Now that the flowers are spent we have noticed the seed heads are ripening and some of the seed heads are huge. I have grown sunflowers before and have always left the seed heads up for the birds to enjoy throughout winter. I have never saved the seeds for us to eat before. That is about to change though as my two boys very much want in on the sunflower booty this year. Since I have never saved the sunflower seeds for us to eat I am really unsure as to how I go about harvesting them right now. With the threat of rain upon us today, I went out with my nine year old and we cut some of the nice looking seed heads down. There are well over a dozen sunflower heads out there that are full of seeds- more than enough for us and the birds to enjoy.
After cutting the sunflower heads down I went inside and proceeded to browse the internet looking for ways of preparing the seeds for our consumption. The first thing I read more than once was to cut the heads when the back has turned yellow. That is one of the best ways to know they are ready. (Or in my case the birds have already started to find them. This morning the Scrub Jay that loves to visit our garden every morning happily let me know he has found the seeds to be rather tasty.)
A lot of people store the cut seed heads in their garage upside down with a brown paper bag while they wait for the seeds to finish drying out. I will probably do this as well. Once they are finished drying the seeds easily come off the head when you run your hand over it.
After the drying process is over next comes the roasting part. I suppose you could leave them raw and eat them that way but my boys want roasted, salted sunflower seeds so that is how we will be preparing ours. Come Halloween and pumpkin carving time I always save some of the pumpkin seeds and roast them for us to eat. I am wondering if I can roast the sunflower seeds the same way as I roast the pumpkin seeds.
When I roast pumpkin seeds I first soak them in a salt water solution overnight followed by their roast in the oven until they are nice and toasty. The pumpkin seeds always turn out so yummy and I don’t see why I could not roast the sunflower seeds this way once they are finished drying.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how they might roast homegrown sunflower seeds? I cut down 8 sunflower heads today and I read that one head can have up to 2,000 seeds. That is a lot of seeds for two boys to eat!
No idea how to roast sunflower seeds…I just wanted to say that the first photo is so beautiful! It really caught my attention in my feed reader.
Thank you Fern!
Sometimes my camera will surprise me and actually take the kind of picture I am aiming for! 
-Cynthia
Cynthia, I know absolutely nothing about sunflowers, but they are very pretty. I may have to grow some next year. Are the homegrown seeds very good to eat? Also, beautiful theme for your blog.
Thank you for the compliment EG (hope it is okay to call you that!). I grew Mammoth sunflowers this year and they are suppose to be very good to eat. Here is a short but interesting article on sunflowers if you are interested. Some of these grew to be huge- at least 10 feet tall. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
-Cynthia
Sorry no suggestions. With all the seeds they can produce I hope your boys really like sunflower seeds.
Hi Racquel,
I was thinking the same thing! They will probably end up wanting to share them with their friends which will actually be kind of fun. -Cynthia
Put the seeds in a LOW heat oven. You can toss them in some oil and salt first then just keep an eye on them to keep them from over browning. Basically the same as roasting pumpkin seeds.
Thanks Shibaguyz! I was thinking it probably can’t be too hard to roast them. They actually sound really good! -Cynthia
Mine all went to the squirrels this year, so I will just have to envy you.
I think the first post of yours I read was about planting the “sunflower house,” so this one made me a little nostalgic – summer’s come and gone! Good luck with the roasting, and happy seed eating.
Hi Karen,
It is hard for me to believe that summer has come and gone already but the rain that we have had these past three days is trying to convince me that summer has indeed come and passed for another year.
-Cynthia
I remember reading about your sunflower snacking squirrels.
Oh, and tomorrow’s post I am writing with you in mind!
I agree with the Shibaguyz — I soak in salted water overnight, pat dry, and roast in a 300° oven for an hour or so until lightly browned. Those are some HUGE seed heads!
Thanks Nancy!
That is what I am going to do then once the seeds are dry. They are huge- some of the biggest I have ever grown. They seemed to have really liked my compost! -Cynthia
Mmm. They sound wonderful. I know nothing about them, but I’d assume you could roast them the same as pumpkin seeds. I found a yummy sounding granola recipe that uses chopped sunflower seeds. You’ll have to let us know what you do and how they enjoy them. I’m still thinking about doing something with acorns and hazelnuts, so far I’ve been too busy though.
Hi Cinj,
I’ll be sure to post about how they turn out for those that might be interested. I still think it is so neat that you gathered hazelnuts! I have heard of many yummy sounding recipes containing them- you could even put some in a homemade bread recipe- I bet that would be really good! -Cynthia
I usually do what you’ve done in the past and leave the sunflowers up for the birds, so I didn’t know how you go about drying your own sunflower seeds either… now I do!
Hi Cindy,
The birds sure do like them. It is fun watching them “discover” the sunflower heads once they are ready to be eaten. -Cynthia
Glad I could be of some help in case you ever want to try roasting them yourself!
Don’t have a clue! But the photos are lovely. Wish I had that much luck with sunflowers.
Brenda
Hi Brenda,
This year was a good year for the sunflowers for me. I really think they liked all the compost, manure, and foliar feeding I gave them! -Cynthia
Thank you for the compliment.
Love the sun flower sed harvest. I tried to grow some this year and the rabbits ate the plants in 1 day! I will keep trying tho. Jean
Hi Cynthia,
You have done it again to me. Inspired me to add a sunflower house to my garden list next year for my Granddaughter.
We used to grow them when I was young and I have forgotten how pretty they are and how much fun. We always had tea parties with my Grandmother in there on a blanket.
As always your photos are just lovely. Thanks for bringing back some very fond memories for me.
Happy Fall!
Karyn
Hi Karyn,
Glad I could be inspiring. I’m sure your granddaughter will love playing with you in a sunflower house. They are so much fun. We are enjoying all the seed heads that the sunflower house has left us with. Thanks for the compliment on the pictures. I always like hearing when someone enjoys them. 
-Cynthia
Happy Fall to you too!