Kellamäe farm welcomes visitors to its sunflower field

Visitors can enjoy and pick flowers from the sunflower field at Kellamäe farm in Kanepi municipality for about another week, ERR reported. While many farmers have complained about people taking photographs and picking flowers in their fields, Kellamäe farm has welcomed visitors.

The field was previously best known for its labyrinth, but it is now covered with sunflowers that people may freely pick and take home. About 20 percent of the field has already been harvested, while much of the display remains in bloom.

People have stopped to pick flowers on their way to work and home. Teachers from a nearby school and a kindergarten group out for a walk have also visited the field.

“We are a group that enjoys hiking. We really like walking and discovering different fields and plants,” said Elle, a teacher at Kanepi kindergarten. The group was collecting flowers to decorate the kindergarten foyer for an upcoming autumn exhibition.

The sunflowers grow on the nearly one-hectare field as an intercrop. The farm does not expect to harvest sunflower seeds because Estonia’s summers are not long or warm enough for them to ripen.

“When you sow a sunflower field, people can enjoy looking at the beautiful yellow field and take a little sunshine home with them,” said Kaido Kõiv, the young owner of Kellamäe farm. In a few weeks, the sunflowers will be crushed and incorporated into the soil as green manure.

Farm owner Jaak Kõiv advised visitors to choose flowers that are not too large, as the smaller blooms look better. He recommended cutting the ends of the stems, placing the flowers in warm water and then moving them to a vase. The stem ends can be trimmed again every two or three days.

“I have had the flowers at home for two weeks already, and they look as if they were freshly picked,” Kõiv said.