How We Started Sunflower Farm Visits – The Story of Join With Me 🌻

How did Join With Me’s sunflower farm visits begin?

It began with weekend vegetable farm visits at a partner farmer’s farm in Palghar. When the farmer wanted to grow flowers for visitors, our founder Raj suggested sunflowers — and once the fields bloomed, families loved them. Today the visits have grown into a network of over 10 partner farmers.

It all began with something simple, our vegetable farm visits. At Join With Me, we were organising weekend experiences where families could enjoy farm life, pluck vegetables, and spend time in nature. Every weekend, parents and kids used to visit our partner farmer’s beautiful green farm in Palghar.

There were chilli plants, tomatoes, bell peppers, and even bottle gourds hanging from wooden structures. Kids were running around with baskets, laughing while collecting vegetables. Parents joined in too, picking fresh veggies and buying them directly from the farmer. There were banana, papaya, and lemon trees around the farm, and even the pets of our participants used to enjoy sitting on the wet soil while their families explored the fields.

Everyone used to eat ripe fruits right from the tree, the plucking and eating experience was something truly special. The farmer was always happy to see new faces and smiling families visiting his farm every weekend. He often said how much joy it gave him to see people valuing his work and buying his produce directly.

The Idea of Sunflower Farm 🌻 Visit

One day, the farmer came to our founder, Raj, and shared that he wanted to grow something new — maybe flowers like marigolds — so visitors could enjoy them too. He said, “Everyone loves flowers; they bring happiness.” Raj thought about it and suggested trying sunflower farming instead. Raj told him that sunflowers not only look beautiful but also produce high-quality oil, and the soil and weather in Palghar were perfect for it. Raj shared the idea casually and forgot about it, but the farmer took it seriously. He started his own small experiment and sowed sunflower seeds in one part of the farm.

The First Bloom 🌻

A few months later, something magical happened. The field turned yellow with blooming sunflowers. Our participants, who came for the regular vegetable plucking sessions, started noticing the flowers. They took photos, tagged JoinWithMe on Instagram, and shared their Sunflower Farm 🌻 visit moments online. At that time, Raj was busy managing the vegetable farm visits and didn’t pay much attention. But soon, he started receiving messages and Instagram mentions from people asking, “Where is this sunflower field? When can we come?”

Our Third year 2025 🌻

Now, in 2025, Join With Me is entering its third year of organising Sunflower Farm 🌻 visits. What started with one farmer has now grown into a network of over 10 partner farmers who grow sunflowers specially for our experiences. Each of these farms is unique, but all of them offer that same golden happiness, a field full of sunflowers where families, kids, and even pets can enjoy being close to nature.

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About the author

Raj Chheda

Nature walk hosts, naturalists & storytellers

We are the people behind JoinWithMe — hosts and naturalists who design beginner-friendly nature experiences around Mumbai, and write about them so more families step outside, explore and reconnect with nature.