One of our best crops this year was the sunflowers. We had some behemoths! I think the largest one was a good solid 2 feet across and super heavy.

We had two patches – one next to the greenhouse that we were hoping would provide some shade when it got hotter and another out by the horse pasture. Both did remarkably well, and we ended up with about 5 pounds of finished seeds. These are the mammoth variety of sunflowers and are the variety that you would normally get when you buy sunflower seeds in the store.

To harvest the flowers when they start to dry out on the stalk, cut them, and hang them to dry. We put them in the greenhouse with the heads down. Once they have dried out completely – carefully brush off as much fluff as possible and start rubbing the seeds into a bucket.

Then pick out more debris and soak in saltwater overnight (the saltier the better). This helps get even more of the debris out. Let air dry and roast in the oven (450 degrees) for however long it takes. Internet recipes say 15 min -but ours were more like 45 min – just don’t burn them.

Allow to cool and package. We use a vacuum sealer and keep them in the dark, they will store for quite a long time.