How do you get beautiful sunflowers from simple seeds in the garden or on your balcony?

Do you fall under the spell of beautiful fields of sunflowers and tell yourself that this plant would do very well in your garden? Know that you can welcome it perfectly into your home. Sowing, planting and growing: here you will find everything you need to know before growing sunflowers in the ground or in pots.

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These large flowers with long bright yellow petals can grow up to three meters high. Also called “garden sun” or “flowers of the sun”, they owe their name and nicknames to their taste for the sun: sunflowers, in order to bloom, do need sunny exposure (and soil-rich soil).

When to sow sunflowers?

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If you have a sheltered sowing period, you can start in spring. To sow directly in the ground (recommended), it is important to leave the last frost and sow from mid-May to the end of June.

How to sow sunflower?

First, make sure to loosen the soil by turning the soil. Then make a groove a few centimeters deep and put a few seeds in a well every 40 cm before covering everything and then water regularly.

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How to grow a sunflower in a pot?

If you want to put sunflowers on a terrace or balcony, you should opt for sunflowers in pots. No, not anymore, it’s not complicated. The important thing is to choose a pot that is deep enough (about a foot minimum) and wide (about two feet) and fill it with soil and potting soil. Then all you need to do is put four seeds in a small hole in the center of the pot and water them regularly. When the sunflowers have formed three or four leaves, stick to only the most vigorous plan.

How to cook sunflower?

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In addition to the decorative aspect, the sunflower can also have other uses. Its peaks, as the Truffaut.com website states, “can be blanched in boiling water and then browned in butter with a little garlic; then some say they develop an artichoke heart flavor”† The petals can be eaten in a salad and the seeds, once roasted, can showcase their flavors.

Bonus question: what is the origin of the sunflower?

The sunflower has existed in its wild form in South America for thousands of years, and cultivation dates back to about 3000 BC. JC It is exploited for its medicinal, nutritional and coloring properties (it can be used in dyeing) (source: semencemag.fr).

The sunflower was brought to Europe by the Spanish in the 16th century, first as an ornamental plant and then as an oilseed plant.

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