Sunflower seeds?

lapetitemort

I am planning on growing tons of sunflowers for seeds this spring/summer. When I was a kid, we would take the seeds and roast them in the oven. My question is: Can I collect them and keep them for later use in recipes? Should I dehydrate them? Freeze them? Just wondering in case I get a great, large crop this year.

Thanks!

flybaby

I think you could sprout the seeds and then plant them in pots to grow sunflower ‘grass’
It has to work! I have tried sprouting them in their shells, but ended up eating the whole thing, before I could plant them. They are sooo delicious with a sligthly nutty flavour!

michigan roman

where i live theres alot of squirrels and they eat all my sunflower seeds , they’ll start tearing apart the flower heads before the seeds are even fully formed . so if have alot of squirrels you’ll need a strategy .
maybe tying paper bags over the heads to keep them off like some do with corn . maybe growing the short dwarf seed producing variety so that it would be easier to build a chicken wire enclosure around them . im not sure , i just wanted to inform you of my experience so that if you’ve squirrels you’ll prepare . ide suggest going to www.motherearthnews.com or www.organicgardening.com and searching for ideas .

and on dehydration/freezing , the ones i got i just cut off with a foot of stem upon seed maturity then hung upside down in the sun til dried and shook out / clawed out seeds . im sure some type metal or foil lined drying box with screening / ventilation would speed up drying time .

ide check out the sunseeds at www.territorialseeds.com because theres many varietys and some produce alot smaller seeds that arent ideal for eating , they’ve particular types breed just for eating . theyve a variety there called ’ sunseed ’ thats specifically for eating . theyve good advice too at territorial seeds because they grow alot of their own seeds so could have a fix if youve squirrel complications . theyre real nice people there when i call them so theyd probably help you with email or phone call .

lapetitemort

flybaby,
What a great idea! That sounds really delicious =)

michigan roman,
Thanks for all of the advice. =) I did not even think of hanging them like you would dry herbs! And thank you for the links too! I have been thinking of subscribing to Mother Earth News for a while now. My parents get it, but I live so far away now that I cannot steal theirs!