Did you know that each sunflower can hold as many as 1,400 seeds ? And since these imperial flowers are so comfortable to cultivate , why not originate some in your garden next year for your own fresh harvest of scrumptious seeds .
When the sunflower seeds are quick , they will be at the clemency of the birds who also desire to savor them . So , If you need to nibble on the luscious kernel yourself or store them for the winter it ’s of import to bang when to harvest your helianthus seeds .
Most sunflower ejaculate will be quick to glean about 110 and 135 days after sprouting . Sunflower seeds are ripe when the petals have strike , the blossom heads have turn browned and have begun to droop .
Once the yellow leave of absence have said goodbye , remove the integral head and bring it indoors to finish drying . Alternatively , you could reduce the caput early if frost is in the line and the seeds will land up maturing indoors .
If you grow sunflowers , you’re able to take your own seeds for the next grow season . you’re able to also harvest ejaculate to eat or to give them to the bird .
A Flower Full Of Seeds
A helianthus is not really a unmarried flower , but is a composite plant of over a thousand modest flowers , or florets .
The outermost mini flush are called ray florets which produce the tell - tale yellow ( or orangish or red ) flower petal of the helianthus .
Ray florets do not produce seeds , and instead their intent intention is to attract pollinators to the sunflower .
The middle of the sunflower is a collection of up to 1,400 single disc floweret , each of which is a ended peak consisting of male and female component .
The bee and other insects are draw in by the extinct petals and they pollinate the disc florets . Each successfully pollinated disc floret will bring forth a single sunflower seed .
Choose The Right Variety
For over 5,000 years , sunflowers have been crop for nutrient and the ejaculate were ground into flour or pressed into oil .
Many modern helianthus varieties , however , are hybridizations that produce large and beautiful promontory with little - to - no seeds . Be certain to search each variety cautiously to ensure it will acquire edible seeds .
When choose a helianthus sort to grow for seeds , another divisor to take is undivided stem versus fork case .
Single stem varieties grow straight , tall shuck with a individual prime at the top . They have the advantage of more uniform and predictable rosiness time and they can be grown closer together . individual fore sunflowers often mature very quickly to farm eatable seeds .
Our ancient ancestors originate branching varieties , which produce a cluster of flower on a single plant . These head are usually smaller and the plant life are more heavyset so they need to be grown farther apart .
While ramify variety produce more bloom per flora , the flowers will not all bloom at the same fourth dimension , work harvesting a little more tricksy .
ramify types often come in a plethora of colors , offering you an aesthetic as well as an comestible aspect to your garden .
Here are a few varieties of seed - bearing helianthus to get you started :
When To Harvest Sunflower Seeds
Most sunflower varieties will list a “ days to maturity ” which refers to when the flora will start flower . The sunflower seminal fluid will be mature 30 to 45 day after the flowers have bloomed .
On average , most sunflower seeded player will be quick to harvest 110 to 135 days after sprouting .
As your sunflowers mature , here are a few style to tell that the seed are ready for harvest home :
diffuse , whitish bloodless seeds are not mature , so will the seed a little longer and determine them again .
How To Harvest Sunflower Seeds
The gentle method for harvest sunflower semen is to lease them completely dry on the plant . Once the back of the flower heads turn pale yellow and the bound begin to turn brown , trim the radical about 2 cm to 3 curium ( 1inch ) below the heyday . Then rub off the surface of the flower with your medallion to loosen the cum and then blow lightly on everything to separate the cum from any minuscule waste .
The disadvantage of this is that mold can mold and hiss are already picking away numerous seeds . To protect the ripe helianthus seeds from the weather or dame , cover your flower heads with a paper purse . just place the bag over the heyday and tie it to the base . If the cup of tea draw crocked in the rainwater , simply supervene upon it .
With a paper bag over the flower , you make harvesting easier . If the helianthus seed come in lax , they pass directly into the purse and are not lost .
If your season is not long enough , the helianthus heads can be bring down and take indoors to finish maturing . Once the proscribed seeds have suppurate , switch off the flower head with 30 centimetre ( 1 foot ) of stalk still attached and hang the flowers upside down in a warm , dry locating until all the seeds have mature .
Once all the seeds are fledged , provide the cut flower head in a warm , dry office with proficient air circulation and allow the semen to all dry out for a few more week .
After dry out , some of the kernel fall out themselves , to relax the rest , remove the seeds by rubbing two heads together or with a stiff skirmish . especially obstinate seeds can be dislodged with a dull tool .
you could also place a coarse screen over top of a bucket and chafe the flower question overtop so the seeded player fall into the bucket . Then garner the cum , lap them thoroughly with inhuman water and then dry out them .
Allow the helianthus seeds to dry for a few day spread out flat , and stir them occasionally to ensure the whole pile dries evenly .
Storing Sunflower Seeds
Store helianthus seed in glass , ceramic containers or paper bag in a dry place until next spring . Sunflowers are known to assimilate toxins out of soil , and they were even planted around Chernobyl to help clean up the radioactive contamination . The cum can also assimilate chemical substance from containers they are stored in so avoid plastic container if possible .
They can be stored hulled , or unhulled , depend on your intended use . Keep them in an airtight container . They will keep for 2 to 3 months in a cool and ironic location , such as in your kitchen cupboard .
Refrigeration or freezing will draw out the shelf life sentence and they will keep this way for up to a yr .
How To Remove The Shell Of Sunflower Seeds At Home
To quickly remove the stalk from sunflower seeds , do the following below :
Tips For Growing Sunflowers For Seeds
helianthus grown for seeded player can be acquire exactly the same as if you were just grow them for the efflorescence . However , here are a few crest that will make your sunflowers produce grown and better seeds .
1:Start them early
Since your sunflower ask at least 110 day for the germ to mature , verify you bug out them early enough in the year so they have clock time to mature before fall as the adult plant will not make it a killing frost .
sunflower can be started as much as 4 weeks before your last icing date .
2:Spacing
For most single stem sunflower miscellanea , space the cum 30 centimeter ( 12 in ) apart , while branch varieties or very large giant should be spaced 45 atomic number 96 ( 18 inch ) .
Keep your rows 60 cm to 90 centimetre ( 2 - 3 ft ) apart . This will see to it the plants have enough space to fully ripe .
3:Avoid fertilizing
Our sunflowers have always grown well without any fertilizing ( though they greatly profit from compost ) . Over - fertilizing can result in unnaturally firm stalk increment that can cause the stems to intermit under the weight of the full seed school principal .
4:Add Borax
An covering of 1 tsp of Borax in 1½ cups of pee can be applied to a 5 m ( 15 ft ) words to aid source growing .
5:Stake tall varieties
Do n’t block to stake tall varieties to keep them from falling over as the flower head matures .
6:Protect from hungry wildlife
If you are get helianthus seeded player for yourself or your family , you need to make indisputable the birds and other hungry animals do n’t get them first .
Keep deer from eating your sunflowers by construct a sturdy fence around your plot .
Birds and squirrels can be kept at bay by motion detector animal handicap or by wrap the prime heads in row cover cloth , cheesecloth or composition bags . Alternatively , view plant lots of sunflowers so there is enough for the birds and still enough left for you .
Some moth also bask snacking on sunflowers and the best reply is to handpick any worms or eggs from the plants when you see them .
helianthus seeds are a hefty and nutritious increase to your diet , and what better way to have some than to grow your own .
As well as using them for a snack or press for oil , candid cross-pollinate and heirloom varieties can also be spare and constitute in next year ’s garden .
These grandiloquent , majestic flowers are easy to raise and even if your germ fail to develop , they will add beauty and magnificence to your home base and garden .
Written By
Amber Noyes was born and raised in a suburban California township , San Mateo . She holds a master ’s grade in horticulture from the University of California as well as a BS in Biology from the University of San Francisco . With experience working on an constituent farm , water preservation research , farmers ’ markets , and works glasshouse , she understands what makes plant life thrive and how we can better understand the connecter between microclimate and plant wellness . When she ’s not on the domain , Amber loves informing the great unwashed of new ideas / things link to gardening , particularly constitutional gardening , houseplants , and develop industrial plant in a small space .
