WILTON-
Billy’s Farm in Wilton might have the greenest Christmas trees in the state. The local farm says it grows the only certified organic Christmas trees in California.
“The organic nature of it just brings in pure beauty,” Paul Weubbe said.
The certification process is extensive and requires three years of proven pesticide-free soil just to get started. To top it off, many of his customers care more about chopping the tree down than considering how it was grown.
“They’re looking for a Christmas tree. The fact that it’s certified organic, great. Or a lot of them are really indifferent to it,” Weubbe said.
The Vivar family fell into that category. They had no idea the farm sold certified organic trees.
“Uh, sounds healthy,” Abel Vivar said.
His family settled on a tree flown in from an Oregon farm. Abel said they didn’t like the texture of the certified organic trees.
“Too pointy, you know, if you touch it,” Abel said.
“It’s pretty pokey, that’s for sure,” Thomas Biele said.
Thomas Biele and Jocelyn Morris, on the other hand, came to Billy’s Farm specifically for the certified organic trees.
“In the U.S. I think we use about 17 tons of pesticides a year, so yeah, one step not putting it into the soil, for sure it’s worth it,” Biele said.
“We’re always interested in things that are renewable and good for the earth so it’s definitely a bonus for us,” Morris said.
The couple feels that organic Christmas trees come full circle. Billy’s Farm collects used Christmas trees after the holidays and re-uses them as a fertilizer and natural pest repellent.
“Anybody, I don’t care where you get your tree from, you can drop it here, we run it through the chipper and use it out on the farm,” Weubbe said.
