How to Cultivate Sunflower Seeds

Sunflowers are hearty and nice to look at. There aren't many plants that can grow as much in one summer. If that isn't enough -- they also produce a healthy, tasty snack. With a proper plot and minimal care, you can grow flowers that will leave you a copious amount of edible seeds by late summer.

Sunflower seeds
Shovel
Rake
Hose
Organic fertilizer
Compost
Peat moss

Instructions

- 1
  Mix one to two bags each (for a regular-size family garden) organic fertilizer (manure works great), mushroom compost and peat moss (dried seaweed works, too). Break up your plot's topsoil with a shovel or pitchfork, toss the mixture in with the soil and rake it together. You are breathing life into the soil by way of replenishing its trace minerals. Water the dirt in order to send the nutrients deeper into the earth.
- 2
  
  Sunflowers thrive in groups, but apart from other plants.
  
  Sow the sunflower seeds in mid-to-late May or when the weather will not drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit for more than one night. Plant your sunflowers in their own bed, apart from other plants. Sunflowers are nutrient hogs, and will make it difficult for other plants to grow full-size. If food is your goal, be sure to choose a flower that produces edible seeds, such as Mammoth Russian or Sunflower sunflowers.
- 3
  Plant each seed about six inches apart in rows about one foot apart. They need to be close enough to support each other through high winds. Planting near a fence or against a wall is a good idea, as long as the flower can follow the sun -- sunflowers will begin the day facing east, and follow the sun westward. Water your sunflower patch once every two to three days. Weed around the plants carefully until the flowers outgrow the tallest weeds.
- 4
  
  Watch out: the early-bird also gets your seeds.
  
  Harvest your seeds when the head of the flower gets fat and droops from its own weight. The back of the flower will turn tan or brown. Move fast -- birds will start to move in as soon as the seeds ripen. When the seeds -- located in the center of the flower -- are striped and grayish (or look like the seeds you can buy in a store), they're ready.
- 5
  Cut the top off your sunflower about 12 inches below the head. Hang them upside-down in a cool dry place such as the garage. Put either newspaper or bags underneath to catch the falling seeds. To speed up this process, rub a gloved hand over the face of the flower to loosen them, and pick those that don't fall out. Roast your seeds before eating them.

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Growing Sunflowers