Kaleidoscope Farms New Gift Shop Grand Opening

We have finally added on to our Tree Barn! We would love to invite all of our customers and their guests out to get a sneak peak of the expanded Tree Barn. We will have the gift shop open with many great gift items to jump start your Christmas shopping. We have many new items that make great gifts any time of year. Feel free to tag your Christmas Tree so you are sure to get the one you want. We will be open Saturday November 5 from 10-5:30 pm and Sunday Nov. 6 from 3-5:30. See you then!

The Reese Family

Kaleidoscope Farms continues the Operation Evergreen tradition

American patriotism, agriculture and Christmas spirit will all be present on Sunday Nov. 6 at 2:00 p.m. when Kaleidoscope Farms once again holds a ceremony to honor veterans while serving those who serve their country.

Through the Ohio Christmas Tree Association’s Operation Evergreen Program, local veterans will gather at the farm to pick out Christmas trees that will be shipped to troops overseas for their holidays spent far from home and their loved ones. Elected officials and area veterans groups have been invited to attend the event.

“This program is so special because it gives us a chance to give just a little to those who are giving so much to us through their service to our country,” said Dave Reese, owner of Kaleidoscope Farms. “We hear back from troops every year telling us that they really appreciate what we’re doing for them. It is very hard to be away from their families over Christmas, and any little reminder of home is very important to them.”

Also at the farm will be students from Cory-Rawson Schools and other area schools and representatives from Kiwanis Village in Tiffin who made decorations to send with the trees. Once the veterans select the Christmas trees for harvest from Kaleidoscope Farms and other farms around the state, they are delivered to the Ohio Department of Agriculture for inspection and then shipped to U.S. military posts around the world. Operation Evergreen was developed by Ohio Christmas Tree Association members in 1995 to bring Christmas cheer to military units serving overseas. This year Kaleidoscope Farms will be sending four of the more than 300 Ohio Christmas trees to troops.

For more information about the event or the Operation Evergreen program, contact Reese at 419-722-1154.

Pa Pa's Paw Paws

This is what the leaf of a paw paw looks like.

The Christmas tree farm is an environmentalist's dream. Not only do we have over 30,ooo Christmas Trees we also have many acres of wetlands, CREP conservation areas and even a Paw Paw patch. We sell paw paws to a restaurant when in season and several private individuals. The going rate for paw paws is $10.00 per pound. The paw paw is a native fruit to Ohio. It is full of nutrients and even more nutritious than a banana. It is said that this fruit can help with stomach indigestion and digestion. It is a fleshy fruit and is only ripe for a very short period of time. It has lots of seeds inside.
Our natural paw paw patch is along our creek bed and is very wet most of the time. They spread through their root system and take over very easily. The tricky part of raising paw paws is that the animals love them just as much as people. When ripe, they fall from the trees, this is what the animals count on. We go out and shake the tree, when fruit falls it is almost ripe. The skin will be soft and turn a darker color as it ripens.

The taste is similar to a banana or a mango. Most either love it or could leave it. There are many recipes out there that are good and most say the less you heat or cook a paw paw the better. This is a delicate fruit that needs to be used within a short window or you will not like the results.

The Reese grandkids call Matt's Dad "PaPa" and he takes great joy in harvesting the native crop with his grandchildren and even daughter-in-laws like me. We think the name PaPa’s Paw Paws is here to stay.

This is what the fruit  looks like on the tree.

You can see the typical size of the fruit when harvested.

We have trees of all sizes but this is
the average size of our fruiting trees.