 This month's Feature Destination:
Prairie Elf Christmas Trees
December 2005
“I absolutely love this business. I live for the trees!” Kathy Heeb said. “I probably put in a lot more of my time and effort into it because I really like doing it.”
 Kathy’s business is Prairie Elf Christmas Trees, located just south and west of Lawrence, Kansas near Lone Star Lake. Doing the majority of the work herself, Kathy has more than 6,000 trees planted, covering seven of the farm’s 145 acres.
 “Our customer’s arrive at the barn, and we give them about a 10 minute wagon ride down to this beautiful setting where the trees are, where they choose and cut their tree.” Kathy said, describing the farm experience. “There’s a warming hut down there too, with a wood burning stove."
"After cutting their tree, the family rides the wagon with their tree back to the retail barn. Inside the retail barn they can warm up, and enjoy complimentary homemade cookies, hot cider, and popcorn while their tree is being shaken to get rid of dead needles and debris and wrapped in netting for transport .”
Kathy feels it is all about the experience that she provides her customer families.
 “Our farm is out in the middle of nothing but farm land, and the trees are in this very nice, natural setting. My customers get a special feeling coming to the farm.
They are getting away from the noise and the hustle of the city—it’s almost like stepping back in time—to a place of peace and tranquility. I don’t think I need a Santa or reindeer or all that. It is a special family outing—an hour or an hour and a half of just the family together.”
The farm sells scotch, white, and Austrian pines. The hayride, the netting, and the snacks are free, although she does sell wreaths, garlands, swags, and a small assortment of Christmas related items, such as tree skirts and stands, watering elves, holiday dolls, and some very nice tin ornaments.
She opens for business the Friday after Thanksgiving, and then is open Saturdays and Sundays through December 24. Folks can also come out Wednesday afternoons by appointment. Customers with physical disabilities using special vehicles are allowed to drive right to the tree area.
 “The pricing is a matter of supply and demand,” Kathy told us. “This year, the Austrian pines are $35, regardless of size. I’ve got a lot of them. The others are priced by height. $50 for trees that are 6 feet tall or less, $75 for 6 to 8 foot, and $100 for trees over 8 feet. We have around 600 trees ready to sell this year.”
Growing Christmas trees, particularly in Kansas, is far from easy.
“There is a very high mortality rate,” according to Kathy. She says they plant approximately 1,000 trees each March. Her husband Jeff usually helps her put in the trees, and last year she was able to hire a couple of boys to help. The young trees are purchased from Indiana, Michigan, and the Kansas forestry extension.
“Almost immediately, we begin hauling water to the trees. We haul water beginning early in March, and continuing hauling water thru the end of August, except when we get rain,” she said. They literally haul the water to the trees. A five-gallon bucket, with holes in the bottom, is set up by the tree, but it is filled by hand-carrying a gallon bucket of water at a time from the tanker to the tree.
“An irrigation system is out of the question. It’s just too far. My hope is that next year I’ll add a water tank to our 4-wheeler, and we’ll be able to drive that right up to the drip buckets.”
Other chores include spraying, mowing, and trimming the trees.
 “We keep the grass and weeds mowed to be sure the trees have good air circulation. This keeps down the disease, and is discouraging to the mice and rabbits that might like to nest in the area, and girdle the trees if we don’t keep them away.”
The trees are trimmed once a year, and the Heebs do not use a mechanical trimmer. Jeff trims the white pines with a trimming knife, and the others are hand trimmed with hedge shears. The trimming of trees 3 feet tall and above takes from the second week of June to the end of August.
“Our trees look more natural,” Kathy said about the hand trimming, “We make sure they have lots of open space so people can hang plenty of lights and ornaments deep in the tree.” They do not fertilize the trees, but let them grow at their own rate. The first trees were planted in 1994, and they began sales in 2000.
 Marketing is done primarily by direct mail, and word of mouth. Kathy estimates that about 65% of her original customers in 2000 have returned each year, and she works very hard to try to remember everyone’s face and name.
While Kathy is new to computers, next year she hopes to send out an electronic newsletter to her customers as well. She also participated this year in the Kaw Valley Farm Tour, a cooperative effort where 16 farms invited the public to visit them the first weekend in October. Kathy says she hopes to see many of those people return to buy trees.
Last year, the farm provided an 8-foot tree for Governor Kathleen Sebelius' residence, and Kathy says the publicity increased her business about 40%.
 Kathy hires 11 workers during the season, in addition to her and Jeff. They run two, and sometimes three tractors, plus they have a greeter, a retail person, a craft table supervisor, and 6 tree-handlers.
“Tuesday before Thanksgiving, we have a pizza party for everyone, and lay out our expectations for what is acceptable in dealing with the public, and what isn’t. I don’t allow any cuss words, and if I hear one, that person knows they owe me a quarter.”
“I also do not allow them to tell my customers, “No problem.” They can say, “Thank You, I’m happy to help you,” but we understand coming to our farm is a problem. Most of my customers have driven 30 minutes or more to get here, spent a lot of time picking their tree, and will drive another 30 minutes home. We want them to know we appreciate their efforts, and we’re happy to do a little extra for them!”
For more information about Prairie Elf Christmas Trees, visit their website at www.elftrees.com
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