By Ann Meyers Piccirillo

The turkey leftovers are gone, the pumpkins are starting to cave in on themselves with rot, and the decorative bales of hay have been completely picked apart by DIY squirrels and birds looking for building materials for their winter homes.

Alas, it’s time to get your Christmas tree. I’m a true believer in driving half-way across the state to cut down our own tree in an attempt to create a scene from Currier and Ives that we can paste in the family photo album.

THE FULL STORY – READ MORE HERE:

http://www.bergennews.com/2010/11/30/cut-your-own-christmas-tree-farms-in-new-jersey/

December 01, 2009, 5:31AM

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/christmas_tree_deemed_new_jers.html

MENDHAM — It’s not the White House; it’s not Rockefeller Center. But the Christmas tree voted as New Jersey’s best will spend its December cheering up the needy.

After chopping down an 8-foot Norway Spruce at Hidden Pond Tree Farm here today, state Department of Agriculture officials will bring it to the Market Street Mission in Morristown, an organization that ministers to the homeless in Morris County.

Christian Nicholson stands next to a tree that was cut Monday in a ceremony by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture to herald the start of the Christmas tree selling season at Hidden Pond Tree Farm in Mendham.

The charity was chosen by Christian Nicholson, owner of Hidden Pond who was crowned Grand Champion by the New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers’ Association at the state fair this summer. Each year, the farmer whose tree was selected as best in show provides another tree to their charity of choice in the annual kickoff to the tree-growing season.

It’s an exciting development for Nicholson — a landscaper who co-founded Hidden Pond nine years ago on 50 acres of sloping farmland tucked behind West Field in Mendham Borough — especially since raising the most perfect Christmas conifer in the Garden State is no simple task.

“It’s a huge emotional, physical investment,” Nicholson said yesterday, standing next to one of the two spruces he will offer to Agriculture Secretary Douglas Fisher.

Nicholson’s spruce, a lush, cone-shaped affair with short, soft needles, was selected from about 30 entries, first winning the spruce division and then the overall award. It’s the result of eight years of pesticide-free farming and consistent hand-pruning.

“I shear every tree by myself,” Nicholson said. “If we didn’t shear this tree, it would look like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.”

The Rockefeller Center tree, this year from Easton, Conn., is usually at least 75-feet tall. The White House Christmas tree is the winner of the National Christmas Tree Association competition, and this year hails from Shepherdstown, W.Va.

So what elevates the everyday evergreen to Grand Champion status?

“We have certain criteria,” said Anne Edwards, the president of the New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers’ Association. “Everything is on a point system.

Among the standards for judging are the angle, color, branch formation and handle (the space between where the tree is cut and where the branches begin).

Those benchmarks don’t always apply to customers, though, Edwards said.

“Some people like a real bushy tree, but then again other people like a real open tree,” Edwards said. “Some people like skinny trees because they have a tight spot or maybe they have a mobile home.”

Nicholson said his customers come from all over the state and as far as Pennsylvania to select a tree. But if the stars align, he said, one day he’ll be sending a spruce to the Blue Room in the White House.

“That’s the ultimate goal,” Nicholson said.

© 2009 NJ.com. All rights reserved.

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/style/new-jerseys-grand-champion-christmas-tree-hails-from-mendham

New Jersey has an extraordinary Christmas tree of its own … and it is tucked away in the heart of Mendham, New Jersey, at the end of West Field Road.

Just ask Christian Nicholson.

Four months ago, Christian Nicholson was preparing for the third holiday season at Hidden Pond Christmas Tree Farm. While pruning the acres of Christmas trees, one special spruce tree caught his eye. It stood tall on a strong, straight trunk. Its lush boughs were beautifully shaped. The tree top was perfectly poised awaiting a Christmas star. Impulsively, he harvested that tree, which was grown from a seedling, and brought it to the N.J .State Fairgrounds in Sussex N.J for the annual N.J. Christmas Tree Growers Association tree competition.

The tree was judged by a panel of experts to be the best in class and the overall Grand Champion in this year’s competition.

The start of it all

Hidden Pond Christmas Tree Farm constitutes nearly 50 acres where miles of a variety of trees are growing in various stages of maturity in straight, manicured rows.

In 2000 Nicholson and Suzanne deNeufville collaborated to develop the land to fulfill its potential for productivity with a positive impact on the environment. They designed a plan to clear the land and revive the decaying pond overgrown with years of neglect in order to irrigate the fields. A nursery with a variety of trees would be planted for future sales.

Part of their plan was to plant spruce trees from seedlings into pots. The potted trees would gradually be transplanted to the fields where they would be fertilized, pruned and cultivated for seven to ten years. These seedlings were destined to be harvested at Christmas time to preserve the tradition of gracing homes with live Christmas trees and replenishing the environment. All of the trees are grown without the use of pesticides or chemicals, in order to preserve our most precious resource, mother earth.

— ANDY LAGOMARSINO, NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Government | Wed, 12/02/2009 – 4:11 pm | Read 780 | Commented 1 | Emailed 2

By Herald Staff

Left to Right: Heidi, Chris and Emma Nicholson, Secretary Fisher, G. David Scott of Market Street Mission, and Morris County Freeholders Margaret Nordstrom and James Murray

(MENDHAM BOROUGH) – New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher officially kicked off the ‘choose and cut’ Christmas tree season today (Tuesday, Dec. 1) by cutting down a tree at Hidden Pond Tree Farm in Mendham.

“Wherever you live in New Jersey, there is a Christmas tree farm close by to get the freshest, highest quality tree, while also enjoying a memorable day Photo of Secretary Fisher and Chris Nicholson cutting down a treeout with your family,” said Secretary Fisher. “By purchasing a Christmas tree from a New Jersey farmer, you are helping our state’s family farms remain viable and the agriculture industry to thrive, which has a direct impact on the health of the state’s economy.”

There are two Christmas tree farms in Cape May County:

• Eisele’s Tree Farm, 280 Old Tuckahoe Road, Petersburg, (609) 628-2758

Species…500 trees; White Pine, Douglas-fir, Concolor Fir

Open…9-4 (Nov.27), 1-4 (Fridays in Dec), 9-4 (Sat, Sun), Nov. 28 – Dec. 22. Other days by appointment.

• Krogman’s Christmas Tree Farm, 425 Fidler Road, Dennisville, (609) 861-5537

Species…500 trees; Blue Spruce, Norway Spruce, White Spruce, White Pine, Douglas-fir, Concolor Fir, Fraser Fir, Canaan Fir, Balsam Fir, Grand Fir, Turkish Fir

Open…12-6:30 pm (weekdays), 9-6:30 (weekends), Nov. 27 – Dec. 23

It has been a tradition that New Jersey’s Secretary of Agriculture visits the farm with the Grand Champion Christmas tree in the New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers Association annual contest. Hidden Pond Farm’s Norway spruce, grown by Chris Nicholson, earned the title this year.

“This is our second year selling Christmas trees on this beautiful piece of property,” said Nicholson, who leases the 50-acre farm. “We grow Norway spruce almost exclusively since they are hardy trees that thrive without the use of pesticides.”

When Nicholson started the farm 10 years ago, he was new to farming. He said when they opened to the public last year, they were visited by local residents as well as those from as far away as New York City. He said they try to make it a warm, family experience by providing free hot cocoa and hayrides.

Nicholson donated the tree cut down by Secretary Fisher to the Market Street Photo of group at Hidden Pond Tree FarmMission in Morristown, where it will be displayed for those visiting the mission to enjoy. The Mission houses the homeless and serves breakfast and dinner to its residents and the hungry in the community. Last year, more than 60,000 meals were served and more than 3,000 nights of emergency shelter were provided to those in need. People visiting the Mission also are offered rehabilitation services.

‘Choose and Cut’ Christmas tree farms are part of New Jersey’s year-round agritourism industry, along with ‘pick-your-own’ fruit and vegetables, wineries, on-farm educational tours and programs, hay rides and crop mazes.

The 2007 U.S. Census of Agriculture ranked New Jersey sixth in the nation in the number of Christmas tree growers. Of New Jersey’s 10,327 farms, 1,150 grew cut Christmas trees on 6,314 acres. Those New Jersey farmers provided more than 78,000 families with Christmas trees.

Christmas tree growers in New Jersey may participate in the Jersey Grown program, which allows farmers to tag their trees with the Jersey Grown brand to easily identify that their Christmas trees are grown in New Jersey. Jersey Grown includes quality standards and is similar to the well-known Jersey Fresh branding program for produce and other agricultural products.

Growers also are encouraged to add their farms to the state’s agritourism web site, www.visitnjfarms.org. There, they can list information about their farm, including items for sale, hours of operation, directions, and special events.

The New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers’ Association, organized in 1950, is a statewide organization of growers, professionals and industry leaders dedicated to the promotion and marketing of Christmas trees and related products.

To locate a choose-and-cut farm near you, visit the Jersey Fresh website at www.jerseyfresh.nj.gov or the New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers’ Association’s website at www.njchristmastrees.org. For more information about Christmas trees, log on to the National Christmas Tree Association’s website at www.realchristmastrees.org.

Here are some tips when selecting and caring for a real Christmas tree:

* Dress accordingly when shopping for a tree. Wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes or boots for walking.

* Select a tree that best fits your needs. Consider your ceiling height as well as the weight of your ornaments when determining the size and type of tree you choose. Remember that in the field, the sky is the ceiling, making trees appear smaller than they actually are.

* Do a freshness test. Gently grasp a branch between your thumb and forefinger and pull it toward you. Very few needles should come off. Shake or bounce the tree on its stump. An excessive amount of green needles shouldn’t fall to the ground. Some loss of interior brown, yellow or tan needles is normal.

* If you’re not going to decorate your tree right away, place it in a container of water and store the tree in a cool, shaded area, sheltered from the wind, such as in a garage.

* Before you bring your tree into the house, cut an inch from the stump. The fresh cut enables the tree to more readily take in water.

* Place the tree in a tree stand filled with one quart of water for every inch in diameter of the tree trunk. The average six-foot tree has a trunk with a four-inch diameter, meaning the tree stand should hold one gallon of water.

* Always keep the tree stand filled with water. Fresh-cut trees absorb a pint to a quart of water each day. Check the water level daily and always keep it above the cut end of the tree.

* Keep your tree away from heat and draft sources like fireplaces, radiators and television sets. Be sure your light cords and connections are in good working order. Unplug lights before you go to bed or leave the house.

* Real Christmas trees are biodegradable, which means they can be easily reused or recycled for mulch and other purposes. Contact your county recycling office for information on their tree recycling program.

Urges Consumers to Visit NJ Christmas Tree Farms this Holiday Season

http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/news/press/2009/approved/press091201.html

(MENDHAM BOROUGH) – New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher officially kicked off the ‘choose and cut’ Christmas tree season today by cutting down a tree at Hidden Pond Tree Farm in Mendham.

“Wherever you live in New Jersey, there is a Christmas tree farm close by to get the freshest, highest quality tree, while also enjoying a memorable day out with your family,” said Secretary Fisher. “By purchasing a Christmas tree from a New Jersey farmer, you are helping our state’s family farms remain viable and the agriculture industry to thrive, which has a direct impact on the health of the state’s economy.”

It has been a tradition that New Jersey’s Secretary of Agriculture visits the farm with the Grand Champion Christmas tree in the New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers Association annual contest. Hidden Pond Farm’s Norway spruce, grown by Chris Nicholson, earned the title this year.

“This is our second year selling Christmas trees on this beautiful piece of property,” said Nicholson, who leases the 50-acre farm. “We grow Norway spruce almost exclusively since they are hardy trees that thrive without the use of pesticides.”

When Nicholson started the farm 10 years ago, he was new to farming. He said when they opened to the public last year, they were visited by local residents as well as those from as far away as New York City. He said they try to make it a warm, family experience by providing free hot cocoa and hayrides.

Nicholson donated the tree cut down by Secretary Fisher to the Market Street Mission in Morristown, where it will be displayed for those visiting the mission to enjoy. The Mission houses the homeless and serves breakfast and dinner to its residents and the hungry in the community. Last year, more than 60,000 meals were served and more than 3,000 nights of emergency shelter were provided to those in need. People visiting the Mission also are offered rehabilitation services.

‘Choose and Cut’ Christmas tree farms are part of New Jersey’s year-round agritourism industry, along with ‘pick-your-own’ fruit and vegetables, wineries, on-farm educational tours and programs, hay rides and crop mazes.

The 2007 U.S. Census of Agriculture ranked New Jersey sixth in the nation in the number of Christmas tree growers. Of New Jersey’s 10,327 farms, 1,150 grew cut Christmas trees on 6,314 acres. Those New Jersey farmers provided more than 78,000 families with Christmas trees.

Christmas tree growers in New Jersey may participate in the Jersey Grown program, which allows farmers to tag their trees with the Jersey Grown brand to easily identify that their Christmas trees are grown in New Jersey. Jersey Grown includes quality standards and is similar to the well-known Jersey Fresh branding program for produce and other agricultural products.

Growers also are encouraged to add their farms to the state’s agritourism web site, www.visitnjfarms.org. There, they can list information about their farm, including items for sale, hours of operation, directions, and special events.

The New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers’ Association, organized in 1950, is a statewide organization of growers, professionals and industry leaders dedicated to the promotion and marketing of Christmas trees and related products.

To locate a choose-and-cut farm near you, visit the Jersey Fresh website at www.jerseyfresh.nj.gov or the New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers’ Association’s website at www.njchristmastrees.org. For more information about Christmas trees, log on to the National Christmas Tree Association’s website at www.realchristmastrees.org.