Sunny yellow sunflowers are usually grown like ornaments and cut flowers, and their flowers filled with incomnitaries attract and pollinators. Bonus: After their flowers faded, sunflowers continue to reward the patient’s gardeners with late-season crispy sunflower seeds.

You can expect the seeds to be ready for harvest after the flowers are completely dying and do not stay more petals, usually From late summer to early fall.

If you never grow sunflowers, you will tips for beginners learn exactly when and how to harvest them for perfectly delicious, homemade seed snacks.

When will sunflower seeds be borne

You can assemble the sunflower seeds after the flowers are consumed, brown and descend, which will usually happen late summer to early fall. It can move from July to October, depending on where you grow them.

Although different sunflower sun florels at different times, most sunflower varieties flower from summer to fall, or about 80 to 140 days after planting seeds. It takes sunflowers about another month for the production of mature seeds after they start flourishing.

If your sunflower bloom in August, you can expect to be sunflower seeds in September.

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5 characters of sunflower seeds are ready for harvest

Time is all when it comes to sunflower seeds. If you grow the seeds too early, not storage well; However, if you refrain with the seeds too late, you can lose the seeds into the wild or rot.

Here are some signs to watch because you will know exactly when you choose sunflower seeds.

1. Yellowing floral heads. The best way to determine if sunflower seeds are ready for harvesting is to view the back of their sunflowers. The seedlings that are still green, need more time for maturity, while yellowish-brown sessions are ready to choose.
2. Lowering the flowers. Sunflower flowers usually start to go down at the end of the season – this is a clear sign that seeds only ripe.
3. Brown leaves. As the harvest weather near, sunflower plants are beginning to dry and leaves yellow or brown. At this point, the plant uses the last of the energy for the maturation of seeds.
4. Veins of petals. Mature sunflower flowers will also begin to throw their petals while the plant is dried. This makes it easy to see how the seeds are maturing.
5. Well formed seeds. The seeds of ripe sunflower should be pump and well formed relatively hard shells. If you run your finger over a flower, dried seeds should be easily separated.

How to harvest sunflower seeds

Some gardeners released sunflower seeds on the plant and the reaping of seeds directly from the garden when they were completely dry. But if you live in an area with lots of birds or wet weather, it is usually easier to dry sunflower seeds indoors using the following steps.

Watch out for the signs of maturity

Leave sunflowers in the garden until the plants start to dry, and flowers drop the petals and become yellow or brown. If the birds are made of excessive interested in seeds while drying, drapeir cheesecloth or loose paper bags over session to protect your harvest.

Flowers harvest

When your sunflowers start to descend to their stems, use a sharp knife for cutting sunflower heads from the plant. Leave about 6 to 12 inch stalks attached to every bloom.

Dry seeds

Light packages two to three flowers together and bind their stalks with a little ribbon. Bring flowers indoors and hang the cutting sunflower upside down in a cool, dry and dark place with good air flow. Allow flowers to dry for a few weeks.

Collect the seeds

When the back of the sunflower is golden-brown, and dried seeds are easily distracted from the flowers, time to collect sunflower seeds.

Place dried flowers over a bucket or a large vessel and use your finger or rigid brush to rub the seeds without flowers. If the seeds are still sticking to a flower, they allow them to dry for a few more days before you try again.

Prepare seeds

While sunflower seeds can be eaten raw, they are usually baked before they serve to improve their texture and taste.

• For roasted, ordinary sunflower seeds, spreads the seeds on the baking sheet and bake them in the oven for five to seven minutes at 400 ° F.
• For salty seeds, drink salt water seeds 15 minutes, then bake them at 400 ° F 10 to 15 minutes until the seeds are beautiful and dry.