Sunflower seeds

The high-fiber seeds also help promote and maintain digestive health. Their impressive nutritional profile makes sunflower seeds an excellent source of energy and a simple way to add lift to your everyday recipes.

A handful of sunflower seeds will take care of your hunger, while also enhancing your health by supplying significant amounts of vitamin E, magnesium and selenium.

It is a very easy task to cut and dry your sunflowers. Sunflowers are ready to be harvested once the back side of the flower turns yellow and will droop somewhat, instead of facing the sun.

In northern areas, this might be after the first killing freeze. In warmer areas, the plant will dry down naturally.Harvesting sunflowers usually occurs sometime between September and October.

By this time, most or all of the petals should have fallen off, and the backs of the heads will have turned tan or a pale yellow. Simply snip the head off the plant and rub the seeds out by hand.

If birds or other pests are attacking your sunflower heads, you can cut the heads and hang them in your garage like onions often are dried. But you need to ensure that the seeds are mature. You might also have another option to discourage the critters. Cover the heads with paper sacks so the seeds are harder to retrieve.

If you’ve determined that your sunflower is ready, cut the head of the sunflower off while leaving a bit of the stem still attached. Do not harvest sunflowers that are still green in appearance. Look for sunflowers that have lost most of their leaves, are somewhat brown and hang heavily.

Your sunflower seeds are ready if they are plump and striped with black and white. Once you have cut the sunflower, allow the flower to dry out for approximately one week.

The drying process allows the seeds to be released from the sunflower head.  If the sunflower head has dried sufficiently, the seeds should fall out rather easily. If you find that your seeds are not coming out easily, it’s a good indication that the flower head needs some additional drying time.

When the seeds are thoroughly dried, dislodge them by rubbing two heads together, or by brushing them with your fingers or a stiff brush. Allow the seeds to dry for a few more days, and then store in airtight glass jars in the refrigerator to retain flavor. Use nutrient-rich sunflower seeds for snacks and as a substitute for nuts in baking.

To toast the seeds to enhance their flavor, lightly brown them in a skillet over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Lots of gardeners grow sunflowers as home-grown bird feeders. It’s great fun to watch little birds hanging upside down on the heads as they peck out one seed at a time. After the seeds are gone, chop up the stalks with a shredder or a machete and add that organic matter to your compost pile.

Assuming that you want some of the seeds for yourself, choose the biggest heads for harvest.

Want  to know more about sunflower seeds? Then click here:

Sunflowers Rise & Shine In Your Garden! | Your Organic Gardening Blog

or Sunflower Seeds: Mother Nature’s Delicious Gift For Better Health | Natural Health Solutions

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Yours truly, Polly – Organic Gardener

In addition to its fun name, kniphofia is also known as ‘red hot poker’ or torch lilies. With grass-like evergreen foliage, this plant’s flower stems grow anywhere from 24 inches to over 6 feet tall. The flower spikes come in colors ranging from cream, orange, red and yellow.

Red-hot pokers have got themselves a bad name. This may be the fault of Professor Kniphof, the German botanist in whose honor they became known as kniphofia – so unnerving to pronounce. These plants of the lily family, natives of South Africa, used to be called tritoma, which is far less of a mouthful.

These South African natives provide much needed spiky form, and many come with vivid blooms that resemble colorful candles. Best of all, many of the new hybrids begin blooming by early summer, and repeat bloom all season as long as you keep them well-fed and deadhead the spent flowers regularly.

This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds. Bees and hummingbirds frequent the drooping flowers for nectar and pollen Each individual flower, and there are many clustered on thick, long stems, is full of nectar.

Bees, birds and butterflies often prefer the crazy-looking flowers; flowers that are spiky, thistle-like or just plain odd are favorites.

Red Hot Pokers are hardy in USDA zones 5 – 10. Kniphofia prefers full sun and will take any soil type. These easy-to-grow plants are drought tolerant and very low maintenance. They bloom from late spring through midsummer. A thick stand of them easily attracts orioles if they are nesting in the area.

The key to success with torch lilies is proper placement in the garden. Torch lilies tend to rot if they sit in saturated soil during winter, so well-drained soil is a must. At the same time, they require regular watering during summer or they won’t bloom well.

And, these showy plants don’t like to be squeezed in, preferring an open, sunny location. It’s fine to plant a low growing perennial in front of it, but leave a gap of 6 to 12 inches to allow kniphofia some breathing room.

Tritomas should be planted from the bulbs in the spring or fall. Plant the bulbs 3-inches deep. Fill the hole with soil and tamp down gently to remove air bubbles. Water to settle the soil. Depending upon the size of the mature plant, space the bulbs anywhere from 6 to 12 inches apart.

This plant has no known problems with pests or diseases and is easy to care for once established. Prune off spent stems immediately and clean up any dead leaves. Protect the crowns during the winter with a layer of straw.

Propagate only from well-established kniphofia by dividing the clumps in the spring. Dig up the clumps and cut off half of the foliage in order for the roots to establish successfully. Spacing is determined according to the size of the mature plant, but it can be anywhere from 6 to 12 inches. Water  to settle the soil.

Late-summer flowers such as crocosmias look good with pokers. I like them with different sorts of marigolds too. The calendulas “Touch of Red” and “Art Shades” are ideal for a showy look. Salvia uliginosa combined with yellow or coral-colored pokers gives a more subtle effect.

Red-hot pokers are such excellent garden plants that it is hard  to imagine they have ever been out of fashion.

Want  to know more about kniphofia? Then put your question here.

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Yours truly, Polly – Organic Gardener