Planting a Bed of Sunflowers

July 19, 2018

Whenever possible, we always practice succession planting here at my Bedford, New York farm.

Succession planting is the practice of following one crop with another to maximize a garden’s yield. It is a very efficient use of gardening space and time. Yesterday, I shared photos from our recent garlic harvest - picked from a bed right behind my main greenhouse. Once the bed was cleaned and prepped for the next crop, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, planted it with 12-rows of sunflowers, Helianthus - the popular and cheerful annuals whose giant, round flower heads look like the sun. It will be a gorgeous sight when in bloom.

Enjoy these photos.

: As the season’s vegetables are harvested, Ryan reseeds the beds with fast-growing crops. We selected a collection of beautiful big sunflowers to plant next to our growing crop of winter squash.

: Several of the sunflowers are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, a source I’ve used for many years. This one is ‘Sunbright Supreme’, which has more rounded petals and shorter, more rigid stems. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

: The large blooms of ‘Sunbright Supreme’ are excellent for bouquets. (Photo courtesy of Johnny’s Selected Seeds)

: ‘Sunrich Gold’ has golden yellow petals surrounding bright green disks.

: These have four to six inch blooms and are great for use as cut flowers. (Photo courtesy of Johnny’s Selected Seeds)

: ‘ProCut® White Nite’ is a new variety from Johnny’s. These flowers have creamy pale-yellow, almost white petals on dark centers.

: ‘ProCut® Plum’ has muted plum-to-cream bicolor blooms.

: These flowers are tall, single-stemmed plants with three to four inch pollenless blooms. (Photo courtesy of Johnny’s Selected Seeds)

: ‘ProCut® Orange Excel’ has tall stems – up to 72-inches in height.

: It is a classic orange sunflower which blooms earlier than others by five to seven days. (Photo courtesy of Johnny’s Selected Seeds)

: Here is a sunflower from one of my previous collections at The Home Depot – ‘Sunflower Mammoth’. It has big blooms with cheerful bright yellow petals. It’s among my favorites.

: Premium Select’s ‘Dwarf Teddy Bear’ sunflowers have unusual, cuddly-looking, four to five inch fully-doubled yellow flowers that are held up on sturdy dwarf plants that stand up to two and a half feet tall.

: As many of you know, I always seek out the most unique varieties, especially when I travel. I bought these Vilmorin sunflower seeds earlier last year during a trip to Paris with my daughter and grandchildren.

: Another variety I purchased in France is this ‘Tournesol Rouge’ – bright red sunflowers.

: This variety is ‘Strawberry Blonde’ with flowers that have burgundy, sometimes pink petals with dark centers. Branching plants have long, 18 to 24-inch strong side stems for cutting.

: The flower buds on ‘Strawberry blonde’ sunflowers are also edible – they can be fried and the petals used as a garnish in salads and desserts; the flavor is bittersweet. (Photo courtesy of Johnny’s Selected Seeds)

: This is ‘Red Hedge’ – the darkest red sunflower with long-lasting blooms and a wild look. The flowers are four to five inches across with petals that are round and dark.

: These bold ‘Red Hedge’ flowers will stand out so beautifully in the garden. (Photo courtesy of Johnny’s Selected Seeds)

: ‘Vincent®s Choice’ has round, overlapping petals that form sturdy flower heads.

: Ryan made labels for all the sunflowers, so the varieties are easy to identify in the garden.

: To plant these sunflower seeds, Ryan is using the Zipper tool from Johnny’s. Held in one position, this tool is great for creating furrows for seeding. In another position, the tool cleverly “zips” up the furrow and backfills the soil over the seeds. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/search/?q=zipper&lang=en_US