How to Remove Seeds From Sunflowers

Wait until your sunflower begins to sag downward, or when a few seeds begin to fall out on their own around the perimeter . Alternatively, you can keep a watchful eye for birds, who may begin to harvest the seeds for themselves at just the right time.

Remove the whole head of the sunflower from the stem. With a sharp knife, make a single cut a few inches below the head. This will leave behind a little bit of stem from which the sunflower can hang.

Hang your sunflowers by the stems in a dry, well-ventilated location. You may also want to make sure that this location is safe from critters, as they may enjoy snacking on sunflower seeds as much as you do.

Cover the heads of the sunflowers with netting, cheesecloth or paper sacks (with holes for ventilation). As the seeds ripen, they will be caught in each sack. If you're impatient, you can gently nudge the seeds along by rubbing off the dried seeds from the head.

Wait. Sunflower seeds don`t all ripen at the same time--especially for large specimens, the seeds in the center of the head may take weeks longer to ripen.