HOLLIS – If Adrien Lavoie has his way, in six years, the go-to spot to buy a Christmas tree will be the Woodmont West Orchards.

Lavoie entered into a 25-year lease from the town for the 140-acre plot of land along Route 122 last year.

After weeks of clearing out old apple trees from about half the land, Lavoie and a group of high schoolers spent days planting 5,200 Christmas trees.

With another planting expected this fall, Lavoie said he hopes to have 10,000 trees in the ground by winter.

The trees will grow for six years before they’re ready for ornaments and tinsel, and Lavoie said he will plant even more during that time.

His ultimate goal? Planting 50,000 to 100,000 trees within the next 10 years.

“They’ll be no other place to go,” he said Wednesday, laughing. “I’m going to fill this up with trees.”

The tree farm will take up about half of the
historic orchards by the time Lavoie is done, and he said he hopes the farming of the land will bring residents and visitors to the orchards, which have a long history in the area.

The orchards were once home to various farm buildings built in the late 1930s and the area functioned as a farm for many years, though most of those buildings were demolished a few years ago. The local Heritage Commission is working to rebuild some of those structures.

Lavoie has his own history with the land. His grandfather was the manager of the farm operated on the land in the 1970s and his mother once lived in the old farmhouse that stood on the grounds.

He said it was this history, and the lure of 140 acres of rich soil, that caught his attention when the town was leasing the land.

“I’m keeping generations of farming going,” he said. “I’m trying to keep it alive for as long as I can.”

The planting of Christmas trees last week, he said, was exciting because it was a crop he grew for many years at his original Nartoff Road farm. He had to stop growing the trees several years ago, however, because of a lack of space.

Lavoie said he is happy to be jumping back into growing the trees.

The orchards will be home to many varieties, including Douglas firs, balsam firs, and blue and white spruce.

While the trees will not be ready for some time, Lavoie said he planted corn and pumpkins – crops that will be ready for picking this summer and fall. And next year, he plans to plant mixed fruit trees.

The vegetables will be sold at Lavoie’s farm stands throughout the area.

And while there is still much land to clear and replant, Lavoie said he is confident the historic orchards will be brought back to life in the next few years.

Danielle Curtis can be reached at 594-6557 or dcurtis@nashuatelegraph.com. Also follow Curtis on Twitter (Telegraph_DC).