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Right here’s a confession for you: although I really like them, I was too lazy to eat sunflower seeds. Unshelled ones, anyway.
All that work cracking them open only for a tiny slice of heaven inside? Not for me.
Or so I assumed…
After having fun with the big, wonderful yellow blooms of my very personal sunflowers all summer season lengthy, I harvested my very own homegrown seeds for the primary time.
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Now I discover consuming unshelled sunflower seeds is a superb solution to preserve my thoughts occupied once I’m on an extended street journey.
And as a substitute of reaching right into a bag of store-bought seeds which can be perched on the console, I’m delighted time and again by the plastic baggie crammed with seeds from flowers that I grew and harvested myself!
On this article, you’ll discover ways to harvest and revel in your personal homegrown sunflower kernels.
For those who’re simply getting began, try our full information to rising sunflowers in your backyard.
Able to harvest your personal seeds and be taught some tasty methods you should use them at house?
Right here’s what I’ll cowl:
When to Harvest
Sunflowers brighten your backyard with their cheery faces for a number of weeks in summertime, about 80 to 140 days after you sowed the seeds, relying on the cultivar.
After which they cling their heads, and their petals flip brown. They start to shrivel and begin to look dried out and useless.
However earlier than they go, they’ve one final reward to share with you: a flower head stuffed with ripe seeds.
Sunflowers, Helianthus annuus, like different members of the Asteraceae household, have advanced reproductive constructions. The middle disk is made up of a whole bunch of tiny inflorescences, surrounded by giant ray-like petals across the exterior.
Every of those tiny florets within the heart disk can self-pollinate and produce one kernel, contained in its personal outer hull. This seed casing will be black or striped, relying on the cultivar.
The sunflower you admire in your backyard is in reality not one, however a whole bunch of tiny flowers clustered collectively that seem like one large stunning bloom!
So how have you learnt when to reap?
Sunflower kernels are ripe when the again of the flower head – the calyx – turns from inexperienced to yellowish-brown, and the outer petals wither and drop.
Because the blooms begin to fade, examine your flower heads carefully.
The tiny petals within the heart disc will dry out, and a light-weight scraping will trigger them to drop, exposing the tightly packed seeds.
You can select to chop the flower heads off earlier than they fully dry out, for those who select. Let’s check out the choices obtainable to you.
Drying the Heads Your self
Have you ever ever seen the mess that birds depart below a feeder? Do mysterious crops pop up – maybe even sunflowers – come springtime?
That’s what may occur in your backyard for those who let the seeds totally mature on the stalk. Squirrels and birds will eat them fortunately and drop a bunch on the bottom, leading to volunteer sunflowers the subsequent season.
Perhaps that is precisely what you need. If that’s the case, go for it! However maybe you need to harvest the entire kernels for your self, and management the place future flowers are planted.
It’s straightforward to clip them after which cling the heads to dry. Right here’s how you can do it:
Watch the again of the flower head, the calyx, carefully. When it turns from inexperienced to yellow, that’s once you need to minimize about six to eight inches of stem with a pointy knife or a pair of pruning shears.
Go forward and take away any leaves that stay on the stalk, to do away with any pests that is perhaps concealing themselves within the foliage.
Tie two or three of stems along with twine, and cling them with the heads dealing with down in a shady or partially sunny space that’s dry, with good air flow – indoors or outdoor. A barn or shed works properly for this.
When the backs of the heads flip brown, you’re prepared to reap seeds.
You’ll be able to place a paper bag over the drying flower heads to catch any that fall off. It’s essential to not use plastic, as this will trigger moisture buildup which will result in mould.
Permit Heads to Dry on the Stem
Alternatively, for those who don’t have sufficient house to hold a bunch of sunflower heads and also you need to allow them to dry within the backyard, you are able to do that.
Control them till the again of the pinnacle turns from inexperienced to yellow or brown.
You’ll be able to tie a paper bag across the flower heads to stop birds and squirrels from munching in your seeds.
When the calyx has turned brown, examine to see if the seeds are plump and mature. If any have fallen out on their very own, this means they’re ripe and prepared for harvest.
This might occur at any time of the 12 months from July to October, relying in your rising zone, your chosen cultivar, and your sowing date.
At harvest time, grasp the stem about six to eight inches beneath the flower head, and minimize via the stem with a pointy knife or a pair of pruners.
Slicing off a number of inches of stem together with the flower head makes it simpler to deal with for the subsequent step: eradicating the seeds from the pinnacle.
How one can Harvest
Together with your hand or a knife, gently scrape off the dried out remnants of tiny petals from the middle disk. These can resemble greenish-yellow buds or fluffy particles overlaying the seeds.
Now, for one of the best half: separating the seeds from the flower head.
You are able to do this two methods – simply ensure you have a bucket or different appropriate container able to catch them:
1. Utilizing your thumbs, rub the seeds off the flower head and into the container beneath. To make this job simpler, you may break the pinnacle into smaller items.
2. Take two ripe heads (or two items) and gently rub them collectively over your bucket or different container.
Straightforward peasy!
Learn on to learn the way to get pleasure from your contemporary harvest.
Take pleasure in Your Harvest
Now that you just’ve obtained a bucketful of scrumptious, nutritious seeds, how will you insure that you just get probably the most enjoyment out of them?
Some gardeners prefer to eat them uncooked, proper off the dried flower. Crack the shell together with your tooth and benefit from the earthy style of uncooked sunflower seeds, straight from the backyard.
You may also need to avoid wasting to plant subsequent 12 months, or make suet truffles to add to your hen feeder to maintain your feathered mates blissful within the winter months.
Save just a few uncooked seeds for planting, in an envelope or jar, and retailer it in a cool, dry place till planting time.
Most individuals appear to seek out that roasted seeds are extra flavorful – and simpler to crack open.
They make a scrumptious topping for salads, a nutritious snack on the go, and – my favourite – sunflower butter.
You may also use them on this scrumptious pesto recipe from our sister web site, Foodal.
How one can Roast Sunflower Seeds
Right here’s how you can roast them of their shells:
For unsalted seeds, all it’s a must to do is preheat the oven to 400°F, unfold them in a single layer on an ungreased roasting pan, and roast for 5 minutes.
Take them out and examine them at this level to see in the event that they’re dry – the hulls ought to crack open simply. If not, pop them again in for 2 extra minutes and examine them once more. Preserve including two minutes to the roasting time and examine them typically, till they’re performed.
In the event that they flip brown, which means the within might be charred. Control your homegrown seeds and don’t allow them to get too roasted!
For a scrumptious flood of salty goodness once you pop one in your mouth, add 2-4 tablespoons of salt and 1 cup of seeds to 1 quart of water and produce it to a boil.
Decrease the warmth to a simmer and allow them to prepare dinner within the brine for about Quarter-hour. Drain, unfold them on a baking sheet, and put them within the oven at 400°F for 10-Quarter-hour.
For those who’d moderately roast them with out the shells, first you’ll must undergo the method of shelling each one.
It appears daunting, I do know, however I promise you don’t should crack every one open together with your tooth.
Right here’s how I do it:
- Seize a heavy rolling pin, a plastic baggie, and a bowl of water.
- Add half a cup of seeds to the baggie and seal it. Lay it flat, in order that the little morsels aren’t piled on prime of one another, after which crack them with the rolling pin such as you’re rolling out extraordinarily fragile bread dough.
- Drop the contents of the bag into the water. The damaged hulls will float to the highest of the water, whereas the heavier kernels will sink to the underside.
- Use a slotted spoon to gather the damaged shells, and drain the water off of the remaining seeds. Lay them on paper towels to dry, and voila!
You’re able to roast. Unfold the kernels in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Roast them in a 350°F oven for 8-10 minutes, stirring and turning them over midway via the roasting time.
Or, for those who want, roast them in a skillet over medium warmth for 5-7 minutes, or till they start to show brown and odor completely superb. Make sure to toss them steadily, to keep away from scorching.
You’ll be able to add salt to style, for a crunchy snack.
Fast and Straightforward Sunflower Butter
What’s one other wonderful factor to strive when you’ve an enormous batch of homegrown seeds? Selfmade sunflower butter.
Each my father-in-law and sister-in-law are deathly allergic to peanuts, they usually launched me to sunflower butter a few years in the past.
I like to eat this tasty peanut different on pancakes with syrup, or unfold on a toasted slice of bread, topped with this straightforward fig jam from our sister web site, Foodal.
Right here’s how you can make it:
- Add 2 1/4 cups of roasted, shelled kernels to a high-speed blender, together with a teaspoon of salt and a pair tablespoons of sugar or your favourite sweetener. I exploit pure maple syrup. However you should use brown sugar, honey, or a sugar-free sweetener for those who want. And you might additionally use your meals processor.
- Mix at a low pace for about 5 minutes, scraping the edges of the bowl each minute or so. At this stage the combination could appear a bit dry, for the reason that oils haven’t but been launched.
- Improve the pace to medium and mix for one more 3 to five minutes, or till the butter is creamy and clean.
- Switch to an hermetic container and retailer within the fridge. Use inside one to 2 weeks. Alternatively, you may retailer it within the freezer for as much as 4 months.
How one can Retailer
Uncooked, unshelled seeds will final within the pantry for 2 to a few months, or within the fridge or freezer for as much as one 12 months.
Roasted and shelled, they’ll additionally final for as much as a 12 months within the fridge or freezer, however they’re solely shelf steady for 3 to 4 months within the pantry.
Roasted and unshelled, they are going to final for 4 to 5 months within the pantry, and for up a 12 months within the fridge or freezer.
Don’t attempt to plant your roasted seeds, however be happy to avoid wasting uncooked ones within the shell for planting within the backyard later.
Put the contemporary, unshelled seeds in a brown paper bag, jar, or envelope, and retailer it in a cool, darkish place.
Bear in mind to mark the packet with the date and cultivar identify. And understand that hybrid varieties is not going to produce true replicas of the father or mother plant.
Plant inside seven years, and also you’ll get deliciously vibrant sunflowers to stare upon and harvest over again.
Double the Delight
It’s pretty of sunflowers to provide us their greatest deal with simply as their good petals fade, isn’t it? And it’s really easy to reap the heads – that is such a enjoyable and engaging undertaking to strive with the children in your life.
How easy it’s to have your personal contemporary crop of homegrown bits of nutty heaven to get pleasure from.
So plant them now, and prepare for a doubly rewarding journey together with your H. annuus.
Do you develop sunflowers? Have you ever ever harvested your personal seeds? Tell us within the feedback!
And for extra details about rising edible flowers in your backyard, try the next guides subsequent:
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