Sunflower seeds

jkhs · #1 07/01/11, 11:23 AM

I'm growing sunflowers in the garden this year and I need to know what to do with them after they're ready. I would like to use them for snacking. I know this is early, but when my sunflowers are ready to harvest I may be too busy to search out the info-LOL.

mekasmom · #2 07/02/11, 12:34 AM

I have never harvested them for personal use, just for birds, but this is such an interesting topic.

motdaugrnds · #3 07/02/11, 10:07 AM

I am growing sunflowers this year too (Black Oil as well as Sunspot). They are presently starting to head out and I want to know how to keep the birds off them "without" weighting them down with netting.

I was told placing a "paper" bag over each head would protect them while permitting them to continue their development; but we get some hard winds and their stalks don't look like they would hold up under the weight of a wet paper bag should the winds start blowing too. I don't want to use some type of protective measure that might destroy them. How others protec their seed heads for personal use would be of great importance to me too.

Thanks for starting this thread Jkhs.

kkbinco · #4 07/02/11, 11:09 AM

Lehman's has a nice article about sunflowers. See:
http://non-electric.lehmans.com/sear...+seeds&x=0&y=0

Lucy · #5 07/02/11, 12:49 PM

Did you know you are able to can nuts ? I would think that sunflower seeds would be the same.

PlicketyCat · #6 07/03/11, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motdaugrnds

I am growing sunflowers this year too (Black Oil as well as Sunspot). They are presently starting to head out and I want to know how to keep the birds off them "without" weighting them down with netting.

I was told placing a "paper" bag over each head would protect them while permitting them to continue their development; but we get some hard winds and their stalks don't look like they would hold up under the weight of a wet paper bag should the winds start blowing too. I don't want to use some type of protective measure that might destroy them. How others protec their seed heads for personal use would be of great importance to me too.

Thanks for starting this thread Jkhs.

I've had some success making "bonnets" from shade cloth or tulle. The birds tend to leave mine alone until the seeds are nearly mature, and the heads usually mature fully in a couple of days so they don't have enough time to peck through the bonnet unless really determined.

motdaugrnds · #7 07/04/11, 04:57 AM

PlicketyCat, I have a small roll of burlap and also some netting onions (purchased at grocery) comes in. You think these might work?

PlicketyCat · #8 07/04/11, 11:04 PM

If the onion netting is fine enough to discourage the birds, or the burlap not so heavy that it won't dry when it rains, then I think either would work. Another thing to try would be those mesh hairnets they use for food service, I think they're pretty inexpensive in bulk, and you can slip them over the flower faces unless your sunflowers are really huge.

jkhs · #9 07/05/11, 10:00 AM

I've heard about using hairnets before and plan to use them to protect the heads. I found some at the dollar store a couple of weeks ago. kkbinco, thanks for the article-it's really interesting.

How do you think the seeds are roasted and salted in the shell?

motdaugrnds · #10 07/05/11, 11:06 AM

WOW never even considered hairnets. Will pick some up. Thanks

PlicketyCat · #11 07/05/11, 02:39 PM

SF seeds in the shell are normally soaked in brine prior to roasting
http://www.ehow.com/how_4868357_make...wer-seeds.html

jkhs · #12 07/06/11, 02:42 PM

Thanks for the link, PlicketyCat! That's just what I was looking for. I can't wait until I can try it.

motdaugrnds · #13 07/07/11, 08:58 AM

PlicketyCat, couldn't find hair nets during shopping excursion today; but was able to find some nice "netting" in material department. I purchased a few yards of the bright yellow. It is real light weight and I can push whatever I can find to use as ties in through the netting without tearing it.

I cut it into some squares and went out to cover a few of the largest flowers and discovered the honey bees were hard at work collecting the nectar. I stopped covering the flowers because I am not sure if the bees are needed for the flowers to create the seeds. (I find myself in all kinds of delirious debate about such things this year. Can I cover the flower heads and the seeds continue to develop, even without the help of bees?)

PlicketyCat · #14 07/07/11, 02:47 PM

Not an expert on sunflowers, but biology would suggest that no bees > no pollen > no fertilization > no seeds. I'm not sure if SF are one of the few plants that will set fruit/seeds without fertilization. I usually don't cover mine until later in the season when the head is already seeded out and the bees aren't interested anymore. But I have a really late and short season, so yours may be approaching that point already.

Are you already having problems with birds?