skip to main content

Vegetable Gardening

How do I dry, glean/sort and dehull sunflower seeds?

16 years ago

This year, I grew dozen or so 'mammoth grey stripe' sunflower plants. As soon as the seeds began to form, the squirrels began to ravage them, so I covered some and picked others a bit early. I picked them as soon as they were a little yellowed on the back of the head, then hung them on my back porch to dry. We've had a really wet, damp and cool fall (did I mention wet?) here and a few of the heads developed black or grey mold on the outer part of the hulls.

The other day I discovered that a mouse had found the heads and was taking up where the squirrels left off. So I brought the heads inside and removed all the seeds. I noticed that in addition to some of them having mold on the hull (but not on the seed-meat inside, which tasted fine), many were soft and didn't have seeds inside the hulls. Also, the seeds don't seem entirely dry to me.

My questions are:

- Is there an easy way to separate the fully mature seeds (the ones with seed-meats inside the hulls) from the immature ones and the chaff?

- Is there an easy way to dehull the seeds? That is, how do I do it without having to buy expensive equipment? It seems far too tedious to go through two gallons of seeds one at a time.

- Do I need to be concerned about the mold? The seeds taste fine and I want to throw away the hulls anyway. I'm not fond of sucking on the hulls and hulling them with my teeth.

Thanks!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

gardenlen
16 years ago
g'day gamebird,

all i ever do (we don't have squirrel problems to deal with but) is wait for the plant to die right off then collect the heads and using the thumb just push against the seeds and they will pretty much fall out of the pod, never bothered much wth drying just put them in an air tight container and store until needed.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: len's garden page
gamebird
Original Author
16 years ago
Other than "suck and spit", how do you get the hull off of the seed meat?
Related Discussions
How do I get rid of birds?
Q
Comments (28)
I just moved to the central coast of California, and there's a type of bird called a towhee that roots around in tangled bushes in my front yard. I really don't have a problem with that; but these pesky birds seem to take great delight in flipping decorative bark out of the planters and onto my driveway and into the street. I used my blower for the first time to get all the bark pieces back where they belonged, then I was gone for about one hour and returned to find an amazing amount of bark thrown back into the street and onto portions of my driveway. I might have to consider replacing the bark with rock; but is there any chemical repellant and can spray or otherwise distribute on the bushes these birds like to play in, so I can spend more time with yard maintenance other than cleaning up after these dang birds. I've never seen anything like it.
...See More
So nice seeing this sunflower in deep shade
Q
Comments (35)
I have not noticed the helianthus family requiring much in the way of sratification...so would hold off planting them until late February. Astonishingly, there are NO woodland sunflowers available as seed or plants in the UK or EU - helianthus strumosus is the nearest I can get through B&T world seeds - so it would be new to me and I will have to check the germination requirements. I usually sow seed at the approximate time it would ripen in the wild...unless it was from a tender plant..but with a limited supply, my default sowing times are usually early spring. I sincerely doubt there will be any need for heat, lights or any special treatment other than sowing half a dozen seeds in a 5inch pot of a reasonable friable potting mix, covering with a layer of fine grit, watering and letting them get on with it in some sheltered spot outside. I would probably cover the pots with a perforated seed tray, enough to admit some light but keep out foraging birds and insects...but hey, we should have a communal sowing session and keep each other up to date. Seeds are cheap, addictive and completely thrilling. I stumbled upon a Pictorial Meadow seed mix display in the week around some municipal tennis courts on one of the college greens...just as seeds were nicely ripe...and filled all my dog poo bags with seed heads (at least 7 of them) in a maniac redistribution/scavenging session (even collaring a couple of passing children to help).
...See More
OT Which seed do I really want to grow?
Q
Comments (53)
Thanks all!! I will be trying my best to save some seeds this year and winter sowers will be first. We have had some horrible storms so I do not know if that will prevent pollination or what, I guess I will have to wait and see. Something told me the other day to pull out the paint brush, but NO I didn't listen. Grr!! Terrene I so hope yours blooms this year, the fragrance is great!! Almost like someone sprayed some cologne, LOL!! Bev if I am not mistaken I think it might of been you that I sent a clump to. I know I sent someone a clump of this phlox, my plumbago and my shasta daisy silver princess with the canna tubers. Was that you?? LOL I tell you what life is so hectic around here that 6 months ago to me seems like 5 years ago!! lol
...See More
What do you say we have a thread just on Sunflowers
Q
Comments (57)
And so do I! I planted sunflowers for the first time this past spring. I just bought seed packets everywhere I saw them , so had sunflowers from 12" to 12', lemon, orange, red, and even a couple of black ones! They made the side yard look so bright and cheerful, I'm going to do it again in 2015! I just need to find a way to keep the seedheads on the stalks till the birds have had their fill - I ended up cutting some and putting just the heads on a privet hedge next to my driveway. The cardinals went crazy for them - I LOVE SUNFLOWERS!!!
...See More
sosusie
16 years ago
Just happen to have these instructions sitting by the computer to try myself. They came from the extension office so it should be reliable :)

Roasting Hulled Pumpkin, Squasah or Sunflower seeds
To hull seeds in quantity, first break them up with a rolling pin, then drop the seeds and hulls into a large container filled with water. Stir vigorously to bring all kernels in contact with the water and to break the surface tension. The kernals will sink to the bottom, the shells will remain floating.

After the seeds have dried they may be roasted in a frying pan at low heat or toasted in a shallow pan in the oven at 325Âº

Mix:
1 cup seeds 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Heat stirring frequently to prevent scorching. the time required will be from 2-6 minutes, depending on the dryness of the seeds.
gamebird
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks! That's just what I'm looking for! I have two more seed heads to collect off the stalks (with bags on them to protect from squirrels), then I'll try that.
paveggie
16 years ago
Gamebird -- maybe I should envy you some of the moisture recently. It hasn't been raining here most of the summer. Supposed to have rained today and didn't. At least no frost yet.

Your moisture and harvesting early has resulted in the mold and empty seed hulls. Can't do much about the rain, but you could protect the seed heads earlier and leave them on the plant to mature. Cover the heads with a fine netting - u can get that in fabric departments. It takes a little while after the heads turn down for the seeds to be really mature.

Related Stories

FALL GARDENING Be Your Own Wildflower Nursery

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Gather seeds from your garden in fall, and you'll have a selection of plants for next year — without spending a dime

GARDENING GUIDES Unleash Your Guerilla Gardener

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Toss some seed bombs around the yard for easy, beneficial plantings

GARDENING GUIDES 10 Essential Wildflowers for the U.S. Central Plains

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Focusing on prairie wildflowers supports the most wildlife in a low-maintenance Plains landscape

GARDENING GUIDES 10 Native Wildflowers With Unique Foliage

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

When the flowers fade, these leaves keep the garden looking good

NATIVE PLANTS Why Aggressive Plants Might Actually Be Your Friends

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Sometimes a garden thug is exactly what’s called for

SUMMER GARDENING Houzz Call: Please Show Us Your Summer Garden!

By Annie Thornton

Share pictures of your home and yard this summer — we’d love to feature them in an upcoming story

GARDENING GUIDES 7 Ecofriendly Gardening Ideas That Also Cut Chore Time

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Spend less time weeding, less money watering and more moments just sitting back and enjoying your healthy garden

EDIBLE GARDENS How to Grow Your Own Sweet Summer Crops

By Marianne Lipanovich

This guide will help any gardener get started on growing the freshest warm-season veggies and berries for summer

GARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIES 3 Ways Native Plants Make Gardening So Much Better

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

You probably know about the lower maintenance. But native plants' other benefits go far beyond a little less watering and weeding

GARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIES Gardening for the Bees, and Why It’s a Good Thing

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

When you discover how hard bees work for our food supply, you may never garden without them in mind again

Sponsored

More Discussions

How often to add soil sulfur?

5

Al's Potting Mix-pine bark fines

6

Corn seeds during a frost?

15

How long do you harden off seedlings?

4

Planting beans in the same place twice in back to back year?

5