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In rural Arroyo Grande, a mulit-generational family-owned farm specializes in selling native Central Coast trees for Christmas at a reduced price to help SLO County families have a budget-friendly holiday season.
Mesa Pines is run by Erin Riffle and his family who only plant and sell Monterey Pines to support California's native plant life—and because the trees tend to be more environmentally friendly than other species, he said.
"Monterey pines are native to the areas from San Luis Obispo County all the way up to Monterey and are drought tolerant," Riffle said. "They grow fast versus other trees people tend to get from colder areas like Oregon. They also do better because they're in their native habitat, unlike trees that like it a bit colder."
Although Monterey pines are native to California, Riffle said the family has to import the seeds from out of the country.
"It's about a four-year process: First, I import the seeds from New Zealand because that's the only place I was able to find them, and then we take them to a nursery and germinate them for about six months," he said.
The turnaround time of a fully grown Monterey pine is only four years compared to other Christmas trees, which take between seven and eight years. This makes Monterey pines perfect to plant and maintain while allowing his family to keep prices low for those interested in purchasing one as a Christmas tree, Riffle said.
"This year we did a double plant, so we'll have about 700 to 800 trees [to sell]," he said. "We're open Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and we sell our trees for $50."
Riffle, who is also a firefighter, said they're able to keep the price low because the family has other sources of income.
"We feel like $50 is a fair and reasonable price so that way people don't have to go to a place to get a tree for like $300," he said. "We don't have overheads; we're doing the work ourselves, and we just have our nieces and nephews come over and we make them help us."
Riffle said pricing their trees reasonably and keeping the tradition of only planting Monterey pines come from his grandfather, who immigrated to the United States from Denmark.
"My grandpa did this for 40 years or so, and after he immigrated, he had a dairy farm in Guadalupe, sold the dairy farm and then bought this property we're on right now," he said. "To honor his retirement, he said he was going to plant Christmas trees, and we did that for 40 years. He passed this March. So me and my in-laws have moved back to the family property four years ago, and we decided to keep it going."
While the farm is only open four days a week, Riffle said those interested in purchasing a tree might have a different experience if they come on a Thursday or Friday versus on Saturday and Sunday.
"[On Saturday and Sunday] my wife and mother in-law [sit out front] and put out candy, and we make popcorn for people and their kids," he said. "We also have a local lady who made some hand-painted ornaments, so we put her stuff out front, and we sell them for $6. I'll always support other small and local businesses."
On Thursdays and Fridays, Riffle said he's usually busy tending to the trees so he puts his cellphone number on the booth in front of the farm, and interested buyers can give him a call to let him know they're there. Riffle will then meet them at the front of Mesa Pine Way in Arroyo Grande and help guide them to which tree would be best for them.
Riffle said Mesa Pines accepts Venmo, cash, and checks for payment, but they can't accept credit or debit cards.
"We're just a small family business that's trying to carry on my grandpa's 40-year-old tradition," he said.
Fast fact
• The San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden will end its Nature Nights on Dec. 31. This event, which offers a variety of local culinary treats, regional wine, and beer, allows community members to experience art and light installations outdoors. The event runs from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings; learn more by visiting slobg.org/nature-nights. Δ
Reach Staff Writer Samantha Herrera at [email protected].
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