Posted on 09/11/2020 8:55:13 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
A Wisconsin farmers know people need a reason to smile this year and he hopes 2 million sunflowers will do it.
Scott Thompson, a fourth generation berry farmer, said it was his wife's idea to bring blossoms of sunshine into the mix this year.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, they knew they wanted to help people, especially those in nearby urban areas, with an escape "to get away from their reality for a little bit," Thompson told USA Today.
So, over five weeks, Thompson progressively planted sunflower seeds across 22 acres. The grand number of 2 million was not in his head, but the result allowed visitors to experience a 6-8 week bloom instead of a typical 10 to 14 day stint.
"It just keeps going and going, and I think that's really captured the hearts of people," Thompson said. "Every single day has just become busier and busier."
Thompson Strawberry Farm is about an hour from Chicago and a 35 minute drive to downtown Milwaukee. The establishment offers "Pick-Your-Own" strawberries, raspberries, pumpkins, and now sunflowers.
The final and biggest field of sunflowers has yet to bloom. According to Thompson, 750 thousand blossoms are 7 to 10 days away. Depending on weather, he thinks this year's sunflowers will last until the end of September, or another three weeks.
"It's just a naturally, socially-distant activity," he said. "[People want] an hour... to be outside, and just kind of feel a little sense of normalcy in our lives; so, it's had a lot of positive impact."
"And whether we made a dime or not, we've sure had a lot of fun doing it."
(Excerpt) Read more at rfdtv.com ...
Reshape to an image of Trump.
Matches his hair and skin color : )
Unless they are being grown on purpose, they are indeed considered a noxious weed and can be very invasive under certain conditions. But they are native prairie plants where some wild is desired.
Wow, that is really cool!
My sunflower patch was a miserable failure this year.
Got a nice rain right after planting, but only had 10% germination, if that, and the ones that did come up didn’t grow for squat.
The dang things will grow in a crack in the sidewalk. Never seen anything like it.
Whitmer in Michigan could learn from Wisconsin.
Sunflowers are truly an American original. A sunflower head can contain up to 2000 seeds.
Flags up, Old Glory for the win!
DAVID Seeds: "An American Original"
The perennial sunflower Jerusalem artichoke we are told has nothing to do with Jerusalem (unless the Pilgrims were making a wordplay on girosol), but the Italian name (girosol) means a turning toward the sun, because that's what sunflowers do - follow the light. Nothing to do with Jerusalem? Facing east, toward Zion, 2000 years..
>>>Bates originally wrote the words as a poem, "Pikes Peak", first published in the Fourth of July edition of the church periodical The Congregationalist in 1895. At that time, the poem was titled "America" for publication. Ward had originally written the music, "Materna", for the hymn "O Mother dear, Jerusalem" in 1882, though it was not first published until 1892.<<<
A Wisconsin farmer planted 2 million sunflowers to cheer us up
The author missed a great opportunity for a pun. Should have written:
"A Wisconsin farmer planted 2 million sunflowers to girasol up."
;)
Be of good cheer. It's the teaching of peace if we just follow the light.
(Nothing to do with Jerusalem. /s)
I think I've killed more plants than Georgia Pacific.
Wild sunflowers are a weed. In my farming days, high school and college employment, I plowed under literally millions of them. They blanket the wheat growing area of the high plains.
They have a nice website, great pictures.
ICWYDT
Proud walking jingle in the midnight sun.
ICWUDT
Whatever... :-)
:)
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