CHRISTMAS TREE FARM KEEPS BUILDING TRADITION
Venue offers Monterrey pines, cedars, scotch pines, and coastal redwoods grown on the property
Solano County residents looking for a unique piece of California Christmas may find it at the Silveyville Christmas Tree Farm.
Tucked among unassuming fields just northwest of Dixon the venue is one where families can enjoy holiday snacks, enjoy Christmas activities and take a walk across the plantation to pick out a real-life Christmas tree
Jeri Seifert, owner of the farm, said her parents started the farm in 1979 and started selling trees in 1981. Seifert and her husband have worked there since they were young, and their children and grandchildren now come to the farm to help out.
Silveyville Farms offers Monterrey pines, cedars, scotch pines, and coastal redwoods grown on the property, and they also sell fresh cut Fir trees from Oregon and Washington. Pre-cut trees are stored and displayed in water to keep them healthy and fresh for sale.
The entire experience of the farm is what makes it special, Seifert said, as they have two play areas, animals to feed, trails to walk, a sleigh ride and holiday snacks.
Trees on a plantation such as theirs are always replaced, Seifert said, which is particularly healthy for the environment because young trees sequester more carbon dioxide and emit more oxygen than older trees. As soon as the season ends they begin their inspection process for next year, she said, and they plant once the soil is ready.
“There's a science to it,” she said, “and it is farming, it's year round.”
Christmas trees drink a quart to two quarts of water in the first two days they are moved into your home, she said, and then slow down as the cut starts to seal off like a fresh flower. In order to keep a tree fresh, one can cut notches in the bark on the trunk so the tree can continue to absorb water.
The farm's proximity to UC
Davis is important, Seifert said, as her father learned a lot from their forestry department as he was getting started. The euca
lyptus trees on the property were developed by UC Davis and are unique to the farm.
School tours have been a staple of Silveyville farms for years, Seifert said, as they taught students about the life cycle of a tree and got them out into nature. While those were halted during COVID, she said, the farm is still a great place for kids and families to spend time among the trees and enjoy the outdoors.
Artificial trees are made with plastic and PVC, she said, which never biodegrade when they are thrown into a landfill. That makes getting a tree from a tree plantation a better option for the environment. In the 2000s and 2010s, she said, those artificial trees took over the market, but real trees are making a comeback in recent years.
“I think generally, generationally we're seeing people come around back to nature a bit more,” she said, “They understand that coming and cutting a tree is not a bad thing on a plantation.”
The farm also sells wreaths and other Christmas gifts in the boutique. Sleigh Rides are $2 and time in the children's play village is $5 a child. About 20 percent of customers don't even get a tree, she said, but come just to enjoy the fun environment.
Customers come all over the Sacramento region and Bay Area, especially in recent years as other Christmas tree farms have begun to close. Extended families will meet up at the farm and spend the day together, she said.
Seifert said her mother is still alive, and her 5-yearold grandson loves to come to the farm, so the business is a four generation family affair.
“Support your local farmers,” she said, “It's a plantation, we're going to replant a tree for every tree you cut.”