About Us
My wife, Beth, and I started looking for land in 1996. She would find an ad for “land for sale”, and we would drive out and look it over on a weekend. We had criteria; It had to be at least 50 acres, raw land, in West Georgia, with a stream and a pond, or a place to build a pond. Of course, we would have to be able to afford it. We looked for three years with no luck. Then she saw an ad for land on Mandeville Rd. in Carroll County and we drove out to look. The first thing we saw was a two-acre field of kudzu and briars. We got out of the car to walk the property anyway. Behind the kudzu field was beautiful rolling hills with hardwood trees. It also had a stream and a place to build a pond. It was exactly what we were looking for except for the kudzu. I made what I thought was a low offer and the owners took it without negotiating. We closed in January 1999.
Every weekend, we would rent a tractor with a bush hog attached, and we would work on trying to reclaim the kudzu field. Sometimes our friends would help. It was hard work and a struggle, but we had it finished in about a year. Looking out over the reclaimed field, Beth said with a big smile, “Wouldn’t it be great if we planted Christmas Trees?” I was blindsided, she had never hinted at this before. “Let’s plant them for our kids and our friends”, she said. I said, “That’s a lot of work. If we are going to do it, we’ll make a business of it.” “OK”, she said.
We didn’t know the first thing about planting and selling Christmas Trees. We read articles, we visited farms and asked questions, we joined the Georgia Christmas Tree Association. We learned what we thought was enough to get started. In January 2001, we planted our first trees with the help of friends. Half of the trees were dead in a month. We didn’t know as much as we thought we did. After pulling them up, we tried again in February 2001. Yes, success, this time it worked!
Sadly, Beth passed away in January 2005. She did get to meet our first customers on Thanksgiving Day, 2004, (the first day we were open for business)! I think we may have sold fifty trees that year.
I’ve sold trees with the help of locals and college students ever since. 2020 will be the sixteenth selling year at the farm. We’ve come a long way and learned a lot since 1999. It is now my full-time job.
I hope to see you, at the farm, this Christmas Season!
Merry Christmas! Keep It Real!
Dave Taylor
Every weekend, we would rent a tractor with a bush hog attached, and we would work on trying to reclaim the kudzu field. Sometimes our friends would help. It was hard work and a struggle, but we had it finished in about a year. Looking out over the reclaimed field, Beth said with a big smile, “Wouldn’t it be great if we planted Christmas Trees?” I was blindsided, she had never hinted at this before. “Let’s plant them for our kids and our friends”, she said. I said, “That’s a lot of work. If we are going to do it, we’ll make a business of it.” “OK”, she said.
We didn’t know the first thing about planting and selling Christmas Trees. We read articles, we visited farms and asked questions, we joined the Georgia Christmas Tree Association. We learned what we thought was enough to get started. In January 2001, we planted our first trees with the help of friends. Half of the trees were dead in a month. We didn’t know as much as we thought we did. After pulling them up, we tried again in February 2001. Yes, success, this time it worked!
Sadly, Beth passed away in January 2005. She did get to meet our first customers on Thanksgiving Day, 2004, (the first day we were open for business)! I think we may have sold fifty trees that year.
I’ve sold trees with the help of locals and college students ever since. 2020 will be the sixteenth selling year at the farm. We’ve come a long way and learned a lot since 1999. It is now my full-time job.
I hope to see you, at the farm, this Christmas Season!
Merry Christmas! Keep It Real!
Dave Taylor