Friday Rookie Topic: Sunflowers

Sunflowers
Sunflowers are beautiful and recognizable to just about everyone. The big flowering head is not a flower but a lot of tiny flowers that will eventually turn into seeds, the yellow "petals" around the center are there to protect the actual flowers. Sunflowers are native to the Americas and have been used many ways such as seeds, bread, cooking oil, the oil has also been used for hair conditioner, livestock feed, a peanut butter alternative, sunflower butter, the stalks have even been used to make paper! They have even been used to extract toxins out of the ground (they were use d at Chernobyl for this) They are very versitile. They can also be grown as an annual or perenial.
Be careful when you are choosing a location to plant sunflowers, there are several things you need to take into consideration. Sunflowers are called sunflowers for a reason, remember this when you plant next to a structure such as a fence or the house, this will take away sunlight from the flower. Also when planting them make sure to remember that the seeds contain a substance that can kill grass and inhibit the next crops growth, sunflowers are allelopathic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allelopathy)
A big reason I like to have sunflowers in the garden, besides their beauty, is for the birds! Birds will pick at the sunflowers, leaving pretty much everything else alone. Birds that especially love sunflowers are blackbird, goldfinch, dove, grosbeak and sparrow. So if these are a pest to you sunflower will help you. My sunflower seeds are for the birds, not me!
If you want to harvest your sunflower seeds after the leaves (or "petals" ) have fallen off of the sunflower and the back side of the sunflower has turned yellow cut the flower leaving a 3 - 4 inch stem (you may want to put a paper sack over the sunflower head). Then wait a few weeks until your sunflowers have turned brown on the backside, once dried you can simply rub your hand over the seeds and they will pop out or you can rub two heads together to get them to pop out. Just remember to keep them warm, dry, and sheltered while preparing to harvest!