Organic Sunflower Seeds

Organic sunflowers are sun-loving annuals with the most striking flowers that follow the sun from morning to evening. Sunflowers are hardy in all zones, and these easy-to-grow cut flowers are edible too! The seeds are delicious salted and roasted. Sunflowers enhance every garden, commanding attention from native pollinators and beneficial insects. Incorporate sunflowers into your garden this year and wait to see how much more productive your vegetables will be!

• Beautiful blooms in earthy tones
• Attracts native pollinators and beneficial insects
• Drought tolerant and deer resistant
• Great companion plants to vegetables such as lettuce and squash

Sunflowers are easily the most recognizable blooms in existence. The large, golden daisy-looking flowers plants symbolize something for everyone. A vase of sunflowers brightens up any room and the seeds are a delicious snack if you can stand to leave the flowers on the plant! These beauties are loved by all—kids, brides, grandparents. Your garden really isn’t complete without a sunflower patch, now is it?

Organic sunflowers prefer to be direct sown after the last frost, when the soil has warmed to at least 55°F. Plant two seeds together every 18 inches and cover with an inch of soil. Alternatively, start seeds in 2-inch pots three weeks before the last frost. After sunflowers develop at least two sets of true leaves, harden the seedlings off and transplant outside at a foot spacing between plants. Organic sunflowers are usually one of two varieties—branching, like Autumn Beauty, or single-stem, like Mammoth Grey-Stripe. Both types of sunflowers produce gorgeous blooms and nutritious seeds, with the added fun of choosing a color palette. If growing organic sunflowers for cut flower arrangements and bouquets, grow seedlings closer together to promote smaller, straighter stems. Harvest blooms when the first petals sow color and begin unfurling. Strip the remaining leaves off the stems and place the sunflowers in water.

Sunflower seeds are rich in immunity-boosting minerals like iron and selenium. Vitamin E and flavonoids in sunflower seeds work to reduce inflammation and the healthy fats found in sunflower seed and seed oil work to lower cholesterol and blood pressure. To harvest sunflower seeds for eating, cut sunflower heads once they have started to die back, and dry in a cool, dark place (away from birds and rodents). Once the seeds are dry, soak overnight in saltwater to rehydrate, then drain and spread on a baking sheet. Roast for three hours at 200°F for a delicious snack!

Believe it or not, sunflowers make for tasty microgreens! To grow sunflower seedlings as microgreens, fill a seed tray with soil and multi-sow a pinch of sunflower seeds in every cell. Water as needed until the seedlings are two inches tall, or have their first set of true leaves. Use a pair of scissors to cut sections of seedlings at the base. Enjoy these microgreens within the first few days of harvesting, and schedule weekly succession plantings for a continuous harvest.

Whether you want organic sunflowers for gorgeous cut flower bouquets, salty snacking seeds, or nutritious microgreens, Eden Brothers has the variety for you!

For more information about planting, growing, and harvesting organic sunflower seeds, see the Sunflower Seeds Planting Guide.