Brooklyn Queens Land Trust

Q: Please tell me how to harvest sunflowers. I would like to have seeds for next year and let the birds have the rest.

-- Dianne Thompson, McDonough

Birds will tell you.

Answer's simple: The back of a completely ripe sunflower head is brown and dry, with no green left in it. Birds are the best indicator of harvest time. Sparrows and wrens will work for hours removing individual seeds as they fly back and forth under the seedhead. Cover the flower with cheesecloth to protect the seeds from hungry wildlife. It is possible that your sunflower blooms might rot from all of the rain this summer. When the seedhead seems mature and dry, cut it off and let it dry completely in your attic or carport. The seeds can be rubbed off with a gloved hand.



By SS

THE ALMANAC SAYS

Sunflower seeds are best dried on the plants. The seeds will be difficult to remove if you harvest the plants before they die naturally. Cover the heads with cheesecloth if you need to protect your crops from the birds.

By FARMER