sunflowers
Sunflower From Seed to Harvest
SEED
SPROUT
SEEDLING
MATURE
Overview
A warm season crop that grows well in locations with direct sunlight
Level of Difficulty: Easy to Grow!
Plant Spacing: 1-2 inches or 2 - 3 seeds per group every 18 - 24 inches
Days to Harvest: 70 - 100 days from seed
Plant Care Basics:
Sun - Full sun
Soil - Requires well-drained, fertile, loamy/sandy soil
Water - Frequent watering
Planting + Growing
Growing sunflowers in the garden is easy when planted under the right conditions. Sunflowers like full sun. Your soil should be loose enough to drain well. Sunflowers can grow close together, but to optimize growth follow the spacing guidelines below.
Starting from Seed. If you're starting from seed, plant 1 - 2 seeds about 1/2 to 1 inch down in a small container of soil. Water the soil and place it in a sunny area. Check the soil daily to water if necessary. Once your seeds sprout and have true leaves, transplant them outside or into a larger container with about 6 inches of space in between each plant.
Starting from Seedling. If you picked up sunflower seedlings from Sweet Water's seedling pick up, plant the seedlings into soil, allowing ~6 inches of spacing between each plant.
Container growing sunflower. Smaller varieties of sunflowers will grow in an 8-inch pot. In larger containers, like a garden bed, you can grow more than one sunflower with ~6 inches of spacing.
Other notes...companion plants. Lettuce and squashes relish and thrive in the shade of sunflowers.
Harvesting
You can harvest sunflower leaves for cooking or making tea. You can also use sunflower petals for tea. You can harvest sunflower seeds to eat or save for the following year.
Cooking
More info coming soon....
Links to More Resources
More info coming soon....