LEDBURY Christmas tree grower Colin Palmer has been growing festive trees on his three acre smallholding near Coddington since the Seventies, and now he's published a book to share his vast knowledge.

He said: "During those for decades I've been regularly asked by customers with a piece of spare land if Christmas trees would be a good use of the field.

"But I was aware that, until now, there has been no such published guidance for new or prospective growers in the UK, despite there being some 50 million Christmas trees grown in the country."

To answer all these tough questions Mr Palmer has put pen to paper and the result is a 68 page full colour book, "Christmas Trees - A Growers Guide”.

Mr Palmer is no stranger to self publishing, having published the UK’s first mountainbiking gazeteer in the early 1990‘s, followed by numerous UK based mountainbiking route maps, and more recently a handbook on crop protection in forestry.

He also contributes to forestry magazines, and to the newsletters of the British, and Irish Christmas Tree Growers Associations.

He added: "Like many growers, I learned my trade of Christmas tree growing the hard way, making many mistakes on the journey, and I hope this book will help to prevent other growers from suffering the same pitfalls."

He well remembers is first ever crop of Norway Spruce which looked really healthy in the spring prior to his first major sales, only to become brown and bare by the end of the summer.

He had learned about the green spruce aphid the hard way.

Now, working with nature, at Coddington Christmas Trees, he encourages aphid predators such as hoverflies, lacewings and ladybirds assisted by insect eating birds including tits, linnets and goldcrests to help him keep this, and other problem insects, at non damaging levels.

The family business has now expanded to include son, Matthew, who also grows trees at Kidderminster and Pershore, as well as helping other growers around the UK to look after their trees.

Further information about the book can be obtained online at www.festive-ledbury.com