Sunflowers
Skyfarmer Patrick Grady on why sunflowers are more than a symbol of joy: they scavenge nutrients for the fall crops that follow and pull heavy metals out of the soil.
By Patrick Grady, Skyfarmer
Symbols: Rainbows, smiley faces, butterflies, sunshine, trees, ladybugs, and sunflowers.
Feelings: Joy, peace, creativity, tranquility, unity, communion, love, and happiness.
My friends and I share these symbols and feelings with each other and the world to perpetuate the abundance of peace and love that exists in us and in our communities. It's beautiful that so many can witness, receive, and reciprocate these feelings. It's also beautiful that these feelings and symbols exist in the spaces that we get to tend to at Blackwood.
I'm new to the Blackwood team, and I'm grateful that my beginning days on the farm have been spent sowing sunflower seeds — a plant that may seem to be something simply used to beautify the farm or attract butterflies and bees. While that's very true, another reality is that sunflowers have incredible benefits for the soil. Sunflowers are nutrient scavengers and phytoremediators.
Nutrient Scavenging — Sunflowers work as an excellent cover crop during the summer months. Their long roots attract mycorrhizal fungi that scavenge, or mine, for nutrients that might not be available to vegetables with shorter root systems. The nutrients are then brought to the upper levels of the soil, which makes them readily available for fall crops such as brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale, collard greens, mustard greens), carrots, beets, and more.
Phytoremediation — The process of using plants to remove heavy metals or other toxins from an environment. In the case of sunflowers, they are able to pull zinc and lead out of the soil and into their stems and leaves. This makes sunflowers an excellent plant to grow to prepare a site for food production, as you don't want your food contaminated with heavy metals. Just make sure to carefully and responsibly remove the sunflowers from the site you plan to cultivate.
Sunflowers were used by community gardeners in Houston's Fifth Ward as a way to phytoremediate the soil in an attempt to lower the risk of cancer in their neighborhood. You can read more about this in the Houston Landing article below.
So not only are sunflowers signs of joy and happiness that you can share, they're also a sign of collaboration and strength!
Resources:
Houston Landing Article
Phytoremediation Potentials of Sunflowers (Tithonia diversifolia and Helianthus annuus) for Metals in Soils Contaminated with Zinc and Lead Nitrates:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11270-009-0128-3
Green Cover Seeds - Summer Cover Crop Article:
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