TWIN FALLS — The power of sunflowers is amazing. The blooms growing at a busy Twin Falls intersection have done something a field of alfalfa certainly couldn't do. They have prompted smiles, appreciation and photo opportunities.
One motorist said the field of bright yellow sunflowers at Washington Street North and Cheney Drive in Twin Falls provided a stop and smell the flowers moment. "It's beautiful; it's random," said Meredith Haney, who said it was "wonderful" to be stopped at a traffic light next to the field. "It surprises you and it's large enough to make you stare in awe.
" Social media spread the word about the two-acre field. Megan Lammers strolled through the bright-yellow blooms Thursday morning with her 2-year-old daughter, the child dressed up in bib overalls adorned with a sunflower design. The sunflower field is perfect place to take photos, said photographer Amra Mujic.
When a client reached out to her and said she wanted some pictures in the field, "I was in complete awe," Mujic wrote to the TimesNews. "The sunflower field at CSI is so beautiful, and the atmosphere is so amazing. The sun shining, smiles all around, and you can see the happiness radiating from others.
" Other people just wondered where the big, beautiful sunflowers came from. The flowers are the result of a handful of College of Southern Idaho agriculture students, known as the CSI Farm Team, led by instructor Brian Simper. The students, needing to plant and care for a crop there, chose sunflowers.
"We want students to learn about sunflower cultivation through a hands-on project," Simper said. Simplot Grower Solutions donated the seed, and the field was planted May 28. Due to construction of the city's fire station on Cheney Drive, the field had sat fallow the last few years, and Simper believes the field was planted in alfalfa before that.
The field started blooming on Aug. 5, Simper said, showing its eye-catching beauty. Blooms won't last forever, he said.
Cultivated sunflowers only bloom for two to three weeks whereas wild sunflowers bloom for months. In addition, a crack in an irrigation line has prevented recent irrigation of the field, so blooms might dry out faster if the plant is stressed from lack of water. However, there is a chance that the college's sprinkler irrigation might have caused the sunflower heads to retain too much moisture and ruin the seeds.
"I'm not an expert in sunflowers," Simper said. Besides the aesthetics that few other crops offer, sunflowers can provide a profit for growers who have a contract, either for selling a variety for the sunflower seeds packaged and a favorite snack, or for the seeds to be processed into oil. The type of sunflowers planted at the field are meant for oil production, Simper said, but they won't be turned into an oil.
There isn't a contract for the field, and the seeds will likely be sold at a nominal price as chicken feed. Many social media users sent out a big shout out to CSI. "I'm so proud to live in a place where the college gives back to the community," Kellie K.
Morris-Burik said. Simper encourages people to show respect toward the field, and are allowed to cut six blooms apiece on its northern end. Signs on the property include a QR code where people can donate toward the CSI Ag Fund to help ensure future sunflower fields can be planted in upcoming years.
He said he wasn't expecting the attention the field has received. See the blooms The CSI Farm team welcomes anyone who would like to take pictures in the sunflower field on the corner of Washington Street North and Cheney drive. the team offers these tips for those visiting the field: 1.
Please do not park at the fire department on Cheney drive. Parking in other business parking lots and using sidewalks/ crosswalks to navigate to the field is recommended. 2.
While CSI's beehives have been removed from the field, there are still other bees foraging in the field. If you are allergic to bees or flowers, please do not visit the field. 3.
CSI students have worked hard to raise this crop and they hope you enjoy it. Please be respectful to their hard work, the property, and irrigation system in the field. 4.
you are welcome to take six sunflowers from the first five rows at the north end of the field (next to Cheney drive). 5. Parking at the CSI field east of the sunflowers is recommended only for vehicles that have higher clearance.
that part of the field is rocky and low clearance vehicles may become stuck or damaged. 6. Please see the posters with a Qr code to make a donation to the CSI ag Fund so we can continue to offer sunflower fields in the future.
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