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See Sunflowers Blooming Now in the Hudson Valley

by Izdihar Dabashi
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Hand-painted “here comes the sun” signs dot the entrance of an extra-inviting field on Sleight-Plass Road near La Grange. 2022 marks the fifth year Hudson Valley Cold Pressed Oils is welcoming a field of blooming sunflowers. It’s among just a handful of local sunflower fields visitors can frolic to this time of year.

The farm, previously known as Plass Farm, dates back to the early 1900s, when it was widely known as the first electric egg farm in New York. With Central Hudson’s help, the farm became equipped with a hot water heater, washing machine, and incubators for hatchlings in 1939. Original buildings that housed the chickens and eggs remain standing. Previous owner Bill Plass recently retired from driving the tractor — as he neared age 96. 

Hudson Valley sunflowers. Photo by Robert Rodriguez Jr.

Over a decade ago, the farm was sold to the Allison and Jeff Haight family and remains as the only farm left on the Sleight-Plass Road. A new development has taken over the land previously marked as Sleight Farm. The Haights, both Culinary Institute of America graduates, enthusiastically describe the farm’s turn toward sunflowers to me in terms of mission.

Jeff Haight estimates the field holds about 500,000 sunflowers this year. The flowers are grown without pesticides, encouraging a happy buzz of some of the most social bees you’ll ever meet. Up to three different kinds of bees can be spotted on an inviting sunflower. I would’ve invited them over for tea and cookies if I could. 

Domestication of the wild sunflower, native primarily to North and South America, is credited to Native American tribes. Some archeologists believe sunflowers may have been domesticated before corn — which means sunflowers may have been around as crops as early as 3000 B.C., according to the National Sunflower Association.

Native Americans put the sunflower to a variety of uses, many of which are still prized today. Sunflower seeds may be eaten as a snack, ground into a gluten-free flour or used to extract a double-smoke oil that is often compared to olive oil.

Other uses for sunflowers include natural pigment and tea from the petals, herbal medicine for ailments like snake bites from the crushed leaves and building-material supplement from the dried stalk.  

Today the blooms are valued for aspects of their sustainability as well. Sunflowers are drought-resistant, meaning they also require little water and do not need rich soil. Sunflower fields can also provide habitat, with their heavy canopy and large leaves giving cover to animals like wild turkeys and deer. Due to the plant’s deep roots and necessary crop rotations, sunflowers also have the ability to absorb radioactive material. With that I decide they’re both pretty and fierce, like a heroine straight from a movie screen.    

If I still haven’t sold you to the beauty of sunflowers yet, perhaps revealing that sunflower seeds are arranged in a Fibonacci sequence will do it. A Fibonacci sequence explains that each number sequence is the sum of the previous two numbers. Check out this video for a deeper dive into the mathematical connection.

The Mind-Blowing Mathematics of Sunflowers. Via YouTube

If you’re more of a psychology person, you’ll be pleased that sunflowers follow a circadian rhythm similar to our internal clockwork. These wondrous blooms follow the sun in accordance with growth hormones, allowing greater biomass and faster growth rates. Once the sunflowers reach maturity, they fixate on a single position towards the east.

These charismatic flowers may serve as an artist’s muse, a farmer’s greatest joy, a mathematician’s pet party fact and of course, your favorite new photo backdrop. Check out the Hudson Valley Cold Pressed Oils field or fellow sunflower fields at the Scenic Hudson-conserved Jones Farm in Cornwall or Kelder’s Farm (by appointment) near Kerhonkson.

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Hudson Valley Viewfinder is a collaborative, community digital magazine sharing what inspires us about the beautiful Hudson Valley. We publish original stories and multimedia content about all things sustainable in the region along the Hudson River — including agriculture, science, wildlife, outdoor recreation, green transportation, environmental justice, and more.

Our mission is to immerse you in the storied history, fresh happenings, and coming solutions for making the Hudson Valley greener and more livable long-term.

Viewfinder is published by Scenic Hudson, the celebrated nonprofit credited with launching the modern grassroots environmental movement in 1963. With over 25,000 passionate supporters, Scenic Hudson’s mission is to sustain and enhance the Hudson Valley’s inspirational beauty and health for generations to come. Viewfinder supports that mission, because the better people understand what makes this place special, the more they will invest in protecting it. 

Keep up with the latest stories by subscribing to Scenic Hudson’s monthly digital newsletter, and connect with us on social via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Threads.

Our mission is to immerse you in the storied history, fresh happenings, and coming solutions for making the Hudson Valley greener and more livable long-term.

Viewfinder is published by Scenic Hudson, the celebrated nonprofit credited with launching the modern grassroots environmental movement in 1963. With over 25,000 passionate supporters, Scenic Hudson’s mission is to sustain and enhance the Hudson Valley’s inspirational beauty and health for generations to come. Viewfinder supports that mission, because the better people understand what makes this place special, the more they will invest in protecting it. 

Keep up with the latest stories by subscribing to Scenic Hudson’s monthly digital newsletter, and connect with us on social via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Threads.

Lynn Freehill-Maye
Managing Editor
editorial@scenichudson.org 

Riley Johndonnell
Director Creative Strategies & Communications
rjohndonnell@scenichudson.org

Lynn Freehill-Maye
Managing Editor
editorial@scenichudson.org 

Riley Johndonnell
Director Creative Strategies & Communications
rjohndonnell@scenichudson.org

We’re always looking for ideas around our main topic areas of Climate Solutions, Land + Air + Water, Plants + Animals, History + Culture, Outdoors, and Community.
  • Journalists and writers who have deep familiarity with New York and the Hudson Valley, we’d love to have you contribute! Please do introduce yourself by email, sharing writing samples and any relevant pitches you may have.
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We’re always looking for ideas around our main topic areas of Climate Solutions, Land + Air + Water, Plants + Animals, History + Culture, Outdoors, and Community.
  • Journalists and writers who have deep familiarity with New York and the Hudson Valley, we’d love to have you contribute! Please do introduce yourself by email, sharing writing samples and any relevant pitches you may have.
  • Photographers and videographers, we’d love to hear from you and see what you do. Please send along a portfolio with images or footage that showcases your best and/or most relevant work, with an emphasis on anything captured outdoors. 
  • Illustrators, we commission artwork on the regular. Drop us a note with some of the beauty you’ve created.
  • Media Partners & Social Media Influencers, we welcome opportunities to team up on series and campaigns. Reach out with any background about yourselves and your ideas.
  • We love to collaborate with media outlets, especially on episodic series (like these) of interest to our shared audiences. Past collaborations have included radio interviews, panel discussions and other events, original artwork, and e-blasts, all furthering the campaign’s excitement and reach. 
  • We also love to partner with other organizations whose missions align with Scenic Hudson’s. Feel free to reach out with some background on your group and its work.
  • Writers, photographers, and creatives, if you have an idea for a series or content campaign that might be a good fit, drop us a line!

Businesses, please note that as a nonprofit, Scenic Hudson is restricted from advertising or promoting for-profit companies, through Viewfinder or other outlets. While we understand content managers may wish to alert us to your company’s role in a relevant topic, we are unable to add links to businesses to our stories.

  • We love to collaborate with media outlets, especially on episodic series (like these) of interest to our shared audiences. Past collaborations have included radio interviews, panel discussions and other events, original artwork, and e-blasts, all furthering the campaign’s excitement and reach. 
  • We also love to partner with other organizations whose missions align with Scenic Hudson’s. Feel free to reach out with some background on your group and its work.
  • Writers, photographers, and creatives, if you have an idea for a series or content campaign that might be a good fit, drop us a line!

Businesses, please note that as a nonprofit, Scenic Hudson is restricted from advertising or promoting for-profit companies, through Viewfinder or other outlets. While we understand content managers may wish to alert us to your company’s role in a relevant topic, we are unable to add links to businesses to our stories.

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