It would seem that it’s difficult here - he threw a seed into the ground, and the sunflower grew. But not so simple. Even in the cultivation of such an unpretentious plant, like a sunflower, there is its own technology. And only if you stick to it, you can get a good result at the end of the season.
How to grow a sunflower
It is much more pleasant to eat sunflower seeds, which is grown by yourself. It is good if the landing site is located far from the highway, then there will be as few harmful substances in the finished seeds as possible. What needs to be done before planting a sunflower in the country?
First, choose the soil. Ideally, if it is black soil, but sandy soil is also suitable. It is strictly forbidden to plant seeds in clay soil - time will be wasted. And you must take care of good drainage, otherwise the sunflower will simply decay in too moist soil.
Secondly, you need to decide in which place it is better to plant a plant. The name sunflower speaks for itself. Of course, the place should be open for the penetration of warm rays, because this plant loves the sun so much. In hot summers with moderate watering, it reaches three meters in height. Here, of course, it is important to adhere to the time when to plant a sunflower.
Thirdly, the soil should be prepared. It is good to plant the plant in the place where corn, wheat, peas or beans were previously grown. Such soil will be enriched with all the necessary trace elements. It is important to remove all weeds from the selected area before planting.
Should I listen to the lunar calendar?
Many gardeners before deciding when to plant a sunflower turn to the lunar calendar. It has long been known that plants that stretch up need to be planted when the moon grows. As soon as the average daily air temperature reaches 10-12 degrees, it is worth looking into the lunar calendar. If the moon is growing, then it's time to plant the seeds. As for seedlings, here you need to catch up in advance, approximately in mid-April (20 days before planting in the ground).
The prepared place and soil is already half the success. Now it's up to the seeds.
Pick the seeds
Two types of seeds are available on the market for planting: ordinary and hybrids, which are indicated by the F1 marking. What is the difference between the two?
Unlike ordinary seeds, hybrids do not leave “offspring”. This means that the grown seeds cannot be used the next year for planting: the harvest will not succeed. But there are also advantages here. They are chosen by those gardeners who want to harvest a rich harvest this year, and not grow seeds for the next planting. The percentage of germination of sunflower hybrids is about 80%, while in ordinary seeds - only 60%.
It should be noted that in addition to productivity, hybrids have good resistance to diseases, they are not afraid of moisture, do not crumble.
It is up to the gardener to decide which kind of sunflower to choose. Some seeds are more suitable for a certain type of soil, others will grow in a separate climatic zone, still others will meet all conditions, but will cost much more.
How to plant a sunflower seed
Already in early May, the average daily temperature, as a rule, reaches 10 degrees. This is the time to plant a sunflower in open ground.
In previously prepared soil, pits are made with a depth of about 5 cm (in the northern regions, plus 3 cm). The distance between the recesses is about 40 cm, between the rows - about half a meter. 2 or 3 seeds are sown in one hole. If the average daily temperature has already reached 10-12 degrees, then the first seedlings will appear in 8-10 days. But you can plant a sunflower earlier. However, at a daily temperature of 6-8 degrees, seedlings begin to appear only after 20 days and the seeds need to be planted deeper than 5 cm.
And it should be noted that the longer the sprouts of the sunflower do not emerge, the more likely they are to be spoiled or destroyed by birds and rodents. Therefore, the seeds of this plant never have one hundred percent germination.
Here's how to plant sunflower seeds in open ground. But you can plant a plant and seedlings.
When to plant a sunflower on seedlings
At room temperature, the first shoots appear in a week. But until the time comes when to plant in the ground, a sunflower should grow up. Therefore, the best option is to sow the seeds of the plant in advance 20 days before the intended planting on the site.
How to plant sunflower seeds for seedlings? To do this, you need to prepare special peat pots, in each of which sow one or two seeds. Instead of pots, you can take plastic disposable cups. For good seedlings, it is better to use high-quality black soil with fertilizers.
It is important that the place where the seedlings will stand has adequate lighting. If there is little daylight , the sprouts will stretch, turn white, will be weak and thin. From such seedlings, most likely, it will not work to collect a good harvest of sunflower.
Plant care
As soon as the first sprouts appeared, the time for weeding the sunflower begins. In total, from the moment of planting seeds or seedlings into the ground before harvesting, at least three treatments of the plant from weeds must be done. This is where it will become clear how to plant sunflowers correctly. The distance between them should be sufficient for the convenience of weeding and so that the flowers are not chopped. Immediately after the beginning of flowering, it is recommended to pick off the lower leaves to the hat, so that the seeds receive enough moisture and are not empty.
After the first weeding and before flowering, the plant should be fertilized. It all depends on when to plant a sunflower. The first feeding is done about a month after planting, the second - after a similar period of time. To begin with, it is better to take a full-fledged fertilizer, and then you can limit yourself to nitrogen-phosphorus plant nutrition.
A sunflower does not like water, so before deciding how to plant a sunflower in the country, it is worth giving preference to places where the soil will dry quickly. For a good harvest, it is enough to produce three waterings per season: immediately after germination, before flowering, and in the process of seed ripening.
Time to harvest
When the sunflower has grown, and this happens about three months after planting, it remains only to harvest. But just at a time when there is very little time left before the seeds ripen, the plant is attacked by birds. And then the question arises of how to plant sunflower seeds so that the grown crop is less exposed to raids by birds?
Specifically, nothing can be done about the location of the landing site; you need to give preference to good soil and the open sun. But you can save the crop using tricky tricks. After the sunflower has flowered and seeds begin to ripen in it, you need to tie the head of the plant. For this case, a fishing net with very small cells, gauze, thin
cotton fabric are suitable
. But you should avoid bad advice about wrapping the sunflower head with polyethylene. To fully ripen the seeds, they need air, and in a closed bag the seeds will simply go bad.
What affects a good result?
To summarize, it should be noted that all the same, it affects the expected yield at the end of the season.
- The sunflower grows well in areas open to the penetration of sunlight, on chernozem or sandy soils with adequate drainage.
- An important role is played by the choice of seeds. Germination of sprouts and resistance to diseases and pests depends on their quality.
- You should know when to plant a sunflower in open ground with seeds and seedlings.
- The quality of care for them affects the amount of sunflowers, namely: timely weeding, watering, fertilizing with fertilizers, protection against bird attacks.
- As soon as the sunflower begins to dry out and bows its head to the ground, it is time to reap the benefits of its work. This means that the seeds are ripe and ready to be eaten raw or after heat treatment.