Look at the size of that sucker!
My backyard just isn’t complete without sunflowers. They cheer up any space they inhabit! If you’re feeling generous (or just lazy), you can leave your sunflowers alone and they’ll act as natural built-in bird feeders for your garden.
But if you’re inclined to save your seeds, either for next years planting or as the delicious edibles that they are, here’s the ins and outs of the task.
Cut the head when it begins to die back. It’s ready when the backside has gone from green to yellow (below).
At first the head will be covered with small yellow buds. Leave it alone it in a dry airy place for a few weeks. When it’s all dried out, you’ll be able to easily brush off the browned buds to reveal the seeds (below).
Pry out the seeds! There’s a ton, so this may take a while . . .
From here you can either store the seeds in a cool dry place to plant next spring, or you can eat them. NOM. You can shed the husks and use the insides in raw form. Or you can toast them, by soaking the seeds (husk and all) overnight in a 1:4 salt water solution, and then oven roasting them at 200º for 3-4 hours.
I love my sunflowers! This year was my biggest yield yet, and I’ll definitely save a few seeds to plant again next season. But most of them are for eatin’. They’re just too wonderful (and nutrient-packed) not to !
Julie
29 October, 2009
Any tips on growing them?
Julie
29 October, 2009
I always find myself wanting to tell you things and I have this moment where I go, where do I put it? Facebook? Text? BA? ANYWAY, just read this thing that this weekend they are having an Isla Vista Fruit Foraging Tour where students can go on a bike riding tour of IV to identify all edible plants whose owners (not the renters) have made them publicly available for anyone who is interested in harvesting. So cool. (And so 5 years too late)
Sayward
30 October, 2009
@ Miss Sofia – I know! It’s crazy, right?
@ Julie – Sunflowers are actually pretty darn easy as long as you can get them past their tender first few weeks. Plant them straight into the ground as opposed to starting them inside, because they don’t do as well with transplanting. They like a nice dark nutrient-rich soil. Medium watering (err an the side of more). They’re fragile at first, so don’t let an animal or wee person knock them over or bend their long skinny stems – they won’t recover from that (I speak from a LOT of experience, grrrr dogs). But overall they’re really easy and you can almost forget about them once they’re going. And they’re soooo awesome amongst the veggies!!!
That’s really cool that IV is doing that. It’s funny, ’cause I’m spread all over the internets so I know what you mean! I think the Friday Feedback Forum is a great place for sharing news and tips and just interesting stuff – a lot of people read those comments and go back and check up and stuff. That would be my suggestion!
Talk soon lady!
Hils
30 October, 2009
Do you suppose it would be at all possible to plant these indoors? And do you have any tips or tricks on how to shell the seeds? It seems like it’d be such a daunting task to do so many. Thanks!
Sayward
2 November, 2009
@ Hils – I think with enough light and the right atmosphere, you could grow anything indoors. The only thing I would worry about is the roots. This guy was about 8 feet tall all said and done, and on such a skinny stem (relative to the height – it was actually super thick for a ‘flower stem’!), the root system has to go pretty far down and pretty far out. So you’d need to get it in a very deep and rather wide pot. But other than that, I’d say it’s definitely worth a try! Let me know if you do it, please! =D
I’ve heard of one trick to shell the seeds but haven’t tried it myself. Basically, you wrap the seeds in a towel and then use a mallet or something to pond them – softly. Not crush them into sunflower seed butter, but definitely enough to crack up the husks. Then you put the seeds into a large lidded jar covered with plenty of water, and shake shake shake. The inner seeds should fall to the bottom while the husks should float to the top. You my have to shake and scoop out the husks a few times.
Sounds plausible!
@ Selah – Hello! And welcome to the site!
The strain of sunflower is called ‘Mammoth Grey Stripe’.I think it may be a local heirloom here in Portland Oregon, but I’m not sure of that.
Kelly
2 November, 2009
My goodness…that is massive and absolutely beautiful! Sunflowers look so happy (and/or they make me happy) and I will definitely grow them someday!
Autumn Update: Gearing the Garden Down | Bonzai Aphrodite
10 November, 2009
[...] in, to serve as flower planters come spring. The left side bed has been cleared and mulched. The sunflowers are downed and the brush has been tidied. The right side bed hosts the small fall garden. All the [...]
VITA
6 February, 2010
Wow, it totally reminded me when I was a little girl back home in Ukraine. I really miss those times. I am gald I grew up in a village, so it’s so much easier to adjust to natural and green things these days. It brings good memories back and some great ideas too.
Love your blog.
10 Comments to Autumn Harvest: Saving Sunflower Seeds