Saving Sunflowers

It's easy to forget that sunflowers, as well as being bright and cheerful on the allotment, are also a harvestable crop. Once your sunflowers have dried you have several choices but, whatever you do, don't forget to save some seeds for sharing and re-planting next year.

If you have grown an edible variety then you can shell and save the sunflower seeds for your own use in breads and cereal. Another option, and what we generally do, is to use the seed heads to make a simple bird feeder. This could be for your own garden but they also make a nice gift for a bird-loving friend, relative or neighbour. Make sure you leave a reasonable amount of stalk attached to the sunflower head when you cut it.

The seed head - the larger the better - can be strung by simply passing a string through the centre and back to the top before hanging on a branch. A better way is to make a cradle for the sunflower head by attaching four strings to the stalk and hanging it with the head facing upwards. This enables birds to land on it and means more species will have access to the seeds, providing them with a great source of winter food.

Submitted by Tigger