Things Needed

dry pass helianthus pass with the ripe ejaculate still intact will serve two intention . It will cause the seeds to indurate further , making them easy to remove from the blooms . helianthus do n’t give their seeds up readily unless they ’re dry first . dry out the seeds will also prepare them for their veridical purpose in life , other than making more sunflowers . That use is to depict tasty snack for you and your family and friends . If the weather ’s nice and sunny , you may dry them on the stems . If not , this can be done just as easily indoors .

Step 1

find out your mature sunflower for signs that it ’s fourth dimension to harvest the cum . The flowers will attend to be bushed or dying . They will be wilt , dry and brown , and most if not all of the icteric petals will have fallen off . The undersides of the heads will turn yellow when the seeds are ripe for drying .

Step 2

enclose the head of your sunflower in a brown paper suitcase . guarantee it into berth by tying a piece of chain tightly around the bagful and root word near the bag ’s opening . This will keep release of any dropping seed . Using a report bag will also prevent mold emergence on the flower head by allowing it to breathe and preventing the collection of wet .

Step 3

Cut the bag bloom read/write head from the plant about a ft below the bag and bring it indoors if you ’re expecting rainfall within the next several days . Turn it upside down and hang it in a warm , ironic spot with in force ventilation .

Step 4

launch the bag each day to monitor the progress of your task , taking fear to compile any seeds which may have already fallen off . Check to see if the back side of the flower head has turned dark brown and very dry , which can take from 1 - 4 days . That ’s when the seminal fluid will be dried and quick to harvest .

Step 5

Cut the peak head from the stalking about 1 human foot below the bag . Do n’t absent it or you adventure drop the seeds on the undercoat .

Step 6

scratch your hired man across the seeds and they ’ll pop right off of the sunflower . Collect them in a large colander and wash well with dusty run water . debilitate them thoroughly and spread them out in a single layer on a slurred towel . Allow the sunflower seed to breeze juiceless for a twain of 60 minutes .

Pick out any foreign affair or detritus that you’re able to see . Your dried helianthus seeds are ready to eat just as they are , or you could salt and toast them if you wish . Store in air - tight container or resealable plastic food cup of tea .

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