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You are here: Home / Flowers / 5 Uses for Sunflowers You May Not Have Considered

5 Uses for Sunflowers You May Not Have Considered

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5 Unusual Uses for Sunflowers
Aside from adding beauty, sunflowers have a number of uses in the organic garden. These striking, colorful flowers, which come in a wide variety of sizes, grow quite well under organic conditions, and some breeds are capable of reaching heights of six feet or more by summer’s end.

Five Uses for Sunflowers You Should Try
Here are five uses for sunflowers and seeds that may surprise you:

1. Sunflowers Attract Butterflies and Birds

The showy flowers are much beloved by both butterflies and birds for their nectar, and for the latter, their seed heads can also become a source of food later in the year. Now, if you are trying to harvest the seeds be ready for the birds to eat them. To protect the seeds, once the seeds are almost ready to harvest, cover the sunflower head with a paper bag.

2. Sunflowers as Botanical Screens

Given their height and profusion, they also make great botanical screens. For instance, a circle of sunflowers planted around your compost pile will hide it from general view — and your sunflowers will grow up strong and happy from all the nutrients in the compost.

3. Sunflower Seed Coffee

The sunflower seed hulls can be used as a coffee substitute. Brown the seed hulls and grind them. Use 1 teaspoon of hulls per one cup of water and steep for about three minutes. Increase the amount of ground hulls per your desired taste. Sunflower seed coffee sweetens well with honey. For specifics, here’s how to make Sunflower Seed Coffee from Old-Time Country Wisdom & Lore: 1000s of Traditional Skills for Simple Living by Jerry Mack Johnson.

4. Sunflower Seed Flour, Meal, Milk and Paste

Use raw sunflower seeds to make high-protein sunflower seed flour, meal or paste to use in recipes like stuffed dates, pancakes and meatloaf. When grinding sunflower seeds, about one cup of seeds makes one cup of flour. Use sunflower seed meal as a cheaper substitute for almond meal. Some even make sunflower seed milk.

5. Sunflower Shoots and Microgreens

Try sunflower microgreens with sunflower seeds. Popular shoot and microgreen seed varieties are Black Oil and Gray Striped. Sunflower microgreens have a thick texture like spinach and a mild, nutty flavor. Add sunflower shoots to salads, eat on their own or throw in smoothies and recipes. Shoots and microgreens are harvested around 3 to 4 inches tall, and will take about 7 to 14 days to grow. Sunflower shoots/microgreens contain up to 25% protein and are rich in nutrients: amino acids, calcium, chlorophyll, iron, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, and vitamins A, B, C and E.

Here’s a PDF on Growing Sunflower Shoots and Instructions: Growing Microgreens in Soil from Oregon State University Extension.

Want to learn more about using sunflowers?

Here are some great resources:
Plant Guide: Annual Sunflower from USDA
Harvesting Handling Sunflowers from University of Illinois Extension
large sunflower with blue sky and text overlay surprising ways to use sunflowers and seeds

Related

Filed Under: Flowers Tagged With: suflower greens, sunflower microgreens, sunflower screens, sunflower seed coffee, sunflower seed flour, sunflower seed meal, sunflower seed milk, sunflower seed sprouts, sunflower shoots

Comments

  1. Ron says

    September 30, 2016 at 7:01 am

    Years ago Wesson Foods sold Sunflower Oil. I used it constantly. Then one day it was off the shelves. I wish it would come back. It was lighter in flavor and color. No after taste

    Reply
  2. Kate Russell says

    October 12, 2016 at 9:37 am

    I love sunflowers!
    And that’s a excellent idea about growing them around the compost pile – I’ll definitely be trying that one on a space that was drowned by a leaking sprinkler. I’ve decided the only way to bring the soil and all its microbes back to life is to use it as my newest compost site. Since it’s clearly visible from the back porch, a circle of sunflowers will be a great botanical barrier (great phrase!).
    Sunflowers also make wonderfully magic places for children – you can grow them into mazes, secret clubhouses, or even castles!

    Reply
  3. Ozark Grandma says

    May 23, 2017 at 9:24 am

    I am trying something I read about this spring, to plant cucumbers with sunflowers. Supposed to make the cukes sweeter and give them some support to vine on.

    Reply
    • Rita says

      August 20, 2020 at 1:29 pm

      Yep did that this year. Worked very well as the sun flower provided shade for the cucumber in the hot summer as well as a climbing post. I also had a strong trellis along side the sunflower to which I supported the sunflower.

      Reply

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