As you can see from the photo, the seed head of this Mongolian Giant Sunflower grew bigger than a basketball.
If you want to grow these giant sunflowers, I am offering packets of 25 seeds for sale in the weekend homestead store.
According to Seed Savers Exchange, the Mongolian Giant Sunflower is
“One of the largest-seeded varieties available to gardeners, seeds up to 1½” long. Plants can grow 12-14′ tall with gigantic yellow heads reaching 16-18″ across!”
I grew one of these in the center of my square foot garden this year. The sunflower grew so big that it needed to be tied to the trellis for support.
Did Someone Weed Whack My Sunflowers?
I planted eight of the Mongolian Giant Sunflowers along my fence where they were sure to receive plenty of sun. The plants were growing well until they reached about two to three feet high.
Then one morning while I was walking out to my car I noticed something strange. All the sunflowers had been cut off at almost the exact same height, about two feet off the ground. My first thought was “Did someone weed whack my sunflowers?”
After dismissing this thought, I determined that some unseen varmint had come and made a meal out of the tops of my sunflowers. The loss of these sunflowers was disappointing because I was looking forward to watching them grow and track the sun.
I kept a close eye on the stumps of the sunflowers. Sure enough six of the eight grew back. The sunflowers basically sent up multiple stems where there would have only been one. Each remaining sunflower grew multiple smaller flowers instead of one giant flower.
Mongolian Giant Sunflower Harvest Results
As you can see below the sunflowers that were attacked grew smaller seed heads than the sunflower that was unharmed. These sunflowers will make a great high protein supplement for my chickens.
Related Pages
- Packet of 25 Mongolian Giant Sunflower Seeds
- How Tall Is A Mongolian Giant Sunflower
- Painted Pony Bean Harvest
- Carnival Squash Harvest
- Watermelon Harvest
- Raising Chickens In The Back Yard
