Pinestead Christmas Tree Farm Frequently Asked Questions

 

What days are you open and what are your hours?

We are open the weekend before Thanksgiving plus the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and daily starting Thanksgiving Friday.  The open hours are reduced as the season progresses.  See our always up-to-date Hours page for the current schedule and note that we do generally run out of trees and have to close down near the end of the season.

 

Couldn't you open earlier than 11:00 am on weekdays?

No.  We need the pre-open hours to harvest additional pre-cuts from our other farm.  We want to keep our pre-cut lot as full as possible with fresh pre-cuts until well into the season.

 

 

What does a tree cost?

This is a bit like calling an auto dealership and asking: "What does a car cost?"  We have to respond with:  "What type of tree are you looking for?"  What size of tree are you looking for?"  "Do you want a pre-cut or are you going to cut it yourself?"  "Do you want a premium, good all the way around, tree or one reduced in price because of perhaps one bad side?"  To assist you we have prepared a Christmas Tree Availability and Pricing page which will hopefully answer your questions.

 

Do you take Credit Cards?
Yes.  We take Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.  We honor both credit cards and debit cards.  We also take personal checks and good old cash.

When will Santa be there?
Santa is here from 11 am until 2 pm on Thanksgiving Friday/Saturday/Sunday and the following Saturday/Sunday.  We have him five times for a total of 15 hours!  

Can we bring our dog?
Yes!  We are dog-friendly.  We do ask that you keep it on a leash.  The farm is a great place to take your dog for a walk through the fields and show it off in the courtyard area.  Many people bring their dogs all dolled up in their Christmas finery.  Don't be surprised if we want to take a photo.  You can view photos of many of our canine visitors at Phil's photo web site (opens in a separate window).  We love the way people dress their dogs up for Christmas cheer/cold weather!

 

How does this work? (Typical new customer question to the Greeter.)

"Welcome!"  "Good to see you!"  "Thanks for coming!"…  You know you have found our greeter stationed by the information Kiosk alongside the food truck.  The greeter, while pointing to a display of all the varieties we grow, will ask what type of a tree you might be interested in and will explain the differences ("It’s the Balsam Fir that have the most scent."  It's the Fraser Fir that have the best needle retention...")

 

The greeter will explain how our price tag system works (cut only trees having a red price tag, leave tag on tree to be removed by staff at shake and bale).  The pre-cut trees (located just behind the kiosk) have a similar blue price tag.  All tags show the type and price of the tree.  The tree prices can vary considerably depending upon the type, size, and quality of the tree.  Baseline prices for a 7' to 8' tree are shown on the back of the choose and cut map.  Pre-cut trees are typically 10 or so dollars more for the typical 7'-8' tree. 

 

The greeter will then equip you with a saw and a map and explain how to get to the trees you're interested in and how to get to shake and bale (drive up from behind the buildings).  He or she will provide you will a sled if you choose to walk--many do because the buildings are centrally located with trees nearby in all directions.  However, you can also drive almost anywhere on the farm and the major lanes are wide enough so you can pull over and park without blocking the lane.

 

Finally, the greeter can orient you to the other amenities on the farm. 

 

 

Do you have live Christmas Trees for sale that we can plant in the Spring? Will they survive?

 

Unfortunately, the answers are "No" and "probably not".  This is a common practice in the south where the outdoor/indoor temperatures are much closer.  In Minnesota, with the large temperature difference, the chances of survival are very low.  To have any chance of survival you need to acclimate the tree by bringing it in from outside (it needs to be stored outside to "harden off') into in the garage for a couple of weeks, then into an unheated or very cool (say under 50 degrees) room for a couple of weeks, then into the intended room for Christmas  leaving it there for a week or less (you don't want it to come out of dormancy).  After Christmas. you must then "deacclimate" it by reversing the process and timeline--back to an unheated room, then back to the garage. then back outside.  Quick, extreme temperature changes are generally fatal.

 

All that said, even if you do everything right, it probably won't make it.  Also, note that a 5–6-foot nursery potted tree will weigh between 200-300 pounds.  Of course, smaller ones would weigh less, but anything larger would be almost impossible to deal with in a house.  We don't know of anyone who carries them and suggest you try a web search if you decide to give it a try.  Good Luck.

 

 

Do you allow professional photographers to schedule photo sessions?  What do you charge?

Yes, we do--and currently there is no charge.  However, this may change in the future as more photographers request the use of the trees for photo sessions (We had one photographer help themself to firewood and built a campfire--this is the type of behavior that will lead to either a charge or an outright ban.).

 

We do not allow any photo sessions on Thanksgiving Friday, Saturday, Sunday and the following two Saturdays and Sundays.  These are our three busiest weekends; we don't want customers to have to avoid looking at certain trees because a photo session is underway in them, plus parking space is at a premium.  You will be asked to leave.

 

We do not allow use of our buildings for photo sessions and do not have a dressing room/bathroom (other than a porta-potty during the Christmas season) for use by the photo subjects.  Feel free to bring your own props, but please take everything with you when done.

 

We do appreciate an advance call or a text to 612-240-4043 so we know who is coming and when.   And we do appreciate a mention in any social media posts you make.  Lastly, the best photo sites in the Christmas trees are in our Balsam Fir on the Northeast side (driving in the main lane, turn to the left as you pass the first shed).

Why are the fields closed?  I see lots of nice trees out there.
Each fall we determine how many trees we can safely sell and still have an adequate supply for the following year(s).  We generally place price tags on that number plus about 10%.  We then close the fields when only about 10% of the tagged trees remain.  A tree can be a perfect 7'-8' specimen and not be tagged because we are trying to get some 8'-10' or 10'-12' trees.  Quite frankly, we will not allow ourselves to become a picked-over tree farm, opening the season with 5'-6' trees!  We believe allowing unlimited cutting is not a sustainable business strategy.  We recognize that we are sacrificing late-season business in favor of our early-season business, but feel we have no choice, we do not have unlimited suitable growing land (each tree requires about 40 square feet of growing space).

Why can't we cut trees that don't have a price tag?
As you can see from the previous FAQ, it is absolutely essential that we have an adequate supply of premium 7'-10' trees when we open for the season.  The only way to do so is to be 'hard-nosed' about preserving a stock of trees from this season for the next season.  Remember that after shearing, they only add 12"-14" per year so we can't sell down to the 6' level this year and expect to have any 8' or 9' trees the next year.

Why don’t you have larger trees--10', 12' or larger--available for cutting in the field?
We always have a few but they tend to go fast.  We have found it is very difficult to do once a tree reaches 9'-10' feet.  We have experienced some very upset customers when we tell them they can't cut that 9' beauty!  (And some cut them anyway which gets us very upset)!  That is why we established a separate farm, not open to the public, where we can allow them to reach the larger sizes before cutting.  The downside is that they are only available as pre-cut--but a very fresh pre-cut--not choose-&-cut.

Why do the pre-cut trees look better than the Choose & Cut trees (sometimes a late-season question)?
Think of it this way.  The first choose-&-cut customer takes the best tree in the field.  It's gone.  The next customer takes the best (remaining) tree in the field.  It's gone.  The next customer takes…. It's gone.  Gradually the quality begins to decline.   

Meanwhile, the first pre-cut customer takes the best tree in the lot.  It's replaced.  The next customer takes the best tree in the lot.  It's replaced.  The next customer takes….  It's replaced.  It's only when we have no more replacements, typically sometime after the Thanksgiving weekend, that the quality of the lot begins to decline.

It's important to recognize that we do not cherry-pick our best trees for the pre-cut lot (we have been accused of this). Quite the contrary, we have established a second farm just to grow our pre-cuts so we don't have to cut any off the main farm.  The only trees we cut on the main farm are those few remaining in a area that will be replanted the following spring.  They have to go so we can prep the ground for replanting (we have to remove the stumps and level and till the ground).

It's only the second weekend in December, why is the selection becoming limited?
The season seems to be more front-end loaded each year.  At the end of Thanksgiving Sunday, we have had about 50% of our season sales and most of our larger trees are gone.  At the end of the first weekend in December about 80% of our customers have already been here (which means that out of a row of twenty tagged trees, 16 have already been cut) and typically the remaining trees are smaller or seconds.  By the end of the second weekend (usually around December 12th-14th) we are generally sold out and are about ready to close for the season.

Can I pre-tag a tree before the season starts?  
Sorry, but we do not offer pre-tagging of trees. Our fields are large enough that we cannot see all the folks actually cutting trees and a tag on a tree is like a magnet. Other farms have reported that unless you actually have an employee accompany each group heading out to the fields, many pre-tagged trees will have disappeared by the time the folks who originally tagged the tree arrive. In addition, other farms have reported considerable negative feedback and disappointment from folks that show up early in the season, especially Thanksgiving weekend, only to find that many trees are already pre-tagged as sold. 

 

Is it possible to come out and get our tree on Thanksgiving day?
No.  We are a family farm and we place our emphasis on the family tradition aspect of the holidays. One of our traditions is a large family gathering and dinner on Thanksgiving day. We have been working non-stop for several weeks to get everything set up for the season, this is our one and only day off until we close for the season.  We have made the decision to keep it sacred. We hope you also have some sacred traditions for the holidays. They are glue that helps bind the family together. 

 

Why do Fraser Fir cost more?

 There are several reasons for this.  Most important, Fraser Fir is not a native tree, when planted alongside a native Balsam Fir they will take a year or two longer to reach sale height.  Each additional year means additional operating costs--mowing, shearing, cone removal, spraying for insects…  Also, each additional year adds more chances for deer browsing, winter burn, windstorm or hailstorm damage.  Then the tree needs more years to recover--if at all.

 

Quite frankly, Fraser Fir are a lot more work.  As a non-native, they are more temperamental to soil and weather conditions.  Mortality rates for newly planted trees are higher than with other species.  One major additional cost is cone removable.  Fraser Fir can have hundreds of cones, which, if left on, create an unsightly, unsaleable tree as the petals fall away leaving a "stick" behind.  A few wouldn't be too bad, but dozens or even hundreds of these sticks on a tree ruin the appearance.

 

At the farm we display photos of some examples of the cones and the cone removal process.  Often, someone can spend an hour doing 20-25 trees and remember we have thousands to do as we have to do it for all Frasers, not just the ones we intend to sell this year.  The worst tree we have encountered had 996 cones (counted them twice) and it took 15 minutes to remove them all!  If the tree isn't sold, we get to do it again next year!

 

 

 

Where can I recycle my tree?
This is a hard one to answer as each city has different pickup days or drop-off locations? You need to make a quick call to your city office to find out the particulars. The advantage in using the city facilities is that the tree is usually chipped and used around city trees or hiking trails. Many are also used by sportsman’s organizations to establish fish sanctuaries in shallow waters. However, another good use is to set it in a snow bank and decorate it with carrots, popcorn, bread, peanut butter, etc. for the over wintering birds and animals.  It makes a great winter activity for the kids.