How to grow a sunflower on a private plot - simple secrets of a good harvest

Tell us how to grow a sunflower? I love to snap fried sunflower seeds in front of the TV in the evening. The other day I figured out how many packs I buy per year, and decided that it would be cheaper to plant. Moreover, at the end of the site there is a wide strip - we plant few vegetables, and the vegetable garden is large. We will plow it before winter, and in spring I want to try to sow a sunflower. When can you plant it and how to care for it?

Sunflowers in private plots can not always be found, except perhaps decorative varieties or so, a few hats to get delicious seeds. On a large scale, it is usually planted for industrial use. A tall plant and space requires a lot, which is problematic for small summer cottages. However, if the size of your garden allows you to distinguish several stripes, plant sunflowers there. This unpretentious plant will provide you with a stock of seeds and save on their purchase. In addition, she will decorate the dacha with her large sun-shaped hats. There is nothing particularly difficult about how to grow a sunflower, no. Give him a sunny place, water and feed on time - these are, perhaps, all the secrets of a good harvest.

Where to plant?

It is not for nothing that a sunflower is called a "sunny flower" - it needs a lot of light to build up a powerful aboveground part and large caps. Therefore, the landing site should be well lit by the sun. It is advisable that the wind does not walk there, which can break the stems.

The sunflower is not very picky about the soil and can survive almost everywhere. If it is not the beauty of the caps that is important, but their contents, provide the plant with a nutrient soil with neutral or weak acidity. If necessary, apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizers under the autumn digging if the soil is poor. But on sandstones or in waterlogged acidic soil, a sunflower will not please with a harvest and may hurt.

The best predecessors of the sunflower are corn, cruciferous and cereal crops. You cannot plant after beets (sugar) and tomatoes, and the sunflower itself can be returned to the same area only after 7 years. It selects many nutrients from the soil, so that most garden crops grow poorly after sunflowers. You can replenish the balance by planting legumes there next year.

When and how to plant?

The sunflower loves light, but return frosts are not afraid of it. However, this does not mean that seeds should be thrown into cold ground. Wait until it warms up a little (up to 8 ° C heat). You can start planting from the end of April.

It is better to choose the largest seeds by selecting hollow ones. To do this, fill the seeds with saline. Throw whatever comes up. Plant the rest in the holes, leaving a distance of at least 50 cm between them. For tall varieties, you need “personal space” up to 1 m.

To prevent fragrant seeds from being eaten by pests, pickle them before planting by the Commander or Prestige.

How to grow a sunflower: features of crop care

In warm soil, seeds sprout quite quickly and after 1.5 weeks the first sprouts will appear. Now provide the sunflower with optimal conditions, namely:

1. Weed regularly to avoid overgrowing with weeds that will draw in moisture.
2. Water in a timely manner, especially when flowering and caps start. A sunflower needs enough water to feed its powerful rhizome and stem.
3. Feed the plantings at least three times. Young plants with a pair of true leaves - superphosphate or azophos and urea... At the stage of tying hats and again when they ripen - infusion of mullein with the addition of potassium sulfate.

When at the end of summer the lower leaves of the sunflower turn yellow, and the caps bow under their own weight, start harvesting. To prevent the seeds from spilling out, it is better to cut off the heads a little immature. In a couple of weeks in a dry place they will "reach" and the contents can be husked. Seeds are winnowed and stored in closed containers.

Sunflower growing video