Castle Hayne, N.C. (WECT) – Trask Family Farms houses over half a million sunflowers, making them North Carolina’s largest sunflower field and maze.
Sunflowers are great for mazes and photos, but they also offer some deeper benefits.
“Sunflowers have a unique ability to draw heavy metals out of the soil,” said Head Farmer Graham Trask.
Trask explains that the sunflowers remove the toxic metals from the dirt, making it safe for other plants to grow.
Environmentally, sunflowers are a natural source for pollinators such as bees.
“I mean bees love them, and they do pull nectar from them, despite the rumors that they don’t, they actually do,” said Trask.
The parts of the flower, like seeds or produced oils, can also provide health benefits to those who use or eat them.
“They’re very nutritious, it’s a stable food source, you can always replant more sunflowers with the seeds they grow, or you could eat them.”
The plants are also known to boost happy emotions.
“Summertime means sunflowers, people love them, they’re super pretty, when you look at a sunflower, it’s hard to be in a bad mood,” said Trask.
Trask said that the fields at the Trask family farm can make you happy, even when you go home, due to their ‘You pick’ flowers.
“When you’re walking through our fields of flowers here, you can’t help but get a sense of satisfaction and cheer, and then you get to take that home with you as well,” said Trask.
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