Saving Sunflowers for the winter

[Ruth n Jersey]

A few days ago I cut down my Sunflowers. They were dry and the petals had dropped. At first I was going to let the birds have them but decided I'd bring them in and save them for the winter months when food would be in short supply and they really needed them. I put the heads in a bag and shook them. Some I had to take out by hand. I noticed a few worm holes in some seeds and thought the worms would have a picnic before the birds ever got to them. Looking online I found freezing them would be the best way to save them. Just to be sure I put them in the oven for a few minutes and then bagged them up . Now if I can only remember to take them out when the snow flies.

 

[jujube]

47 years ago, we used to drive through miles of sunflower fields in Turkey, going from Yalova to Karamursel. During the harvest season, hundreds of women would cut off the flower heads and then sit on the roads through the fields hitting the heads with wooden mallets. The seeds would be piled up several feet high until a front loader would come along and scoop them up. Then the ladies would go back to work. It would be 100 degrees and they'd be sitting out there in the sun, in their dark scarves and dark long-sleeved coats and black stockings all day long. I don't know how they did it; most people would be dead of heatstroke. I'm sure it's all automated now.

In the other direction were miles of poppy fields. We all know what those were for.

 

[Ruth n Jersey]

That must have been quite a sight jujube. I imagine they got next to nothing for all their hard work,of course once they got into the poppy fields it really didn't matter they probably were a very happy lot.

 

[Camper6]

So what you are talking about is saving the seeds and not the entire flower.

Because if you hang them up in a very dry place, they will dry out intact.

Same with just about any flower.