JAUNTS : ‘Choose-and-Cut’ Trees : Picking a pine from urban Southern California forests gains favor among families--and provides that fresh-cut smell

Traipsing off to the forest to cut a Christmas tree is the stuff of fairy tales these days, at least in Southern California.

So what do you do if the thought of buying a cut tree at a vacant lot has all the appeal of warm eggnog?

You go to one of Ventura County’s “choose-and-cut” Christmas tree farms. It isn’t quite the serene forest experience, but the tree will have that fresh-cut smell and the kids can still yell “ timber! “ when it falls.

Most of these urban forests open this weekend. When you go, expect company. Cutting down your own Christmas tree is gaining favor among American families, according to the Merced-based California Christmas Tree Growers. They cite a 1990 Gallup poll showing that 27% of the trees gracing living rooms across the country are from these farms, up from 5% in 1960.

Don’t expect to find the popular Scotch pine, Douglas fir or white fir growing on these tree farms. They can’t survive the warm Southern California climate. What thrives best in the county is the Monterey pine, so that’s almost exclusively what you’ll be buying.

The farms supply the saw and you do the cutting. Most have carts or rides of some kind to help you haul out the tree. Netting and twine is usually available to make the job of wrestling the tree to the top of the car easier.

In Ventura County, some farms charge a flat rate for their choose-and-cut trees--about $25 to $28 for trees that range up to 12 feet. Others charge by the foot, $3 to $3.50. And a few farms also sell cut trees brought in from colder climates.

Once you get the tree home, the Merced organization recommends making another cut off the bottom before putting it in a water stand. If you don’t, the sap will seal the base and the tree won’t absorb water.

Put the tree in a stand that will hold at least one gallon of water. Then water it daily because the average tree will drink a quart to a gallon a day. That will keep the needles from drying out and causing a fire hazard.

If a Christmas tree outing makes you think that the tree farmer’s life is easy, Thursel Roatcap will set you straight. She and her husband, Ralph, have owned the Santa Paula Christmas Tree Farm for 25 years.

“People probably don’t think the (trees) are work,” she said. But from the time they are planted, the trees are pruned, fertilized, protected from pests and disease, then finally hand-finished--groomed with a special knife to make them look attractive and natural.

This year, the trees look good, farmers around the county report. For the holiday season, some farms keep their sales simple, offering just the trees. Others are more festive, providing weekend Santas and candy canes for the kids.

Faulkner Farm Christmas Forest in Santa Paula probably offers the most festive extravaganza. There, people can pay $1 and ride an authentic narrow-gauge train through the stands of trees, or hop on a hay truck or a Model T truck. Carolers and choirs entertain on weekends beginning in December. For those with some decorating flair, a tree-trimming contest will be held there Dec. 3.

Details

Here are area choose-and-cut Christmas tree farms:

* Faulkner Farm Christmas Forest, Telegraph and Briggs roads, Santa Paula. Open daily, from 10 a.m. to dark, beginning Friday. Information: 525-9293.

* Santa Paula Christmas Tree Farm, 18540 E. Telegraph Road, Santa Paula. Open daily, 9 a.m. to dark, beginning Friday. Information: 525-8268.

* Christmas Ranch Tree Farms, 1586 Pederson Road, Thousand Oaks. Beginning Dec. 1, open daily, 2 to 7 p.m. weekdays, and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends. Information: 527-6412. Second location, 3800 Cochran St., Simi Valley. Opens Saturday, weekends only, 9 a.m. to dark.

* Tierra Rejada Ranch, 15191 Read Road, Moorpark. Open daily, 9 a.m. to dark, beginning Friday. Information: 529-1766.

* Boccali Ranch, midway between Ojai and Santa Paula on California 150. Opens Saturday, daily, 10 a.m. to dark. Information: 647-3300.

* Holiday Pines, 10400 Santa Rosa Road, Camarillo. Opens Friday, daily, 9 a.m. to dark.