Ending this Sunday, the 23rd of February 2025, is the Sow Right Seeds sale! 25% off 10 packets (or more) and free shipping over $25. Use code for 10% off.
Mammoth Sunflowers are a great addition to most gardens, but you must plan for them. They take a lot of room, but if put against a fence, a wall, or at the far end of the gardens, they will fit in.
Plan for 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight as the sunflowers track the light and change their orientation. This is something cool to point out to children, and it’s a great learning lesson in homeschooling.
They only need uncompacted soil, a little fertilizer, and lots of water. Be sure to turn the soil well before planting. Once grown, the stalks can often be as thick as a woman’s wrist, so they have deep root systems. It is time well spent rocking the land.
Sometimes, they will require staking to hold them up as they finish their growing cycle. (I have found over the years that if not grown in densely planted sections, they can be affected by late summer storms if you have winds where you grow.) You can tie them to fences with jute twine. Do this in multiple sections, to hold it straight up, especially near the head. But leave the twine a bit loose so it doesn’t cut into the stalk.
The Mammoth Sunflowers come in fun-to-grow varieties, such as grey-striped and Russia. Other seed companies will just list them as Mammoth, such as Sow Right Seeds does.
While the seed packets will tell you to direct snow, I highly encourage you to start a number in pots. I have found two issues with direct seeding – birds and squirrels eating or moving the seeds and slugs/squirrels eating the seedlings. So I do both. I seed a row about 3 feet apart; then I start the same amount in pots. I find these do best in the greenhouse, not because of heat, but to keep the squirrels out of the pots.
I plant these between the direct-sown seedlings that make it.
And then there are the random sown ones. We found that chickens love sunflower seeds. I would toss them seeds often; some would wander off and get buried in their scratching. These grew well in the land the chickens would cross: free fertilizer and their little rototillers turning the soil.
There is one thing to watch: what you plant nearby. Sunflower seeds can stop or slow down the growth of other plants, such as tomatoes and lettuce. However, plants like peppers, squash, corn, and beans grow well near them.
Pollinators love sunflowers. Native and honey bees will cover them at the hottest time of the day.
The plants are fun to watch grow tall, over the summer. They can take up to 100 days to fully mature, so are a whole summer project. They often reach 12 feet tall, and can exceed that.
For the past few years, I’ve grown sunflower seeds for our chicken flock. Once the heads were mature and the seeds ripe, I’d pull them out and give them to the girls. They would clean a head quickly. Chickens LOVE sunflower seeds.
I’d save some for later use and some for seed swaps. Homegrown is the best if you like eating them.
Just watch for annoying Instagram influencers trying to take photos in your garden…..they cannot resist a field of blooms as the sun sets!
~Sarah