Every year we enjoy going to a local farm to pick sunflowers. It’s a great family-friendly activity and doesn’t cost a lot of money. You can dry out your sunflowers to use in your autumn home decor, in craft projects and yes…you can eat the seeds once dry. It’s a very easy process! Here’s some tips to help you get started.
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Tips for Picking and Drying Sunflowers
1. Plan ahead. You need to wear comfortable walking shoes and dress appropriately for the weather. I recommend taking along a cardboard box and garden shears. You’ll want to apply sunscreen and bug spray before heading out into the field.
2. Look for flowers that aren’t damaged and are disease-free. Avoid ones that contain a lot of bugs and/or worms. You want them to look nice! In the case of sunflowers its not about the size. The larger ones can be difficult to work with whereas smaller ones dry-out quicker and nicer.
3. You want to cut them at an angle leaving at least 6″ of stem. You can leave leaves on or remove them.
4. Lay them flat and in a single layer in a box for transport home. Don’t pile them onto one another. Keep the heads facing up.
5. Once you get home you want to prepare the flowers for drying right away. Find a cool, dark and dry place in your home to hang up the flowers once you prepare them.
6. You will need paper bags, rubber bands and twine. Cut twine 14″ to 16″ in length. Tie around the stem of the flower (bottom of the stem) with a hanging loop at the other end. Slip a paper bag over the head of the flower and fasten it shut with a rubber band.
The bag helps to keep bugs out and to keep things dark. You need to hang them upside down to dry. A closet. garden shed, pantry closet, laundry room, etc. all work well. The bag will also catch any “dried sunflower seeds” as your flower matures.
7. It will take 3-6 weeks for your flowers to fully dry out. This process depends on the size of the flower, weather conditions and location. Be patient and leave them alone for the first 3 weeks. Then check on them weekly after that.
8. Remove the rubber band, bag and twine. If there are any seeds still left in the head you can remove them. You can trim the stem to a more manageable length, just cut it at an angle. If the center of the stem is moist…hang it back up and let it dry out for another week or two.
9. I like to dry them out to decorate during the fall season and/or in craft projects. You should spray them “lightly” with hairspray or with 1-2 “light” coats of a clear acrylic spray sealer. This will help to preserve them.
The photos in my post were taken a few weeks ago when hubby and I went sunflower picking. There’s a farm about 10 minutes from our home that offers U-Pick Sunflowers every year. Luckily for us…we had a gorgeous 78 degree weather day to do it! They charge $1.00 per sunflower no matter the size.
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I have never picked sunflowers either and it sounds like a lot of fun. I never knew you could spray them and use them in your home decor. I drive by them every time I go to town and they just make me smile to look at them they are so lovely and cheery. Thanks for sharing this one.
Now I want to find a sunflower farm. We grew a few when I was growing up and I know we managed to get the seeds.
WOW I am learning so much from you. Have never picked/cut sunflowers, and I don’t know of any place around here that does it. Over the years I would have some come ;up but I would always just leave them for the birds to dine on.
I have never picked sunflowers. That sounds like fun. Thank you for the information.