Sunflower Harvesting

anyacolo

i have grown sunflowers for many years, but i have never bothered to harvest the seeds, so i never really payed too much attention to the seed development before,

this year i want to keep the seeds,

my seeds dont seem to be developing for the past few weeks, they just look white and dont seem to be progressing,

i have attached a picture, i rubbed some of the "flowers" off one of the heads to get a better picture, the seeds have been like this for almost 2 weeks now, they are just white,

when i look at the back of "the head" it is still bright brilliant green, so i dont think "the head" is dead yet,

am i just being impatient?....it has been very warm here still lately 70-80+ F but in the next few days it is supposed to get very cool

Topsoiled

I wait until the head is black and yellow - i.e. Dead, then cut the head off and let it dry out in the garage - on newspaper and in the open so any moisture can evaporate from the seed head. You won't be planting them until next year so there is no hurry to do anything for a while. Don't worry about the seed colour - white see are as normal as black - presume it depends on the variety.

Last edited: 28 September 2017 09:17:31

anyacolo

Topsoiled says:

I wait until the head is black and yellow - i.e. Dead, then cut the head off and let it dry out in the garage - on newspaper and in the open so any moisture can evaporate from the seed head. You won't be planting them until next year so there is no hurry to do anything for a while. Don't worry about the seed colour - white see are as normal as black - presume it depends on the variety.

Last edited: 28 September 2017 09:17:31

See original post

 

thanks for the replies,

i am planning on harvesting the seeds to eat, not to save for next year, never thought about that, if i choose to save some to plant next year, whats the best way to store them over the winter?

Topsoiled

I usually fill a jam jar and leave them in the garage with a lid on! As long as they have dried out they should be fine. If you want to be extra careful - paper bag and into a sealed plastic container in a cool and dry environment.

anyacolo

Topsoiled says:

I usually fill a jam jar and leave them in the garage with a lid on! As long as they have dried out they should be fine. If you want to be extra careful - paper bag and into a sealed plastic container in a cool and dry environment.

See original post

 

thanks for the tips,

so how long do you wait to remove the seeds after you cut "the head" off?

where do you store "the heads" in that time?

Topsoiled

I cut the heads off and leave them on newspaper in the garage - nothing organised just wherever there's space. When they are dry the seeds come off easily. They are fine left in all winter but sometimes you get residual moisture in the heads and it will start to rot a bit. Very slap dash to be hones. Not scientific or planned.