A lot of work for a bit of green - a visit to a local Christmas tree grower

Created: 12/13/2021, 8:00 PM

By: Peter Borchers

A well-rounded affair is a detour to Johann Kappelsberger's farm in Helfertsried during Advent.

If you are looking for an unsprayed Christmas tree from local culture, you will find it there.

© Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss

Few of them would want to do without the beautifully grown Nordmann fir at Christmas.

But they are getting more and more from a local company - like that of Johann Kappelsberger in the Dietramszell hamlet of Helfertsried.

Dietramszell

- On this Tuesday at the end of November, the flakes swirl thickly and across the gray sky.

The approaching winter shows its claws with storm and snow.

Johann Kappelsberger takes off his forest safety helmet, which he put on for a few photos, and puts it back in the shed together with the cordless chainsaw.

"Not a good day for pruning trees," says the sturdy man with the cheeks rosy from the cold, "let's get on with it."

This means that the report about the work on one of the few Christmas tree plantations in the district falls flat.

Does not matter.

In the large kitchen of the Kappelsberger estate in the Dietramszell hamlet of Helfertsried, the tiled stove crackles comfortably, the landlady Rosemarie serves a hot cappuccino and her husband is in a good mood to talk.

So he tells how it started with the Christmas trees on his farm. The father had some space left that was hardly profitable for agriculture, so he put a few fir and spruce trees there. When they were big enough, “that must have been the beginning of the 1970s,” conjectures Johann Kappelsberger, “he drove them to Geretsried for sale in the shovel of a dump truck. There were only a few. "

The senior started out small, and even today the son is far from being a big player in the “Bavarian Christmas Tree Growers” ​​association. His trees grow on "maybe two and a half, three days' work", that is about one hectare or a large soccer field. More is not possible besides Haflinger and Simmental breeding, normal agriculture and the rest of the forest, says the 64-year-old. However, the Kappelsbergers lovingly look after their small tree nursery. Two of the four children help out - wife Rosemarie too, because, as she says, she “loves working with wood”.

Some of the seedlings come from Austria, some from Thomas Emslander, the head of the Bavarian Christmas tree growers, and from the huge Rauchberg estate near Aying.

From there they come with bales, for the purpose of better conversion to the new home soil.

From time to time Kappelsberger corrects the growth of his pupils with special multi-bladed stop pliers - cost 500 euros.

The targeted cuts help that the summit “does not grow away.

So the gaps between the branches are not so great. "

Nothing is injected with us.

We clear out what is sick.

Johann KappelsbergerChristmas tree grower

The Helfertsrieder regularly mow and mulch their cultivation areas on the edge of the forest, keeping their hands off insecticides and fungicides: “We don't spray anything. We clear out what is sick. ”The family only helps with fertilizer if a needle analysis shows a deficiency, for example in copper or magnesium. Of course, he can also produce trees “absolutely organically”, says Johann Kappelsberger. "But if you put it next to a normal one, nobody will take it." He is sure of that. The organic tree has “no shine, no varnish”. For the 64-year-old, it is more important that people do not put conifers in their rooms that have been "carted thousands of kilometers across Europe" on diesel-guzzling trucks. In addition, this is emphasized by the Association of Bavarian Growers,The local plantations with their grass cover would offer a habitat for many insects, also for larger animals, and they store a lot of carbon dioxide.

Also interesting: Looking for a Christmas present?

Regional producers have a few to offer

In its range, Kappelsberger has the popular classic, the Nordmann fir, as well as colorado firs, the more rustic blue spruce and a few cork firs.

Wife Rosemarie favors the long-lasting blue spruce in the living room at home and recommends it with a smile, even to stressed young parents and pet owners: "The needles are a bit prickly", that keeps curious toddlers and cats away.

Speaking of difficult to train: These include the fragrant, long-needle colorado firs. Their roots are a favorite of mice. If they gnaw, "the trees change color and then - the farmer draws a horizontal line in the air with his hands - it's the end of the day, it's forever bad" ". Two years ago he therefore used a few more copies and hopes “that I can get through many of them”. Another feared opponent: frost in May. Christmas tree growers fear the new iron on the table of presents as a wife does. Because cold destroys the sensitive first shoots. The large growers therefore irrigate their plantations during late frosts. As paradoxical as it sounds: The resulting ice shell acts like a protective coat.

Even if Johann Kappelsberger does not have such a system, his workload is high.

Is it even worth selling Christmas trees for a few days?

“Mei,” he says, “we have 90 percent regular customers.” It's just nice to see them again every year and “to chat with them”.

Some, he says and laughs, "I've been sharpening the bottom of the trunk for 30 years because they still have these ancient Christmas tree stands with the screws".

Also read: Early Christmas shine in the room

In the first days of December, Kappelsberger sells almost on demand. “If you report and drop by, you will get a tree. The actual sale, which is of course suitable for a pandemic, starts between the first and second weekend in December. Then there are around 200 trees to choose from in the yard. The prices for one meter of Nordmann fir are this year, like the last three years, “between 17.50 and 25 euros - depending on quality and size. Blue spruces are a little cheaper. In general, the farmer cuts the trees himself. Customers who would like to do this themselves - even when the moon is full - he can accompany them to the plantation on request.

But he prefers to enjoy the hustle and bustle in the yard.

What goes on there during the sale - scenes from a marriage, for example - amuses the 64-year-old anew every year.

"Some people give each other names, you don't believe that," says Johann Kappelsberger and snorted with laughter.

“You want a dense Nordmann fir, a spruce, you want a large tree, a small one with larger gaps between the branches.

If the children then join in, it's all over. ”In such cases, the 64-year-old becomes a marriage counselor - and a good businessman:“ I always tell them: 'Take two, then it's' a ruah'. "

peb

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