How to Grow Your Own Sunflowers (and Harvest Their Seeds)
Sunflowers are not only wonderful summer plants, but also hardy ones that love direct sun and hot days . Plus, their large heads of cabbage produce seeds that are healthy and easy to snack on, making them an ornamental and edible plant for your seasonal garden. Here’s how to grow happy and healthy sunflowers and how to harvest these seeds.
How to plant sunflowers
Sunflowers are obviously sun-loving plants, and they do not tolerate cold, so it is better to start preparing the soil for planting after the day and night the temperature rises above 50 degrees. (Planting in late May and early June is best for street flowers.)
Sunflower roots need a lot of room to grow large and tall, so plant your seeds right outside rather than replanting them from a pot. Because they grow very quickly, starting to grow in a pot can slow down the flower’s growth before it reaches the garden.
You will also want to treat the soil for optimal germination before planting your seeds. SFGate Home Guides recommends tilling the soil about 12 inches deep and mixing compost or “well-rotted manure” in the top four inches to create a fertile growing environment.
Once the soil is ready for the seeds, plant them at least six inches apart and checkerboard. Place five to six seeds in a one-inch deep hole and cover them with soil. Keep the soil moist for faster germination. Renee’s Garden suggests putting some kind of barrier around the seedlings to prevent slugs and insects from eating new growth. You can use vinegar , coffee, and crushed eggshells to repel insects as your flowers grow.
Cut through sunflowers for optimal growth
The plant thinning process involves collecting seedlings that are close together to give more space for a single shoot to grow. You plant a few seeds to ensure the sunflower seed germinates, but once the seeds are up to three inches long, trim off the excess so that the strongest survive. Renee’s Garden suggests pruning up to two plants when they are a foot, then pick the healthiest one when they are two feet and remove the other:
The idea behind this gradual thinning method is to ensure that you have at least one good seedling left in case the predators damage any of the others. Remember, if you are going to grow giant sunflowers, it is very important to thin out to the best single seedlings. Even if several seedlings grow too close to each other, you will not be able to grow a giant in your garden.
How to harvest sunflower seeds yourself
When the flowers have grown to their full potential, you will begin to see seeds filling the middle of the sunflower head, but choosing the right time to harvest these seeds is not easy. There are several signs on the Kellogg gardening site that your seeds are ready to be harvested.
- Harvest when the seeds are plump and mature.
- Harvest when the flower petals begin to dry and fall off.
- Harvest when the back of the [flower] turns yellow (if you cut the stem to dry).
- Harvest when the back of the flower turns brown (if you let the seed dry with a whole stem).
When you begin to see the seeds develop, place a net or paper bag over the flower’s head to catch any falling seeds and protect them from birds and insects. You can then use your fingers to spread the seeds into a bag or net. If the plant is ready, you can also harvest the seeds by cutting off the stem four inches from the head , removing the flower completely. Hang the flower head upside down in a bag or net to ripen the seeds, and rub the seeds with your fingers until they fall.
After harvesting, rinse the seeds and lay them on a towel to dry before eating. Fresh seeds will last three to four months raw and up to five months roasted. Frozen seeds are stored for up to a year.