Some top tips to make growing sunflowers quick and easy. Grow a sunflower and take part in a nationwide science experiment.
1) When selecting your seeds you have a whole heap of choice, from tall to small, to a wide range of different colours and flower styles you’ll need to take into consideration if you want to eat the seeds later on as some varieties will be better than others. When choosing though the choice is yours, pick which ever will fit your garden best but for height moon walker and Russian giant are two good types.
2) To begin growing your sunflowers its best to start indoors as bugs and pest love fresh planted seeds. Get a 3 inch pot and place the seeds about 2cm into the soil, when the stalks have grown to around 2-3 inches its best to transplant them outside.
3) When choosing your location its best to pick an area of the garden which gets a lot of sunshine (for best growth over 6 hours a day is ideal) and little wind.
4) A growing sunflower enjoys a rich well fed soil and being well watered. You can add a nitrogen based fertiliser to encourage height growth and when the sunflower begins to bud switch to tomato food. For each watering make sure that you don’t just touch the surface but instead reach the roots.
5) Finally one of the biggest challenges for growing sunflowers is stopping them from falling over for which proper staking is essential. Use a strong cane driven a good length into the ground to help keep the sunflower upright
