I have **no** idea what to do with my (cut) sunflowers! Please help!!!!!

[Annie N]

OK, for the first time in my entire life, I grew sunflowers, not little ones but the Very Largest Ones. They came out beautifully :)

But then they started looking very buggy; there was brownish stuff all over the seeds and definitely some bugs in the heads. I had tasted a seed several days ago and it was all right then, the backs were yellow and the heads had been all bent over for a couple of weeks, perhaps.

So now I have these buggy, brown-stuff–covered sunflower heads and the seeds won't come out !!!!!!! And I don't know what to do as we live in a very humid area at the best of times but right now it is particularly humid. We do not have any unused space in our house to put them in...

So, as you can see, I would really really really appreciate some advice :D

I think I have about 15 or more heads.

[Blueridge]

...but you might try this: http://www.ehow.com/how_2045286_harvest-sunflowers.html

Sunny blessings~
Ginger

[Annie N]

Thanks so much, Ginger :)

The problem is I messed up by not getting netting on it in time and living in a humid place and having bugs all over them... :( That's why I was hoping for advice.

[Doran]

...what you probably have on your sunflowers are tiny caterpillars that are eating away at the seeds. I've had them numerous times and as you describe, they leave a little brown speckly, webby, dirt behind. The only thing I can suggest is that you scrape away as many of the damaged looking seeds as you can (assuming that doesn't mean you'll have none left) and then hang the heads with brown paper bags over them in the your garage or in a shed. Somewhere warm, dry (I know it's humid, but do your best) and out of direct sun. Once they are dry, the seeds should come out more easily.

I haven't read it because I didn't wait for all the images to load on my dial-up...but maybe this site (http://www.squidoo.com/grow-your-own-sunflowers) will offer something more useful than my feeble attempt.

:confused:

[Annie N]

Oh, Doran, thank you so much. That was exactly what I needed to know.

(I forgot to get netting when we went to town: next year I will get it really early!)