Expansion

Wxpanding for more Paulownia trees....

Fortunia planted May, 2014
Cut down 3/29/15

From a 5" shoot, now 35 " tall when this pic taken on 4/15/15---- 2 1/2 weeks after cutting

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Advice  excerpts from John Waggoner, USA Today:  click to read entire article!

Three investment lessons from the trees

II. Invest in timber for the long term.
GMO LLC, a respected Boston money manager, periodically issues a forecast for various types of investments over the next seven years, adjusted for inflation. Their most recent outlook is fairly gloomy: U.S. large-company stocks will lose 2% a year, and high-quality stocks will gain just 0.5% a year.
The standout: Timber, which GMO forecasts will gain 4.8% a year, after inflation.


III. You need a lot of patience – and land – to make money growing timber on your own.
High-quality hardwood, such as walnuts, can fetch high prices. Why not skip making an IRA contribution this year and plant a couple of walnut trees instead?
And that's an interesting thought. Greger points out, however, that timber is no sure thing. You'll have to be on guard against fire, insects and the occasional beaver. And you'll have to trim the trees to grow straight and tall – otherwise, it will be hard to cut a good-sized log out of that.
And you'll need time. More common pine, the kind you make two-by-fours out of, grow about 10% each year up to age 50, almost doubling in volume and value every 7 years. You usually need a 10-inch log to sell for logs, which are far more valuable for pulp.
As for walnut: You'll need about 60 to 80 years to get the right color and grain for prime veneer. So they'd be better investment for your grandkids' college than for your own retirement. And your biggest expense will be hiring someone to cut them and haul them to market, Greger says. "You might not be paid very much for that tree."
So you can learn a great deal from lumber, and, with the right investments, actually make some money. But the best return you can get from your own trees is to walk outside on a spring morning and see them in bloom.

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3/4 year update: GROWING!

Elongatas: Planted May, 2011
Cut to ground March 2013
Pic taken Jan 2015

We continue to get requests for info from all over the world on these trees. This month marks our 4th year in this project and we were only looking for a few fast growing shade trees. Had no idea of the world wide demand for this wood and now we have 415 trees planted and will add another 100 or so this summer.

Elongatas, Fortunas, Kawakamis: Planted June 2012
Cut to ground March 2013
Pic taken Jan 2015

In ground 2 1/2 years

Our trees go dormant in October and lose their elephant leaves at first freeze.
They start waking up mid February when blooms start popping out and leaves follow.

Elongata: Planted May 2011
Cut Down March 2013
Pic taken March 2014

These trees luv super hot sun and grow from leaves. We measure and document height and width growth. One tree grew one foot per week in July and August and grew 3 3/4" in width from 6/5/14 to 8/12/14.

Fortunas:  planted May 2013 and cut to ground in March 2014
This pic taken July 2014-   4 months after cutting.

Thanks for checking our site and send email, text or call regarding our trees.

Mike Lammons


Michael R. Lammons
Pacific Coast Manager
Merchant Guard

559 824 3254 Cell & Text
Mikelammons@gmail.com
Barb's blog:
Merchantguard.blogspot.com


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California drought can't stop these gorgeous trees!

440 trees now growing:  here's a pic of the back most recent plantings (March '14).  In spite of this horrific California drought you can see these trees are thriving -- they love the climate and sunshine... and make do with very little water.  

These trees are groomed for lumber harvesting (ask Mike).  

Below is a gorgeous paulownia ungroomed to grow for their majestic shade.

 

Mike has almost 100 trees in pots looking for a home:  contact him for info today.  Text to 559.824.3254. 

For extensive info on Paulownias, click here.

Amazing Fast-growing Trees

Spring brings great growth and MORE PAULOWNIAS!

The 'farm' is up to 330 Paulownias in various stages of planting:
new plantings
first-year cut-downs
2nd year rows
3rd year growth

These are such hardy and rewarding trees, requiring little water and zero pesticides or other chemicals.  Every patch of ground here in the Central San Joaquin Valley should have a FEW Paulownias!

Fast Growing Trees

Everything is at a fast pace today. (Duh.) What's up with these fast growing trees?

 Stop by for a visit with our Paulownia tree project and Mike can fill you in on why we are attempting to get the word out about these trees.   Watch the video to  hear Bob Kaler, our tree-mentor, career almond farmer, and founder of the Western Region Paulownia Growers & Developers (slogan: "Growing for Clean Air and Water") 559.283.2511 for info -- you can hear him talk about 'carbon sequestration' and the lack of chemicals in production of these trees.

 Grow a Million-Dollar Tree Harvest every 7 years on small acreage with minimal labor and chemicals. 

The Fed Ex young man asked me the other day "What are those trees?" I said their name. He said, "Why are you growing them?" (Sigh.) I was busy inside and wanted to get back to chores, but.... he was curious. I shared the highlights.

 He said, "I have 2 acres and would like to plant something like this." One or two hundred trees would fit nicely onto his place; he can do his own drip irrigation (simple) in his spare time; minor grooming of the trees first couple of summers (flicking suckers off); and enjoy great shade until his harvest pay-day.

A good tree should yield 200 or so board feet. Current bf price, conservative side = $8.50. So, $1700/tree. Goal: $340,000 per harvest.

These trees, ungroomed for harvest,

make a glorious shade tree and the same carbon sequestration/clean water attributes apply. So whether you want a profit crop from your land, or great shade trees for your yard, get acquainted with Paulownias.

 Contact Mike: 559.824.3254 for more info. They make a great secondary income, like for this young Fed Ex employee. If you'd like to check out some other great secondary income sources, click here.