Marigolds for Dia de los Muertos in full bloom.
Hispanic Heritage Month 2020 (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15), recognizes the histories, cultures and contributions of communities that share a common language, originating from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. The New Brunswick Community Farmers’ Market (NBCFM), administered through Rutgers Cooperative Extension, has worked with the Mexican community in New Brunswick to grow the iconic flower for one of their treasured celebrations.
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican holiday celebrated on November 1 and 2, that honors friends and family who have passed away. To welcome spirits back to visit the living, it is viewed as a day of celebration rather than one of sadness, with colorful altars erected in homes, cemeteries and public spaces with favorite foods and drinks and personal mementos of the deceased. The altar decorations usually include hand-cut paper marigolds or fresh marigolds—cempasuchitl.
The NBCFM “home base” at 178 Jones Avenue, New Brunswick is the site of a farmers market pavilion, children’s garden and community garden— Jardin de Esperanza, where vegetables, fruits, and flowers, including the marigolds, are grown. Here is a peak at the growing process, from start to finish.
Thriving young marigold plants take well to drip irrigation, which delivers much-needed water to the plant roots in a way that conserves this precious resource.
Each summer, around July 4th, gardeners at the New Brunswick Community Farmers Market garden site plant tiny marigold seeds into small trays indoors on greenhouse benches. In early August, the emergent seedlings are transplanted into newly prepared ground, when many hands make light work! A dedicated team from South, Central, and North America work together to plant the flowers.
New Brunswick Community Farmers Market garden coordinator Mark Oshinskie keeps a watchful eye on the growing marigold plants through the fall. A great late-season crop in New Jersey, marigolds add a burst of fall color to the garden and have cultural significance for many residents.
Community gardeners in New Brunswick utilize their rented plots to maximize flower production for themselves and their families. Plastic mini-hoops give gardeners the chance to provide last-minute protection for their flowers with plastic or fabric covers if frost is in the forecast.
Beneficial pollinating insects also appreciate the giant orange blossoms before the harvest.
Full bloom! By late October, vibrant marigold flowers emerge. Here, they are safely protected from late-autumn frosts, which could damage the flowers, by the plastic hoop house covering.
For sale! Marigold flowers are ready to harvest for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations.
