Sunflower seed collecting...How To?

Question

What is the correct way to collect seeds from an already bloomed sunflower?
I scraped many seeds off of a few flowers and layed them out to dry. I left many other flowers alone just in case I wasn't doing it right.

Cool guys! Thank you!

Answer 1

You can begin to harvest sunflower seeds as soon as the center flowers turn brown or the backs of the heads turn yellow, to prevent birds from stealing them. Cut them, leaving a piece of stem to hang them in a well ventilated place to finish drying. Cover them with netting, paper sacks with holes or cheesecloth to catch falling seeds as they dry.


They can be allowed to dry on the stalk, but you'll have to cover them this way to keep the birds from eating them all before you can harvest them for yourself!


If you've grown sunflowers for the purpose of feeding birds, you can either leave them in the ground, or harvest the heads as above, then hang them in the yard or garden when they are ready. This method has an advantage in that you can dole out the heads over the winter, instead of seeing the seed all eaten within a few weeks.

Answer 2

When they hang their heads and droop, the seed heads are dry. There will be no green, underripe seeds. I cut off the head, shuck the seeds from the head, lay the seeds on a cookie sheet to allow them to dry throughly. The only problem that I have had is with squirrels and chipmunks, These critters seem to know when the sunflower is "just right" and may beat you to the seed. If you have varmint trouble, you may wants to cover the heads with light cheesecloth until the heads are totally dry.

Answer 3

I have found that the seeds have to mature on the plant. Wait until the flower is dry and the petals have fallen off and all that is left is the seeds in the center. You should just barely bump them and they should fall, for how dry it needs to be. If you pluck the immature seeds from a flower that is still living I don't believe they will be viable and germinate.