Learning how to grow sunflowers isn’t difficult – they almost grow themselves. And once sunflowers begin to grow, they grow quickly. Sunflower care only requires a few basic growing tips.
·Water
Although sunflowers require a lot of water to germinate, they only require an inch of water per week during the growing season. Use a watering nozzle to easily water once a week until the top 6 inches of soil is moist.
·Fertilize
If you prepared your soil with compost and/or manure, you shouldn’t need extra fertilization during the growing season. If you feel your plants require better nutrition, you can work a balanced, slow-acting granular fertilizer into the soil surrounding your sunflowers. Sunflower fertilizers are available in a few garden centers, but a basic fertilizer is really all you need.
·Control Weeds
One of the greatest sunflower challenges is weed control. Weeds compete with sunflowers for moisture and nutrition. Unless you want to till, hoe or pull weeds by hand, you’ll want to put down a generous layer of mulch to fight weeds. Add up to a 4-inch layer of organic mulch to your sunflower garden. Leave an area of bare soil around each sunflower stalk to help deter pests and disease.
·Manage Pests and Disease
Although many pests love sunflower plants, the damage is usually minimal. In most cases, insecticides are not necessary unless damage is severe. Most sunflowers rely heavily on insect pollinators, so care should be taken to limit any use of insecticides during pollination. Some pests you may encounter are sunflower moths, cutworms, weevils, caterpillars, grasshoppers, wireworms and the sunflower maggot.
Disease is a big risk, but it mostly affects farm crops. New varieties of sunflowers have resistance to many diseases. Once disease occurs, the only option is to remove and destroy the affected plants. Verticillium wilt, sclerotinia rot, rust and downy mildew may occur. Your best prevention is proper plant spacing in well-draining soil.
When growing seeds for harvest, birds can become an issue. Scarecrows, owl decoys and shiny metal pie plates can help deter birds. You can also plant certain oil-rich cultivars, such as Black Peredovik, to keep birds away from your seed sunflowers.
Harvesting Sunflower Seeds
Harvesting sunflower seeds is the perfect way to enjoy both the beauty of the flowers in your garden and their delicate seeds.Sunflowers produce a bounty of seeds that can be added to breads,eaten on salads or even turned into a creamy nut- free sunflower butter. Growing a seed production variety will increase our harvest of edible sunflower seeds.Expect to harvest seeds approximately 30 days after pollination.
1.Beat the Birds
You’ve spent all this time learning how to grow sunflower seeds – don’t let the birds eat your harvest! Begin checking for seed maturity in early fall. The seeds will begin to face towards the ground as the flower petals dry and fall out. Once ready, simply cut off seed heads with a generous amount of stem attached. Hang in a warm, dry place away from rodents and insects.
2.Don’t Rush Things
Wait until the back of the sunflower head turns brown before harvesting the seeds. Although you can pick out mature seeds earlier, the browning of the head allows for the easiest and quickest removal.
3.Cover the Sunflower Heads
Seeds naturally fall out of the flower heads as they dry. To catch all the seeds you can, place netting or a paper sack with air holes over each head.
4.Remove the Seeds
Once thoroughly dry, seeds are easy to remove. You can grab a sunflower head in each hand and rub their faces together to dislodge the seeds. Or, you may be able to simply brush seeds out with your hands or a stiff brush.
5.Store for Flavor
To keep sunflower seeds as fresh as possible, store in airtight glass jars in the refrigerator. This keeps moisture levels low. If storing outside of the refrigerator, consider adding desiccant packages to absorb excess moisture. Many people store raw seeds in cloth bags in dark, dry areas to encourage air circulation.