Sunflowers:
- Why you should grow it
- Sunflowers provided shade for cooler crops in the summer, especially during the summer heat

- Seeds are an important food source for animals and birds in the fall
- They attract beneficial insects through the growing season
- Improves soil conditions by removing metals
- How to start seeds
- Sow directly into the soil
- Start indoors in the spring and transplant out when they are about 6″ tall
- They will cause shade so placement is important
- Tips for growth
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- Plant when all risk of frost is gone, sunflowers will not germinate in the cold
- Ensure that you choose a sunny spot
- Water deeply and infrequently to develop deep roots as the plant grows tall and needs a strong foundation
- These deep roots will be more drought tolerant
- They are fast-growing and need good nutrient soil, add a little compost before planting them out
- If they start to lean, stake the flowers
- They are mostly disease-free but make sure you water the ground and not the plant

- Harvesting
- Harvest sunflower seeds at the end of the season
- Leave the seeds on the flower until the seeds are dark and plump
- Once the petals wilt and before the animals get to them, cut off the flower and hang upside down in a bag
- Rub off the seeds and soak overnight then bake with salt if you like
- Saving Seeds
- There are many things you can do with sunflowers at the end of the season
- Save the seeds by harvesting them, rinsing them off and drying fully before storing in a bag
- Leave the sunflower seeds on the flower for birds and animals to eat through the fall, it is an important
food source for the local populations
- If you harvest the flower, leave the stalk in the garden for beneficial insects to hibernate over the winter
- The stalks also provide interest in the garden when all other foliage in gone in the garden