sunflower seeds

anette · #1 07/09/08, 11:14 PM

i am going to post this here and under the preservation topic.

how do you know when your sunflowers are ready to harvest? this is my first year growing them for consumption. not sure yet if it will be us or the birds, but i dont want to harvest them before it is time.

help!

anette

Ravenlost · #2 07/10/08, 12:03 AM

I harvest mine when the birds start eating them, usually in late summer/early fall.

EDDIE BUCK · #3 07/12/08, 12:19 AM

The sunflowers head will start facing the ground and the petals start turning brown, then what I do is cut the head off leaving about a foot of stalk attached. Then I tie those stalks (4 or 5) together and hang under a shelter to finish drying. You can leave them standing in the garden to dry, but if you don't wrap the head with onion bags or cheesecloth or the like, the birds will eat them ALL. Hope this helps Eddie

Jaclynne · #4 07/12/08, 01:22 AM

Thanks, Eddie, I was wondering the same thing.

Halo

sammyd · #5 07/12/08, 08:59 PM

keep your shelter bird tight or wrap the heads in cheesecloth. I had a big pile of sunflower hulls in my garage last time I did sunflowers.
Or you could thresh them out and lay them on a screen with another on top so they could dry.

crafty2002 · #6 07/12/08, 09:09 PM

Not all tpyes of sunflowers drop there heads. I have been reading up on them because I want to try next year I guess since it didn't happen this year, to grow a few acres.
Some types stand up and the birds will eat them.
Some lower there flowers and the birds can't land to eat them.
Dennis

Jaclynne · #7 07/12/08, 11:50 PM

The sunflowers that are filling out in my garden are volunteers from using the goat barn cleanings. They are black oil, and they are 'bowing' their heads.

A little off topic, but, I had always thought that sunflower heads moved to follow the sun during the day, but mine don't. They all face east except one lone flower that faces west.

Halo

EDDIE BUCK · #8 07/13/08, 09:53 AM

I plant the large greystripe and they do follow the sun,but only for a short time after they bloom, about a week. I guess after they get a little heavy they stop

Eddie

sarhound · #9 07/13/08, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HaloHead

The sunflowers that are filling out in my garden are volunteers from using the goat barn cleanings. They are black oil, and they are 'bowing' their heads.

Halo

I was wondering if the black oil sunflower seeds would successfully germinate and grow true to type--I feed them to my horses, along with flax seed. If they're looking good, I'll go ahead and put out a patch of BOSS so the boys will have an ample supply to eat.