How to Grow My Own Black Oil Sunflower Seeds
Black oil sunflowers produce seeds used for sunflower oil, bird seed and other animal feeds. If you leave the seeds on the flower heads to dry, you will have an abundance of birds feeding on them. Black oil sunflower seeds can also be dried and used as healthy snacks full of vitamins E and B6. Best of all, black oil sunflower seeds are easy to plant and grow.
Choose a location in your yard that receives at least six hours of full sun each day. The black oil sunflower is a sun lover.
Wait until the last frost of your location has passed. Dig up the soil to a depth of about 1 foot. Turn the soil and break up any large dirt clods. Rake the area flat.
- Black oil sunflowers produce seeds used for sunflower oil, bird seed and other animal feeds.
- If you leave the seeds on the flower heads to dry, you will have an abundance of birds feeding on them.
Layer 2 to 3 inches of compost over the soil. Work the compost in all the way to the bottom of the 1-foot depth. Compost works in two ways to grow healthy plants. It offers important nutrients and it amends the soil texture. Rake the soil flat.
Dig two parallel moats with the pointed corner of your hoe. Let the soil fall to the inside, creating a peaked dirt row.
- Layer 2 to 3 inches of compost over the soil.
- Let the soil fall to the inside, creating a peaked dirt row.
Dig two parallel moats with the pointed corner of your hoe. Let the soil fall to the inside, creating a peaked dirt row.
- Layer 2 to 3 inches of compost over the soil.
- Let the soil fall to the inside, creating a peaked dirt row.
Poke holes at the top of the dirt row with your finger. They should be approximately 1 inch deep and 6 inches apart. Drop a black oil sunflower seed in each hole and then push soil over the top.
Spray water over the seeds, gently, each day. Water more often if the climate becomes hot and dry. Change to watering in the moats, on each side of the row, after the sunflower seeds have germinated.
- Dig two parallel moats with the pointed corner of your hoe.
- Drop a black oil sunflower seed in each hole and then push soil over the top.
Thin the seedlings to about 1-1/ feet apart, keeping the healthiest ones, after they are 4 to 6 inches in height.
Tip
Dove hybrid black oil sunflower seeds are one of the most popular black oil sunflower varieties.
As the sunflower plants grow tall and the heads become heavy, you may need to attach the plants to stakes to keep them from drooping.
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Writer Bio
Karen Ellis has been a full-time writer since 2006. She is an expert crafter, with more than 30 years of experience in knitting, chrocheting, quilting, sewing, scrapbooking and other arts. She is an expert gardener, with lifelong experience. Ellis has taken many classes in these subjects and taught classes, as well.
