Growing Sunflowers

[Boots]

http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/sunflowerscene/may15.asp

I found this link pretty interesting...walks you through a small scale commercial sunflower season...

[Andy Hamilton]

They do use what is considered a swear word in these parts - round up!

I wonder how difficult it is to grow on that scale organically. Always been pretty pleased with my sunflowers, although for some reason my girlfriend always grows bigger ones than I do. Perhaps it's because she talks to them.

[Chickenlady]

Oh yes - they are not organic are they? Didn't like the look of all those nasty chemicals (although I love sunflowers!).

[Boots]

Ah yes - I just skipped all that junk I just read things with a view to finding good bits and learning...if folks use chemicals I either skip them or replace them with a natural alternative in my mind as I'm reading.

The process was interesting though, don't you think?... and the seed identification was useful to me. While I knew the more black on the seed meant the more oil, I didn't realise they had specific uses prior to planting.

And the stuff with the seedheads being left after they drop... to dry them for storage. I didn't know that!

[alcina]

And the stuff with the seedheads being left after they drop... to dry them for storage

Hrmph...they obviously don't have quite the squirrel problem we have round here then! You're lucky if the pesky critters aren't eating the seed heads whilst they're still in flower!

Sigh...I like sunflowers....last year I just grew all the volunteers from the bird feeder. It felt like karma! They grew very tall....maybe that's the secret....bird food! :)

Alcina

[Wombat]

We don't get squirrels, but we do get cockatoos and they can get pretty destructive on sunflowers too!

Nev

[Millymollymandy]

The best sunflowers for seeds are the ones that just get dropped by the birds from the bird table/feeders and self seed!

I grew some 'pretty' sunflowers from a packet of freebie seeds last summer and the seeds from the flower heads were tiny and pathetic and the birds weren't interested at all!