Sunflower maze stuns in Mims
Get lost.
That’s what the Sledd family in Mims hopes visitors will do next time they visit their farm.
The owners of Sledd’s U-Pick Strawberry farm have crafted a massive sunflower maze over four acres that is in full bloom and ready for visitors. The field of sunflowers lights up the farm and takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour to complete, said Stacey Sledd DeMoss, who runs the farm with her mother, Pat Sledd. Sledd’s is located at the end of Burkholm Road in Mims, just off U.S. 1.
DeMoss said they started with a sunflower maze in the fall, under the recommendation of her father, farm owner C.H. Sledd, who died in December of lung cancer. With him in mind, they decided to bring back the maze for spring and continue the tradition. The family began planting the seeds for the maze in March and, "prayed for rain," said DeMoss.
The sunflower maze is made up of sunflowers and sun hemp, both of which can grow quite high. Some flowers are blooming well above 6 feet.
“This spring, we had two bags of the sun hemp left, 100 pounds, and I got 400 pounds of sunflowers, which was overboard, but it’s pretty,” said DeMoss, who said it took about five hours to mow the maze.
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DeMoss said the maze should be open for about a month, as sunflowers, of course, don’t live forever. The farm is open most weekends, she said, but after church on Sundays. During the week, the farm will open sporadically, so the best way to keep up is to follow the Sledd’s U-Pick Strawberries Facebook page, which DeMoss updates regularly. The cost to tour the maze is $5, children under 3 years old are free. Cash and checks are accepted.
Although the farm is known for it’s U-pick strawberries and vegetables, DeMoss said the sunflower maze is certainly turning heads. She’s had well over 100 visitors since it opened last weekend and was announced on Facebook.
But visitors can also pick their own veggies after they tour the maze. Strawberry season is over, but the farm has blackberries, eggplant, peppers, green tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, kale, okra, squash, black-eyed peas and zucchini ready for picking. Visitors pay by the pound.
DeMoss said the farm is the only year-round U-Pick farm in the area, and has grown in popularity as more people enjoy picking their own fruits and vegetables.
“They want to know where it comes from,” she said.
And schools have jumped on the bandwagon as well, she said. The farm hosted 50 fieldtrips last year alone, which included more than 1,500 children. Schools have come from as far as Indialantic, she said.
All the visitors are a far cry from the farm’s humble beginnings, said DeMoss. It started as a citrus grove in the early 80s. Eventually the family started growing peas and okra, and in 2010 they began the U-Pick strawberry portion of the farm. The citrus trees were dying off, she said, and the family had to look to other options for the finicky Florida soil. Adding the pick-your-own option boosted interest in the farm.
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“It’s worked out good. When I order the plants, I don’t know how much to order, it’s hard to judge because we’re growing,” said DeMoss. “But it works out. People are happy campers. They love going back to the old style of pick your own stuff.”
DeMoss said the family plans to host another sunflower maze in the fall along with a pumpkin patch. Strawberry season usually begins in January.
Contact Saggio at 321-242-3664, JSaggio@FloridaToday.com or follow @JessicaJSaggio on Twitter. Instagram: JessicaJSaggio Snapchat: JuhJuhJuh