How to Harvest Sunflower Seeds

Wait until the flowers start to fade. You can harvest when the base of the flower starts to turn brown. However, if you grow your flowers in a humid climate, the flowers can become moldy and rotten (in this case, you’ll need to cut the base of the flowers when they’re yellow, and then put them in a greenhouse or barn for the flowers to grow). continue to dry). You should prepare for the drying process when the back of the flower base is yellow or golden brown. ^[1]

• To harvest sunflower seeds, you must wait for the flower base to dry completely. Otherwise, you won’t be able to separate the seeds from the flower base. Usually, within a few days of starting to wilt, sunflowers will be dry enough to be ready for harvest.
• If you grow your flowers in a dry, sunny climate, it will be much easier to let the flowers dry on their own. However, if you are in a humid climate, you should consider cutting the flowers off the stems and drying them indoors.
• Prepare to harvest when at least half of the yellow petals have fallen. The base of the flower should also droop and look dead but still have the seeds intact. That means the sunflower is perfectly dry.
• Check seeds. Even if sunflower seeds are still attached to the base of the flower, they will soon separate. Sunflower seeds should be hard, with a characteristic black and white striped skin, or completely black, depending on the type of flower.

Cover the flower base with a paper bag. ^[2] Pile the paper bag onto the flower base and tie it lightly with twine or nylon thread to prevent it from coming off.

• You can also use a bag made of thin cloth or similar breathable fabric, but do not use plastic bags because they do not allow air to circulate, causing the seeds to become moist. If it gets too wet, the seeds will rot or become moldy.
• Wrapping the flower base in the bag will help prevent birds, squirrels, and other animals from sneakily “harvesting” the seeds before you. This also helps keep the seeds from falling to the ground.

Replace bags as needed. If the bag becomes damp or torn, carefully remove it and replace it with a new one.

• You can keep the bag from getting wet when it rains by wrapping a plastic bag outside but not using a lanyard and having to remove it as soon as the rain stops to prevent mold.
• Replace the paper bag as soon as it gets wet. Wet paper bags are easy to tear and mold will easily grow on the seeds if the seeds are left in the wet bag for too long.
• Harvest fallen seeds when changing bags. You should check for damaged seeds. If the seeds are not damaged, store them in an airtight container until you are ready to harvest all the seeds on the flower bed.

Cut the flower base. When the back of the flower base turns brown, cut the flower base from the stem and prepare to harvest the seeds.

• Leave a flower stalk about 30.5 cm long from the base of the flower.
• Make sure the paper bag still covers the base of the flower. If the paper bag comes off during the cutting and shipping of the flower base, you may end up losing a lot of the seeds.