Farmers gear up for choose and cut

In a way, they're like Santa's elves.

It is, after all, about that one special day.

Unlike the elf routine, however, that special day can happen any time between now and Christmas, and it's already happening for some.

"We have sold more than a dozen Choose and Cut farmers in Watauga County, and this week they're gearing up for their busiest weekend of all: Thanksgiving."

"Thanksgiving and the week after," Clawson said. "That's when it gets busy."

And the Choose and Cut farmers aren't just selling trees. They're selling traditions.

"I've got customers that've been coming before they had kids, and now their kids are pretty good sized," Norris Tree Farm's J.D. Norris said.

It's about zipping up that winter coat, packing a thermos of cider and hiking up the slope, child in tow.

"You can bring your family," Austin Choose and Cut's Bill Austin said. "Bring your dogs. You can roam around the mountain side."

The result? A memory you'll savor over the experience of picking up your tree at a grocery store.
"You've got a big selection of trees standing in the field where you can look at all of them and select just the right tree," Austin said.

And, once you take it home, "They're green and holding their needles," Clawson said.
"You can't get that at a grocery store," Norris said.

And it's not just about your traditions. Austin's family has farmed his land for generations.
"We've always done it," he said.

Planting Christmas trees to him is the continuation of a long history of agriculture, and he's not alone. Each farm has a story and, if its owners have the time, they'll tell you all about it. After all, it's their tradition too.

Watauga County

Appalachian Evergreens
620 Sampson Road
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 264-1609

Austin Choose & Cut
166 Russ Cornett Road
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 264-7296

Bear Wallow at Long Ridge Farms
406 Long Ridge Farms Road
Sugar Grove, N.C. 28679
(828) 297-4373

Big Ridge Tree Farm
762 George Eggers Road
Banner Elk, N.C. 28604
(828) 773-2857

Bluestone Greenery
1230 Howard Edmisten Road
Sugar Grove, N.C. 28679
(828) 297-5377

Brown's Choose & Cut
2648 N.C. Hwy. 194 North
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 264-2800

C&J Christmas Trees
N.C. 194
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 264-6694

Circle C Farms
313 Will Cook Road
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 265-7504

Clawson's Choose & Cut
4944 N.C. Hwy. 194 North
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 264-3162

Cool Springs Nursery, Inc
224 Brownwood Road
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 898-8909

Cornett Deal Christmas Tree Farm
142 Tannenbaum Lane
Vilas, N.C. 26892
(828) 964-6322

Cross Ridge Christmas Tree and Horse Farm
Cross Ridge Farm Road
Vilas, N.C. 26892
(828) 297-2255

Dark Mountain Tree Farm
556 Laurel Gap Ridge Road
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 264-5078

Dotson Nursery
1885 Poplar Grove Road S.
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 963-6223

Ewing's Fraser Fir Farm
172 Navidad Lane, Vilas
Vilas, N.C. 28692
(828) 297-2856

Garry Henson Farms
1353 Poplar Grove Road
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 264-0809

Greene Family Tree Farm
6989 Junaluska Rd.
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 773-1451

High Country Nursery
524 Harrison Rd.
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 264-9123

J & D Tree Farms
576 Bryan Hollow Road
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 262-1845

Longview Farm Choose & Cut
6167 Howards Creek Road
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 297-4204

Miller Tree Farm
355 Lee South Road
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 265-2851

My Two Girls
7297 Old 421 S.
Stony Fork, N.C. 28618
(828) 264-2573

Norris Tree Farm
1811 Meat Camp Rd.
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 262-1619

Panoramic Choose & Cut
368 Panoramic Lane
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 719-6395

RRR Tree Farm
6715 Hwy. 194 N.
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 963-3477

Swinging Bridge Farm
711 Old Glade Rd.
Boone, N.C. 28607
(828) 264-5738

Tom Lawrence Farm
6720 Hwy. 421
Vilas, N.C. 28692
(828) 297-4755

What Fir! Tree Farm
330 Wolf Ridge Trail
Boone, N.C. 28692
(828) 297-4646