With the permit you buy them for a specific area, and then drive out and park and walk around. You can't cut at places like the ranger stations or things like that, but it tells you all of this. Last year I went off highway 540 west of Longview, which was also a great place because you could get some beef jerky at the same time!
To answer the comments about real trees being wasteful.
A lot of the trees are culled from powerline right of ways. The power companies always cut down the trees when they reach a certain height. Normally they would go straight to mulch but instead they get to brighten someone's home during the holidays before being turned into mulch.
For the harvest-your-own-tree permits they are letting you cut one small tree that was likely planted by a forestry company anyway with the plan to harvest it in the future.
Stealing this from a Suzuki foundation study. One of many that show that real trees are way better for the environment:
It's better for the environment to buy a real tree. For the most part, they are grown and sold locally, produce oxygen and remove carbon dioxide for 10 to 12 years before being cut, are fully recyclable, provide habitat and, once cut, are replaced with at least two more seedlings. Definitively, real trees are better.
Also worth noting: According to Statistics Canada, real Christmas tree sales were worth $73.9 million in 2005. About 2.4 million trees were exported to places as far away as Ireland and Thailand. Up to six million trees are grown in Canada each year.
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I've never cut down a tree myself but it's something I'd really like to do. How are the quality of these trees compared to a tree from Superstore?
Hard to say, since I've never had a superstore tree...I'm guessing superstore would be better looking. For us it's the experience for the kids. We go out and pick an ugly tree. The kids feel like its charity. It's the tree no one would pick and they feel bad for it. We have an awesome time and good memories of our disfigured trees. Every year they talk about the trees and hope to top the weirdest one. Plus they smell great and I just burn in my fire pit later.
Just bought a SRD permit for the Southern Rockies zone, pretty excited I always had a real tree going up but like many of you had the city wife who had always had fake trees.
Three important rules I've jotted down for your Christmas tree:
Quote:
1.) The Christmas tree must be taller than the tallest resident occupying the home of said Christmas tree. Real tree or artificial, living in a small condo or apartment is no excuse to own a Peter Dinklage-sized Christmas tree.
2.) Only Christmas trees that are coloured green are allowed. The species of pine does not matter. Any shade of green is acceptable. But for the love of Christ and his pedophile uncle Santa or whatever: no white trees.
2a.) Upside-down Christmas tree supplementary: You will be laughed at by everyone on the planet if get one of these. Until the situation surrounding this absurd upside-down tree fad reaches epidemic levels, the decision to ban them will be delayed, however.
3.) Illumination of the Christmas tree can only be provided with the use of white/clear lights. No rainbow-coloured abominations: blue, yellow, pink, purple—when did these become Christmas colours? Partial blame to Pier 1 Imports for the rampant #######ization of the Christmas colour pallet must be noted.
3a.) Addendum: The use of green or red lights may be used in conjunction with white/clear lights under the discretion of the most obsessive-compulsive member occupying the home of said Christmas tree.
I have a question since this is the first year we will be getting a real tree. When you look at them they are all bundled up and tight so how do you tell what is a good tree and what will have bald spots and such?
I have a question since this is the first year we will be getting a real tree. When you look at them they are all bundled up and tight so how do you tell what is a good tree and what will have bald spots and such?
Pay close attention to the very bottom of the tree.
When a tree is all wrapped, the branches are pulled upwards so you can see the source of each branch. Check that the branches are both evenly distributed around the circumference of the trunk and that they are evenly vertically distributed up the trunk. That'll cover you for about the bottom third of the tree. For the rest of the tree, look for one that wraps up into a nice even cone all the way to the top.
Also, run your fingers along a branch to check how many needles fall off. The more that fall off, the dryer the tree; obviously, try to avoid very dry trees.
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I'll be trying something a bit different this year. Since I live in a relatively crowded condo, I'm going to be picking up a little 4 foot live tree. Reckon I'll keep it alive until spring, and then take it out to my parents' property and plant it. It's about as environmentally responsible as I reckon it can be.
I'll be trying something a bit different this year. Since I live in a relatively crowded condo, I'm going to be picking up a little 4 foot live tree. Reckon I'll keep it alive until spring, and then take it out to my parents' property and plant it. It's about as environmentally responsible as I reckon it can be.
Unlikely it would survive that long - indoor temperatures are way too warm for pine trees, and moving them to the balcony after Christmas will likely kill the tree with the shock of going from indoors to outdoors so abruptly.
I've tried this approach before with zero success, unfortunately. I do think it can be done under some circumstances, but not in my experience.
I have a question since this is the first year we will be getting a real tree. When you look at them they are all bundled up and tight so how do you tell what is a good tree and what will have bald spots and such?
I dont' buy them unless I can see them unbundled. I would look for a nice spruce or fir, that looks good from all angles.
The tree we put up every year is an artificial one, and it has enormous sentimental value as it's the exact same tree that has been in our family since 1971. Still use the original glass ornaments too! The only thing that is not original is the lights. (the original tree had glass bulbs!) Each box of 16 glass ornaments has a pricetag from Woolco on it. The price... $1.50! That's how old they are. Can't even remember when Woolco closed down in Calgary. I remember the candy counter there was my favorite place to go after shopping with my Mother. Also have a couple packages of garland with a pricetag from Super S Drugs. .75 cents! Both stores have been close down for ages now. I love unpacking the Christmas decorations each year, as it turns into a trip down memory lane for me. These decorations are old!!
The lot at the Canadian Tire on Shaganappi Trail and Crowchild has really nice trees. This is the second year I've gotten one from them, and this year's tree is perfect. They keep quite a few trees of each variety unbundled, so you can see what they look like and what you're getting.
Has anyone been to the lot at Sobey's in McKenzie Towne?
I drove by tonight and just from looking in it looked like it had a lot of promise.
I usually get it from the Cdn. tire lot in Shawnessy.
Last year I went to the lot at the se corner of Sarcee and whatever that is that runs in front of Westhills. I still feel raped thinking back on it. Nice tree but way too expensive.
Unlikely it would survive that long - indoor temperatures are way too warm for pine trees, and moving them to the balcony after Christmas will likely kill the tree with the shock of going from indoors to outdoors so abruptly.
I've tried this approach before with zero success, unfortunately. I do think it can be done under some circumstances, but not in my experience.
Bugger. Well, I'll give it a go anyway (not much choice now since it's sitting next to my TV). Maybe I'll stick it in the fridge every now and then...
I used to buy from the lots but they die so fast. I hear they get cut and bundled in Oct. We had a tree farm with reindeer and all, which was much better. fresh cut lasted the whole month, but was quite pricey. A few years ago I bit the bullet and bought a artificial, spent extra to get prelit with led's. Great investment. I only need 1 more year to break even, and it is such a great looking tree. The artifical ones these days are so much better than what we had years ago, remember trying to sort out all the blue, yellow and red branches? haha.
My wife makes real wreaths from the evergreens on our property, so we still have the smell in the air for the whole season.
If you have room to store one, the box is quite big, they are definately the way to go.
