How Christmas tree farm makes it rain in dry spell

[Rob Thompson]

Published 3 June 2023 

Source BBC News

Rob Morgan has invested in a giant water pump to ensure crops like July's sunflowers and Halloween's pumpkins will be ready in time for Christmas

A Christmas tree farmer has had to invest £22,000 in a new irrigation system, saying he has had to adapt his business to cope with continued dry spells each year.

Swansea has seen one of the driest spells in the UK recently, without rain since early May.

The hot weather is expected to continue for another 10 days, forecasters have said.

"Every farmer is going through the water problem at the moment," said Rob Morgan from Gower Fresh Christmas Trees Farm at Three Crosses, Swansea.

He told BBC Radio Wales Drive that the months of May and June had become drier over the years.

He has invested in a tanker and giant rain-like spray system which pumps water over crops.

Welsh Water has said there was no doubt climate change was having an impact on its supplies, although it did not anticipate issuing hosepipe bans and drought warnings this year.

 

Mr Morgan used to be a beef and cattle farmer but has diversified, growing 500,000 Christmas trees, along with fields of lavender, sunflowers and pumpkins through the year.

There hasn't been any rain in Swansea since 9 May but he said the lavender was "thriving in this sunshine".

And he hoped his investment in a water irrigation system would help his sunflowers to "get over the worst" of the dry spell.

"But I'm not going to complain," he said.

"As a farmer... we get on with things."

Rob Morgan has had to spend £22,000 to make sure his Christmas trees get enough water

Welsh Water said reservoir and river levels have recovered after the driest spring and summer for more than 150 years in 2022.

However, it has advised the public to be "thoughtful" about how much water they use.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Rob Thompson

[scottishstnick]

Yeah here in the Springfield Ohio area just south by about 40 minutes at most there's a Christmas tree farm that you can either set up to go cut yourself or you can order a tree cut still in debate whether Mrs Claus and I actually do a real tree specially with two under one year old cats that are probably going to play national Lampoon's Christmas vacation with it. However thank you for the interesting input and how actual bigger farms take care of their cash crop literally.

[Rob Thompson]

Real Christmas trees are big money earners, the price has increased ten fold in recent years, so no surprise farmers are prepared to take such measures and additional expenditure to ensure the crop makes it.

Re real vs Fake tree, Im sure there is a thread somewhere here