Look to local farms to find your perfect holiday tree
Christmas is just a few weeks away, and that special spot in your house is calling for this year's adorned evergreen tree. If you are intent on supporting a local business this holiday season, you just might be able to find that perfect Christmas tree without straying too far from home.
A visit to Dixiedale Farm in Chatham has been a yearly family tradition for the Keane family of Randolph. The picturesque family-owned and operated farm offers 10 acres of cut-your-own Norway spruce trees as well as a selection of pre-cut Douglas firs that are delivered weekly from Pennsylvania.
"You get a great selection without traveling so far," said Ann Keane as she scans Dixiedale's thousands of trees with her family. "And they smell so great."
John Sweeney, landscape manager at Dixiedale for over 20 years, tends to the three fields of trees all year to ensure that families are happy with their selection. From the springtime planting of up to 1500 saplings to mowing the fields and pruning the mature trees, all the hard work is evident by late fall when customers start wandering through the rolling hills to choose their Christmas treasure.
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"We get a lot of return customers, and a lot of people from cities," Sweeney says. "This is a day in the country to walk around. It's only a 50 minute ride from New York City."
The experience at Dixiedale has become a tradition for many people. Sweeney said customers have the option of cutting the tree themselves or calling upon one of the "helper elves" that will assist in cutting, baling, and loading the tree onto the car. And he suggests taking a break with a treat of cookies and hot apple cider — made from farm owner Betsie Haar's secret recipe — by the warmth of a pitfire. Dogs are also welcome to join in the fun at this pet-friendly farm, and canine treats are on hand to keep them happy too.
The Keane family, with their dog Maggie in tow, examines pre-cut Douglas fir trees with a measuring stick in hand, provided by Dixiedale. Hannah, 11, says she finds a lot of trees that she likes, but with three other family members it's not easy finding one that everyone agrees is the best.
One decision that has been easy for the family during the last six years of visiting Dixiedale is to make an ornament from the tree "cookie" — a half-inch disk — that is cut from the bottom of the tree they choose. They write their names and the date on the memento and drill a hole in the top to hang on a strong branch. This year, Shane, 14, saws the bottom of the tree and Hannah picks up the "cookie" to count the rings. "It's 22 years old," she discovers about their Christmas tree.
The Keane family has much success with keeping their tree healthy once it's home. "These trees seem to last longer," Brian claims. The secret? "We just water it," he responds simply.
And the National Christmas Tree Association agrees, advising that submerging the cut end of a fresh tree in water (and only water) will help prevent needle loss, since more than half of the tree's weight is water. Other tips they provide include:
- Wait no longer than eight hours after cutting the end of a tree before placing it in a water-filled stand: after that amount of time, air gets into the plant tissues and less water is absorbed.
- Use the general rule of one quart of water per inch of stem diameter.
- Keep trees away from heat sources and lower the heat setting of the room: this will slow down the drying process and less water will be required to hydrate the tree.
- Turn off tree lights when you leave the house or go to bed, and if the tree becomes too dry, remove it from the house: although less than .0004 percent of real Christmas trees are set ablaze in house fires, better safe than sorry.
- Never burn any part of the tree in a fireplace: they burn hot and the inferno may be hard to control because of the sap content, causing creosote build-up and chimney fires.
Ready to pick out that Christmas tree? Dixiedale is just one of the many options for cutting a New Jersey-grown Christmas tree.
According to the 2012 US Census of Agriculture, there are 700 operations in the state that sell trees, ranking us sixth in the nation. So you are sure to find your family's holiday tree somewhere on the 4,611 acres of land dedicated to Christmas trees in New Jersey.
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IF YOU GO: (Do you have a favorite farm that is not on the list? Let us know!)
NJ Christmas Tree Farms
Dixiedale Farm
347 Hillside Ave. & River Road
Chatham
973-507-4344
Friday-Sunday 9am-3:30pm
Cut-your-own and pre-cut
Hidden Pond Christmas Tree Farm
4 West Field Rd.
Mendham
973-865-6362
Tuesday-Sunday 9am-5pm
Cut-your-own and pre-cut
Brookhollow Christmas Tree Farm
425 Powerville Road
Boonton Township
201-400-4505
Saturday-Sunday 9am-4pm
Cut-your-own
Rolling Green Farm LLC
61 Hacklebarney Road
Long Valley
908-879-7457
Saturday-Sunday 10am-5pm
Cut-your-own
Wyckoff's Christmas Tree Farm
249 County Route 519
Belvidere
908-475-4508
Open daily 9am-4:30pm
Cut-your-own and pre-cut