BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Tea I spotted Spring!

I would love to have sunflowers in my backyard. I would also like to try container gardening this year instead of what we did last year. We planted a few veggies but only ended up with spinach and kale (not bad I guess for our first time). We didn't have to buy either all winter but we really wanted our other plants to workout too. We still have 2 more weeks to decide.

does anyone know what to collect to retain the sunflower seeds? Is it the whole head?

Love container gardening I have arthritis so I can't really get onto the ground anymore but I had tomatoes and sweet green & jalopenos came up like a dream all summer always had fresh veggies on salad. I say grow whatever you can~it helps our environment and your backyard becomes your special oasis~a while back I had a huge garden~everything you could want I tried it but even though I can't do that way anymore I do what I can. We do garlic and onions as well.(those are in ground)

Mary Caliendo

Put some kind of netting around the sunflower head to catch the seeds and also to keep the birds from eating them. Tie the netting on securely around the stock and make sure it is big enough to catch all the seeds -- you do not want it tight against the flower. Do not take the flower head off the stalk. It will droop down and the seeds will dry and drop into the netting. If it starts raining, cut the whole flower off, but leave a good length of stalk on it for further nourishment for the seeds. Keep the flower in a dry place with the netting around it.

Oh my gosh Phyliis thank goodness yes I have let the birds go a bit nutty out there b/c they loved them I felt i couldn't deprive but I want to catch whats left.
Thank you for the heads up and guidence on the seeds I'll be putting the netting up this afternoon!

How about Zinnias and general wildflowers?

Mary Caliendo

Very cool. Now I'm motivated to plan a sunflower because I can collect seeds and give them to my son's gerbil. He loves the seeds.

I planted handfuls(of seeds) and got so many flowers~ I planted different types so that there was quite a bit of vairation. And used the smaller one to cut and put in vases.


Mary Caliendo

Here in Reno the smaller sunflowers grow like wildflowers. They are all over the place. My father used to grow sunflowers, the big ones. The flower heads were so heavy with seeds that the stalk drooped way down. He always put the nets on them.

My little squirrels from the mountain love sunflower seeds. I wanted to throw a bunch of seeds out there on the mountain so plants would grow, but the squirrels would just eat them all up.

Wild flowers are beautiful in an English garden, along with herbs.

I did go to a container garden herb "seminar" at my library so next year I will add another pot (and herb pot)!


Mary Caliendo

what are you adding to your imaginarium next spring?




Mary Caliendo

I just added a wild song bird suet out in my imaginarium! I still have some flowers out there even though it has been very chilly at night! Some bees, crickets, & birds....can't wait for the Spring..


Mary Caliendo