Country Life: Christmas tree farmer makes massive maize maze

Growing Christmas trees and making a maize maze - a quick Q&A with Andrew McAllister:

How many hectares of Christmas trees do you grow?

There's 22 hectares of land and we've got about nine hectares in trees.

When and why did you start growing Christmas trees?

While I was overseas in my early 20s, I was working in Denmark and Scotland on Christmas tree farms and I was brainstorming ideas that I could do when I came home, one of them was growing Christmas trees! So I saved up, bought a four-hectare block and put trees on it as soon as I got back from my OE. Then eventually we outgrew that property and in 2016 we moved here to Swannanoa.

Is it good land for growing the pinus radiata trees?

Yeah, it's free draining soil. They don't like getting wet feet as they can get root rot and die. We top them up with fertiliser too because we're planting and harvesting every year on the same ground. So it's pretty hard on the land.

How long does it take to grow a Christmas tree to the right size?

When we get the seedlings from a local nurseryman they're a year old and then they're on the property for around two to four years. For the deluxe bigger trees it's six or seven years.

When do you plant the seedlings?

We get into the tree planting in July and August and then there's ongoing maintenance. We go through and shape every tree a number of times throughout the year. It's a pretty intense job, but there's some good strong lads that help out.

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How many Christmas trees are you expecting to sell this year?

What we generally do each year is cut off at a certain point because we try to retain a certain amount of trees for the following year, but we'll move anywhere between three to four thousand trees.

Do people cut the trees down themselves?

Yeah, half of our market does. I think for a lot of people it's part of the experience. They're quite happy to battle away with a blunt old $10 Belco saw from Mitre 10. If they get a deluxe tree we'll use the chainsaw. Those trees are pushing 100kg.

You're also growing sunflowers and maize?

That's a new venture we've got happening. I was looking for different opportunities for the land here. Traditional lamb grazing and cutting hay doesn't really stack up anymore, so we've planted a decent chunk of sunflowers and made a maize maze. So it's a silage maize crop that's being created as a maze for the public to come out and enjoy. Then it's going to a local dairy farmer.

What will you do with the sunflowers?

The birds will have a pretty good feast! We'll do pick-your-own blooms or heads and then we'll probably put it through the chopper and mulch it back into the ground.

Will it be challenging for people to find their way in and out of the maze?

Yeah, I mean, I got confused trying to get back out with the right arm mower after I'd hacked out lines. I was getting lost. So yeah, it'll get people thinking, that's for sure. We doubled the rate of seed to try to bulk up the crop. So it's not so easy for kids to walk through and cheat.

So you're all geared up towards getting people onto the land?

Yeah, it's like bringing the city to the country. For the maze and the sunflowers it's going to be an affordable attraction. We'll have a little kiosk with some cold drinks and ice creams, but it's going to be pretty low key at this stage.