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Pining for the perfect tree If you cut down your own tree, you’re probably going homewith aMonterey pine or an incense cedar tied to the car roof. Those are Seifert’s top two sellers. Youmight even decide youwant a coastal redwood; the kind Seifert grows is called Aptos blue. “Not a great one for holding ornaments,” she said, but “for a natural appeal, it’s a really good seller.”
Jeri Seifert’s year of work is about to culminate in happiness for many Christmas- tree buyers.
O Tannenbaum Farmer’s trees help make the Christmas holiday
You mean they grow all year? “Somany people’s first question: What do you do all year long?” Seifert said. Plenty. First, there are the stumps left behind by the once-a-year lumberjacks; they need to be cut to soil level. New seedlings are planted as close to those stumps as possible in February andMarch. Seifert’s two- person tree crewwill prune the leader tips of existing trees to encourage them to grow faster and healthier. (The leader tip is where you’re going to put the tree topper when you get it home.) And there’s always weed control, checking for disease, fertilizing and irrigating.
Story by Kevin Hecteman • Photo by Ching Lee
In the Solano County town of Dixon grows a family’s created forest that’s been delighting visitors at Christmastime for more than 40 years. Jeri Seifert, who runs Silveyville Tree Farm with her husband, Ted, took over from her parents 20 years ago. Jerry and Alberta Taylor launched the farm in 1979 as a retirement dream, “and it grew into a huge family business,” Seifert said—one that now includes a duck pond, quad rides, farm animals and a retail shop. The Seiferts also grow pumpkins for Halloween on the property. You’ll have two options for Christmas trees—buy one already cut and in a stand, or grab a saw and do the cutting yourself among the 30 acres of pines.
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November/December 2020
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