Is there such a thing as a certified organic Christmas tree? If so, where might I find one?
The Washington Department of Agriculture has a list of certified organic producers (current as of 3/7/2019) and on this list I found farms which have carried organic Christmas trees in the past if not currently:
Lazy J Tree Farm in Port Angeles, WA
Buttonwood Farms in Redmond, WA
Fall City Farms states on their website that, while not certified, they grow their trees using organic practices.
Washington State University’s Farm Finder
describes Fall City Farms as follows:
“They practice ecologically-sound farming and sustainable agriculture and serve as an agricultural education and culinary resource.”
The Farm Finder lists a number of other farms which carry “claimed ecologically sound” Christmas trees. The only other farm in King County is Carpinito Brothers in Kent. (There are other farms in other counties.)
In Oregon, there are two types of organic certification, described in this Oregon Public Broadcasting feature:
SERF (Socially and Environmentally Responsible Farm)
and Coalition of Environmentally Conscious Growers certification.
This New York Times article, “How Green Can a Christmas Tree Be,” by Annie Raver (12/3/2008) mentions there is a certification called “Certified Naturally Grown” for Christmas trees in 47 states.
Another option, if you have the space in your garden, is to buy a living tree from an organic nursery and then plant it.