How to Grow Sunflower Seeds

You can't grow sunflower seeds without growing sunflowers first. This native American food, beloved by cardinals and children, is actually the fruit of the biggest, flashiest giants in the garden. The birds and children are on to something as sunflower seeds are high in polyunsaturated fats and low in saturated fats. A snack-package-sized serving of seeds contains over twice the daily requirement of vitamin E and half of vitamin B6, along with other vitamins and an assortment of proteins. Start early for your healthy crop and depending on your growing season, you may be able to put in a second crop for the birds to munch on over the winter.

Things You'll Need

• Sunflower seeds
• Large, sunny garden patch or fence in an open area
• Cool, dry place to finish ripening
• Oven to roast seeds
• Cookie sheets
• Sea salt (optional)

Instructions

1. Find an open, sunny patch of well-drained loamy soil to locate the sunflower patch. Sunflowers will tolerate clay and sandy loam but will not flourish in wet soil. The Dakotas, Minnesota, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas and California are the major producers of sunflowers. Growing seasons are short in the upper Midwestern states and crops in California and Texas can be double-planted easily. If you're in one of these areas, you're probably familiar with sunflower culture. In Kansas, even though it's the state flower, the sunflower has achieved weed status, so heat and dryness are no enemy to this strong grower.

2. Buy the right seed. Tell your garden center helper you're looking for a sunflower that will produce "confectionery" or "non-oil" seed. These are the familiar black and white seeds used for human snacks. All black, "black oil seed" is used to produce sunflower oil, animal feed and bird seed. Hybrid varieties change from year to year but choose varieties spotlighted as suitable for human from seed catalogs and display racks.

3. Plant the seeds right. Wait until the spring rains are finished if you're planting sunflowers in a low area--they rot easily. When the soil warms to 50 degrees, plant sunflowers at least nine inches apart in rows about a yard apart. Plant them an inch and a half to two inches deep, where the soil is damp, so they can germinate easily. Your sunflowers should begin growing in a week or two.

4. Don't fuss. Your sunflowers grow best (and resist fungus, bugs and mildew best) when planted late and watered only in very dry conditions. Cultivate weekly to keep weed growth down until the plants get big enough to crowd out any weeds. Fertilize lightly with nitrogen-rich fertilizer. These big, rough-leaved giants can grow six to eight feet tall and their blooms (which are actually a system of flowers) can measure from eight inches to more than a foot and a half across, depending on variety. Plants will mature after about two months. Plants should stand until the seed-heads turn completely brown.

5. Enjoy the process. Involve your children--or the neighbors' in growing sunflowers. These big, happy growers are a natural draw to the garden for kids. Tell them yes, sunflowers do turn to follow the sun--but only as teenagers. Once the flowers mature, they face a steady east to catch the morning sun and avoid hot afternoon rays. Once the seed heads are completely dry, they'll be brown and brittle. They can be collected and broken up to release their seeds.

6. Dry seeds in a cool, dry place for a few weeks, then and roast them in a very low oven with the door open (preferably on a cool October afternoon) until crisp. Salt before roasting or not.

Tips & Warnings

• After they've finished blooming, you'll discover that you have a few competitors for your crop--.the birds. Some varieties will start to droop as they dry, making it more difficult for scavenging birds to get to the developing seeds. Ask for one of these varieties to improve the odds in your favor. Or hang a few shiny pie pans or invest in one of those plastic owls to stand guard over your sunflower crop as it ripens.

• Sprout or shell sunflower seeds for salads for an alternative source of all that sunflower goodness.

• Don't be intimidated by ag-speak. If you're asked what size seed you want, say "size two or three, of course." Sunflower seed comes in sizes two to five--the smaller number (larger sized) are generally confectionery seed sizes.

• Grow sunflowers for no more than three or four years before letting your sunflower patch rest. All the nutrients they provide have to come from somewhere.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Sunflower culture
• National Sunflower Association