A sure sign of summer is a big beautiful sunflower towering above most of the other plants in your garden. With Fall upon us though, you may start to notice your sunflowers looking a little droopy and sad. Fear not. Your sunflower fun is not done! It’s time for a sunflower harvest!
Your first step is to pull the entire flower out of your garden. These massive beauties put down some pretty serious roots, so before you set out to harvest, make sure you have a garden fork, trowel, or shovel to make the process a little easier.
After digging the entire flower out, roots and all, you can break off the head of the flower from the stem and discard all but the head. Leave the head to dry for a few days either by hanging it upside down or simply letting it sit in a dry spot.
Once dry, have your students help you pick the seeds out of the sunflower head. You can do this with your hands or large plastic tweezers, both of which help little ones practice those fine motor skills. I would suggest doing this task over a bowl so that as you are getting the seeds free, you can collect them easily.
After all the seeds are out, you have a lot of options, but here are a few of our favorites:
Painted Sunflower – https://www.naturalbeachliving.com/sunflower-art-for-kids/
Bird Feeder – https://www.hometalk.com/5130855/how-to-make-a-sunflower-bird-feeder
Roasted Seeds – https://www.amodernhomestead.com/harvest-roast-sunflower-seeds/
Science Experiment – https://nurturestore.co.uk/sunflower-seed-growing-lesson-for-children
We love hearing from our schools, so email us and let us know what you’ve been doing with your sunflower seeds!
Happy Gardening!
