Hi violet (one of my favorite flowers, the outdoor kind). I feel like I am running kind of an experiment. Scattered a partial shade mix in the problem area and am buying a more expensive bird food with the sunflowers already hulled. The shade mix had a lot of crabgrass in it, that took off lol, but I kept at it and have most of it picked out, same with weeds. Not being familiar with what is in that mix, I will have to wait and see, wanted some of those gallardia (sp?) daisies, too, which I planted. The plants are very loosely rooted because the soil is really too loose, but are nice and green, don't want to stand up too straight, so maybe it will be a wash. I'm hoping they will root deeper as they mature. But maybe since they are probably perennials, they will surprise me next year, just got done watering them. I found a guy with a small tractor who I had plow me a long strip in the backyard where my daughter helped me plant 21 tomatoes, we caged them but with the cheaper cages, and my neighbor lent me about a 100' long soaker hose which is a godsend. I had read pros and cons about those, but pressure is maintained all along the line which makes 3 turns through the row. The tomatoes I started from seed and transplanted into 16 oz plastic cups w/drainage holes are running a little late but are starting to set fruit and many blossoms, the area gets full sun in the morning and late afternoon sun in parts of it, so we'll see how that works out. Nice healthy plants and grew tall and straight by starting them myself and getting them into sun in the front yard, was so relieved to get them in the ground. I was in tears thinking I was going to have to give them all away on freecycle after all that work. Next year, I plan to put a mass planting of the same kind of rose there mixed with perennials, so I'll be back to square 1 if I want to do tomatoes lol because so much of my small yard is shaded by my beloved trees, and I wish I could have more of those lol. I have 25 redbud seedlings, now my sister wants some, so it will work out somehow. I can only use about 3 at the most of those if I can get them through the winter. They are ready to move into larger pots now. Maybe I'll be burned out on tomatoes by then, and it's cheap to buy them at the farmer's market at certain times to can, but it always gave me satisfaction growing my own. And I don't eat very many lol. I won't mind giving what I can't use away and hope they give me enough fruit to can and hope I have the energy to do it. There is nothing to compare with home-canned tomatoes imo. Maybe it's the glass jars instead of the metal cans. It seems to me that commercial producers are using a lot of Roma tomatoes, probably because they can buy them cheaper (I don't know, we have a Heinz close to here that used a good tomato for their products), and Romas are good for certain things, but others are much better for canning imo. Thanks for your interest.

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 325º 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.

I had read the same thing years ago, but the article specifically referred to the striped hulls.I feed all year with black oil seed ( more nutritious for birds) and have had no problems in the past several years. Now and then I'll go out and scoop up a few handfuls of hulls,and I have left a bit of space directly under the feeders so that the hulls (and droppings) don't fall into the hostas much. If there's any problem there, it's the tree roots and my refusal to water unless there's a real dry spell. My theory is that it keeps some plants small so that I can fit more in. In reality, I'm lazy about watering and we have serious water bans in my town. Oh good-I'm law-abiding, too!

We use platform feeders for sunflower seeds. With a piece of 1/4" hardware cloth covered by some screening on the bottom, rain drains through and there is no danger of sprouting/molding. The feeders are 12" long by 6" wide and about 2" deep, made from scrap lumber, screwed together at the ends and with the hardwarecloth/screening stapled on (although my husband, the perfectionist, added a strip of lath over the bottom to made the hardwarecloth/screening more secure.)This type of feeder can be attached to a post with an L bracket, or hung, in which case you need to attach eyelets to three sides for the chain or rope. I am boring you with all this because this is a feeder that doesn't clog! We, too, encounter bits of extraneous materials in our sunflower seeds which would clog a traditional feeder. The birds seem to enjoy the platform feeder, and it sure is easy to fill!