A3O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 21, 1991
SINKING SPRING (Berks Co.)
A Berks county holiday land
mark, DeLong Christmas Tree
Farm, marks its fiftieth anniver
sary last year. Located in Breck
nock township, it is one of the old
est, continously operating Christ
mas tree farms in the state.
Started in 1941 by Charles
Aubrey DeLong, the farm is own
ed and operated today by his son,
Tom DeLong. “My father had
incredible foresight. This was a
run-down, abandoned old farm
when he bought it,” DeLong com
ments. “He saw the potential in
plantation grown Christmas trees.
Back then, 95% of all evergreens
cut for Christmas trees simply
were cut out of the wild.”
Tom grew up just a few miles
from the farm on what is today the
Nolde Forest Environmental Edu
cation Center. His father was the
forester for the Nolde family.
“Back in the 30s, my father began
experimenting with shearing
Christmas trees on the Nolde
estate to produce a consistently
shaped, but natural looking tree. It
is the appearance we still strive for
today,” DeLong says. C. Aubrey
DeLong began clearing the land
on the farm in 1941, and planted
his first scotch and white pine see
dlings in 1942. He and his family
moved to the farm in 1947, and by
1949, sold their first trees. Ten
years later, Tom, his wife Ann,
and daughters Jean and Nancie
moved to the farm when he took
over the operation.
By then, Douglas fir was gain
ing in popularity as a Christmas
tree so it replaced scotch pine as
the number one tree planted on the
farm. Tom also began experiment
ing with Fraser fir, a tree he
became familiar with while get
ting his PhD. degree in Forestry at
Duke University. As Tom
explained; “Fraser fir was not
used as a Christmas tree to any
great extent then, but I thought it
had potential. I’m glad we began
experimenting with it so long ago
because it has taken a number of
years to learn how to grow it
right.”
Time is one thing Christmas
tree farming definitely requires.
On average, Douglas fir takes 14
years to reach eight feet, and it is
not 14 idle years. Tom says many
people have the mistaken idea that
a Christmas tree seedling is
planted and then cut as a full
grown tree 14 years later. “We
wish it were that way, but there’s a
lot of activity in between if you
want to grow a premium tree.”
Quality is something in which
they clearly excel at DeLong
Christmas Tree Farm. Their trees
have been displayed at The Smith
sonian Museum, Longwood Gar
dens, The Naval Academy at
Annapolis, and locally at the
Berkshire Country Club. Last
year, one of their Douglas fir was
featured in a national ad for Ford
New Holland.
There are two things DeLong
mentions, that people sometimes
overlook when choosing Christ
mas trees. First, trees always look
smaller in the field and on the lot
than they do when you get them
home. He suggests knowing what
width, and especially, what height
limilations are before selecting a
tree. Secondly, it is very important
to make a fresh cut across the butt
of the tree before putting it up.
Conifers sap over in a short time
and the sap prevents them from
absorbing water. If a fresh cut is
made and the tree always has
water, it will stay fresh indoors
well through the holidays. Mrs.
DeLong mentioned she kept last
DeLong Chri
Three generations are keeping the DeLong Christmas Tree Farm a family affair.
From left: daughter Jean with husband Stephen, son Robert Thomas Custer, and
parents, Ann and Thomas DeLong.
year’s tree up until February 15.
One other thing DeLong suggests
is to use nothing but plain tap
water in the tree holder. Tests con
stmas Tree Farm Marks 50 Years
ducted by the National Christmas
Tree Growers Association have
proven nothing works better than
water alone.
Now, More Than Ever...
Dairy lea Cooperative Means More
More Ways to Increase Your Profitability
✓ Highly Competitive Premiums
✓ Quality and Production Incentive Programs
✓ Member Loan Program
✓ Energy Loan Program
✓ Milk Check Direct Deposit
✓ Top-Rated Insurance Coverages
✓ Flexible Benefits Program for Farmers
and Farm Employees
Dairylea Cooperative Inc.
Membership
MEMBERSHIP
MEANS MORE
Build For The Future!
Call Shirley at 1-800-654-8838
As Tom and Ann DeLong look
ahead, they see the possibility of
the farm seeing another fifty
years. Their daughter Jean, and
son-in-law, Steve Custer moved to
the farm three years ago. Steve
now manages day-to-day opera
tions and in 1990, Steve and Jean
became parents to a son.
DeLong Christmas Tree Farm
is located south of Reading off
222 or 625 on Gouglcrsville Road.
You can easily follow their big
yellow signs to the farm. They
have a wide selection of cut Dou
glas fir, Blue Spruce, Fraser fir
and white pine, from tabletop trees
to thirteen feet. This year, the farm
will be open to the public Novem
ber 30 to December 24. Hours are
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
in
v 4*