How to Grow Hungarian Bread Seed Poppies

Choose a planting site with well-draining soil and full sun, which are the best growing conditions for Hungarian bread seed poppies. Work the planting site with a rotary tiller until the soil is loose and friable.

Drag a pointed hoe across the planting site to make very shallow furrows measuring no more than 1/8 inch deep. Space the furrows 6 inches apart.

Sprinkle the Hungarian bread seed poppy seeds into the furrows. Try to sow no more than 1 tsp. of seed along each 12 inches of the furrow, but don't be too concerned if the seeds are sown more densely because they can be thinned out later.

Spread a thin, 1/8-inch-thick layer of compost over the planting site so the seeds are barely covered. Use compost with low acidity.

Water the planting site after sowing the seeds to settle the soil. Run a sprinkler at the edge of the planting site for 10 to 15 minutes. Water the seeds with the sprinkler every other day until germination occurs.

Watch for sprouting in 10 to 15 days. Thin the Hungarian bread seed poppies to one every 10 inches as soon as they grow to 3 inches in height. Transplant or discard the extra seedlings.

Decrease watering to once every five days after the seedlings emerge. Water with the sprinkler for five to 10 minutes, or until water pools on the surface of the soil.

Harvest the seeds as soon as the capsules dry out and appear light-brown in color, which is usually around July or August.