There are organic farms and farmer’s markets popping up all over the Tampa Bay area.  It is difficult to go even a week without noticing a listing in the local paper suggesting a trip to one of these alternative shopping extravaganzas.  I took the bait and chose a small organic farm in Tampa that allows visitors to stroll the grounds and enjoy live music, fresh food and other natural wares.  I was surprised to say the least.  I had envisioned myself skipping through bushels of fruits and veggies, tossing my bounty into a bag to enjoy when I got home.  What I found was tubs of veggies that looked as if they had been picked over incessantly and what was left were the runts, two steps from being tossed into the trash; or rather recycled for fertilizer.  I am chalking up my disappointment to the fact that I raced through the open gates close to an hour before the festivities were over.  Next time, I plan to get there when it opens and allowing myself a better chance at grabbing the fresh goodies.
 
Although I left empty handed, I did notice a little garden patch with rows of different species of lettuce, flanked by marigold flowers.  I hadn’t seen a marigold since I lived up north and they were planted in our yard.  The reds, oranges and yellows were so vibrant and reminded me that summer was just around the corner.  I found it odd that this particular species of marigold was farmed because to my knowledge only one or two species of this flower is edible—and that wasn’t one of them.  However, according to a few garden blogs, some gardeners believe that most marigolds are edible but some just don’t taste good.

 The flowers that I saw were marigolds that are native to Mexico and Central America which have been cultivated for ornamental and medicinal purposes.  According to marigoldlane.com these flowers will continually bloom if you trim the flowers before they seed and offer them a habitat with full sun.  The most interesting fact I found was that marigolds, like the ones I saw, are often planted by organic gardeners to keep a type of worm called nematodes away from their vegetables.  Because we were snooping around an organic farm and the marigolds were planted around the lettuce, I can only surmise that this was their form of a natural insecticide—brilliant!

There were also huge sunflowers planted by these rows of lettuce and marigolds, but this was not so surprising.  Sunflower seeds and oil have been used for snacks, healthy cooking, skin care and I am sure plenty of other things.  What I found to be pretty cool is that if you are walking down the chip aisle at your grocery store, you will see that sunflower oil is used by a lot of the companies that make our favorite snack foods.  I am partial to kettle chips, and a quick read-through of the ingredients tells me that I am actually snacking pretty healthy because sunflower oil is being used which is low on fat and can actually have benefits for my heart and body.

 Although I didn’t walk away with food for my belly, I did leave with a better idea of how an organic farm works and that flowers don’t just look pretty on your table—they are better left in the garden.

Karey Burek Photos Sunflower

Marigolds

Marigold flowers protect rows of lettuce.

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