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["SISU!" <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

I haven't grown any sunflowers in two years now for various reasons, and
I grew them mostly for animal feed, but I grew the Russian
Mammoth/Russian Giant or something like that,(I'll go and look if anyone
is that interested in the specific variety) purchased from Shumway,
IIRC.  They are huge.  The reason I am chiming in is to mention
something that I found works great. Bee Scent.
http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=3007&ss=bees
I got it from gardens alive (see link) because I saw the pics of the
sunflowers, before and after, in the catalog.  I didn't really expect
miracles, but it worked great and I can say that my sunflowers almost
doubled in size during the two years I used the stuff over previous
years growing the same variety in the same basic location, AND, I only
used one treatment instead of the recommended two. (I'm cheap that way
:) )  Of course, it won't lengthen the growing season for you, but it
might increase yields if you find a good variety that suites you.

Bev

Bill Jones wrote:
> Lynda wrote:
>
>
> > A question, what sunflowers are you growing?  The growing season 
> > here is so short that we haven't found one yet that is an eatable 
> > sunflower that grows fast enough to produce seeds before our 
> > growing season is over.
>
> Ah, truly vital.  This year I ordered "Miriam's Edible" and it's 
> unbelievable.  I think they were from Seeds of Change.  I did 
> transplants, because of the slug problem, but it was pretty late. 
> They were a foot tall when I set them out in early June.  I just 
> brought in the heads.  The head is almost as big as normal, but the 
> plant is only 5', so you can crowd them closer.  The seeds are very 
> large with nice kernels.  They're ready long before the stalk turns 
> dry, so I fed the stalks to guinea pigs.  It's like getting two 
> crops!  Remember to tear the backs off your flowers and turn the 
> heads as they cure.  I'm drying them on screens on the sun porch.
>
> Bill S. Oregon coast _______________________________________________
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--
Bevanron in NW Georgia          EarthNSky Farm  34.498N 85.076W
SISU! (Finnish--There is no single word in English that encompasses
all that sisu means, but it combines the following ideas: guts, pep,
determination, stubbornness, perseverance, hardiness, stamina, go, do,
nerve, spunk, pluck, and grit.  It's like "Just Do It!" & "Go for It!")
                                GO NAVY!