Marigolds fill the New Brunswick Community Farmers Market hoop house for El Dia de los Muertos.
The Marigold Project is a partnership between the New Brunswick Community Farmers Market—which is a project of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Johnson & Johnson, and the City of New Brunswick—and New Brunswick community residents. The goal is to offer local and affordable marigold flowers for El Dia de los Muertos.
El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and throughout the world on November 1st. It’s a celebration of life that honors friends and family who have died. Colorful altars are erected in homes and public spaces featuring favorite foods, drinks and personal mementos of the deceased. Altar decorations include hand-cut paper and marigolds. Why marigolds? It is believed that the spirits of the dead visit the living during the celebration and marigolds guide the spirits to their altars using their vibrant colors and scent. Marigolds also represent the fragility of life.
Honeybee feeding on a Farmers Market marigold. Photo: Lauren Errickson.
The majority of the flowers are grown at the Farmers Market flagship market site at 178 Jones Avenue in two hoop houses (unheated greenhouses), which allows them to extend the growing season just long enough for the flowers to avoid frost damage. An added bonus of providing marigolds for the human community is that pollinators (honeybees, bumble bees, and other native insects) LOVE these flowers. The hoop houses are literally a-buzz with pollinator species, which helps provide them additional food and energy in preparation for some of them to hibernate or for putting energy into future generations.
The flowers will be sold to the public at Saturday’s Farmers Market on October 29 from 10am to 3pm for $10.00 per large bundle.
The remaining schedule of regular market days for the season including: Thursdays on Cook Campus, Nichol Avenue (next to the Post Office), 11am to 3pm, through November 17th and Saturdays at the Market Pavilion, 178 Jones Avenue, 10am to 3pm, through November 19th. All markets feature Jersey Fresh produce at great prices!
Visit the New Brunswick Community Farmer’s Market website for more information on their programs.