overseas as well, and it seems that people are leaning towards natural trees rather than plastic where they can.”
Purchasers can recycle their trees if they are returned to the farm in January, where they’re mulched and used to support the next season’s saplings.