The last time we had home-grown sunflower seeds I went through all the nonsense of brining them and roasting them. When I was done, I realized I could have bought twice as many for 99 cents at the gas station down the street, and the gas station seeds would have tasted better.
So, when I pulled these seeds off of two nice big sunflower heads this afternoon--the lighter seeds from my 12 feet tall "Sunzillas", the darker from a much shorter volunteer that just popped up--they went straight to my box'o'seeds to be planted next summer.
It might be the first time saving has been more fun than spending.
After I pulled the heads off, I thought about pulling the rest of the sunflowers down. They're pretty ragged, and the flowers that are left on them aren't going to make much in the way of seeds. But just as Sweet Husband was about to start chopping (the "Sunzilla" stems really do get thick) he noticed three Monarch butterflies fluttering around the last little, yellow blooms. Happily, the sunflowers will have to stay a few weeks longer.
