A Holiday Tradition at Raleigh City Farm
Keith Chesnutt grew up in the mountains of North Carolina, in a small town just outside of Boone. As a kid, Keith remembers lots of his neighbors grew and sold Fraser firs in this region of the Tar Heel State. It's no wonder since conditions in the southern Appalachian Mountains are optimal for their growth. The cooler temperatures at above 3,000 feet coupled with plentiful rainfall in the North Carolina High Country are what allows the Fraser fir to thrive as well as keeps its precious needles throughout the Christmas season.
When Keith moved to Raleigh for school, he thought he would try his hand at selling Christmas trees to help pay his way through college (currently in his third year of veterinary school at NCSU). Keith had a good friend who raised trees - his 8th grade basketball coach - Rob Hunt or "Big Rob" as he is known. Big Rob happily agreed to help. Having worked as an extension agent for the state, the former coach takes pride in raising premium Fraser fir trees. He uses integrated pest management techniques to minimize the amount of fungicide he must spray on his trees. Keith purchases biodiesel from Appalachian State's biodiesel lab every year to help minimize the transportation cost and decrease the trees' carbon footprint, taking the term "eco-friendly Christmas trees" to a whole new level.This year marks the fourth year Keith's business
has sold their beautiful trees at Raleigh City Farm and we couldn't be more delighted to help support yet another young farm entrepreneur. Keith notes, "I thoroughly enjoy seeing return customers and spending time at Raleigh City Farm. It is a delightful time of year surrounded by wonderful folks!"
High Country Firs posts up for the holiday season at Raleigh City Farm beginning Friday, November 25 (see below for full schedule). Partial proceeds benefit RCF.
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Our hearts go out to all those affected by the current wildfires in Western NC and beyond, as well as the firefighters working to contain them.
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