By Bethany Costello
Staff Writer
Company: Big John Leyden’s Christmas Tree Farm
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Owners: The Leyden family
Location: 179 Plain Meeting House Road, West Greenwich
Type of business: tree farm
Employees: 13 part-time and one full-time worker
Year founded: 1970
Annual revenues: WND
When John Leyden, known to many as “Big John,” first got into the Christmas tree business at the age of 15, it wasn’t because he wanted to, but instead because he had to.
As the story goes, Leyden, part of a large Irish Catholic family, was the only one “not helping out.” Leyden was playing three sports at East Greenwich High School when his father finally had had enough.
“My father told me that I was going to sell Christmas trees,” he said. “We went up north and bought 18 Christmas trees to bring back home and sell. Of course they were the ugliest trees you ever saw because at that time you just cut the best ones out of the woods (as a result, none of the trees were pruned). But we sold all 18 of them and made a total of $40. My father took half, and I got the other half.”
That was more than 50 years ago.
Today, there are between 75,000 and 100,000 trees representing 14 different species growing on just over 120 acres of land at Big John Leyden’s Christmas Tree Farm in West Greenwich. It’s the largest farm of its kind in the state.
The reason for such a wide selection, according to Leyden, is simple.
“Everybody has their own idea of what a perfect tree is,” he said. “No two trees are the same, and neither is the way that two people look at a tree.”
The business, which officially started at its current location in 1970, has always been somewhat of a part-time job for Leyden, who for 30 years taught agricultural education at a local vocational school. His son Timothy, who now works with his father on the farm, calls it “a part-time job with full-time responsibilities.”
“When we’re not selling, we are planting, pruning, and clearing,” said the eldest Leyden. “It’s a year-round commitment.”
In fact, while many people would think this business is only busy for a month each year, Leyden said, there is much more to it than that.
“We are very busy in March when we re-cut all the stumps, and do other corrective maintenance,” he said. “In April, we are planting, and following that every single tree needs to be sheered. That usually takes us until Labor Day.”
Still another timely project, Leyden said, is clearing the land – it’s a job that has been ongoing since he first bought the property. Currently, only 75 acres of the 121 are cleared.
“When I was still teaching I would come here every day after school and clear the land,” he said. “We cut the wood in the spring (and) take out the rocks. This takes a lot of capital so any money we make goes right back into the farm.”
And while the soil might be right for planting now, it hasn’t always been.
“Agricultural land is classified using the numbers one to eight, with eight being the worst,” he said. “When I bought the land it was six because of the rocks and the light soil. Today it’s a Class 3, ideal for Christmas trees. As the years go by, the soil will only continue to get better.”
Like any foundation, good soil is only the start. “Seed to seed,” Leyden said, the average Christmas tree takes 15 years to grow – leaving a lot of time for something to go wrong.
“Three years ago we lost 95 percent of the trees that we had planted that year, because of a drought,” he said. “We can irrigate the trees while they are in the transplant bed, which is where the beginning stages of growth take place, but once they are planted in field, if Mother Nature doesn’t supply the nutrients they need, they won’t grow.”
From the beginning of November almost until Christmas the entire Leyden family, including Leyden’s wife Arlene, their two sons, Timothy and Matthew, their wives Barbara and Mary, and a slew of grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles – can be seen working at the farm. The family also splits their time at the farm’s one retail outlet on Sandy Bottom Road in Coventry.
“I am very fortunate to have a lot of family and friends come in and help me,” he said. “I like to personally greet everyone that comes here. I think it’s important.”
And if it’s not Leyden’s personal service that gets people to his farm, he said, it’s the trees themselves — which cost about $30 — that do.
“Every tree is cut in front of the customer, so that they know it’s fresh,” he said. “The key is freshness and quality. Nobody can compete with that.”
