If you’re looking for a fun Summer garden project, planting sunflowers is the ticket. They’re easy to grow, they grow super fast, you can try lots of different colors/sizes, and you get to enjoy and share gorgeous sunflowers all Summer. Such a fun project for kids (and adults too!). Here’s how. 

First, plan your spot. Find a spot out in the open that gets full sun all day. Turn the soil and work in some Nature’s Blend compost and you’re ready to plant. 

Start your seeds in peat pots or directly in the soil. Peat pots are nice because you can protect the seedlings in the house or on a covered patio, then transplant them (peat pot and all) into the ground once they get a little bigger. But if you want to skip this step, sunflower seedlings are hardy enough to get a good start outside directly in the soil. 

Plant sunflowers about 12-18” apart to give them room to grow. You can expect seeds to sprout in just a few days and grow really fast! Once they start growing, fertilize with liquid organic Hasta Gro for lots of blooms. These pictures are Debbie’s sunflowers in early July of last year and she planted them in late May! They only take about 4-6 weeks to start blooming, and the blooms typically last about 2 months. One of the fun facts about sunflowers is that their blooms follow the sun. The blooms face East in the morning, then turn and follow the sun throughout the day. Overnight, they slowly turn back toward the East and start again! The blooms will also attract helpful bees to your yard, and once the blooms fade, birds will come feast on the seed heads. You can harvest and eat the seeds from some varieties too 😊