How to Grow My Own Black Oil Sunflower Seeds

Choose a location in your yard that receives at least six hours of full sun each day. The black oil sunflower is a sun lover.

Wait until the last frost of your location has passed. Dig up the soil to a depth of about 1 foot. Turn the soil and break up any large dirt clods. Rake the area flat.

Layer 2 to 3 inches of compost over the soil. Work the compost in all the way to the bottom of the 1-foot depth. Compost works in two ways to grow healthy plants. It offers important nutrients and it amends the soil texture. Rake the soil flat.

Dig two parallel moats with the pointed corner of your hoe. Let the soil fall to the inside, creating a peaked dirt row.

Dig two parallel moats with the pointed corner of your hoe. Let the soil fall to the inside, creating a peaked dirt row.

Poke holes at the top of the dirt row with your finger. They should be approximately 1 inch deep and 6 inches apart. Drop a black oil sunflower seed in each hole and then push soil over the top.

Spray water over the seeds, gently, each day. Water more often if the climate becomes hot and dry. Change to watering in the moats, on each side of the row, after the sunflower seeds have germinated.

Thin the seedlings to about 1-1/ feet apart, keeping the healthiest ones, after they are 4 to 6 inches in height.