Sunflower seeds are one of the few garden seeds that can be both grown and eaten

You've probably eaten sunflower seeds some time in your life. You can buy them in bags at the grocery store, for snacking. They're one of the few garden seeds, along with pumpkin seeds, that can be eaten as well as grown. When planted, sunflower seeds grow into colorful, attractive flowers. They really are multi-purpose garden seeds.

Sunflower seeds can be dried and roasted for eating or they can be kept for the following season. Either way, the best way to save the seeds is to cut the flower off the plant – cut it a little ways down the stem – and then hang them to dry. If you hope to leave them to dry in the garden seeds will soon be all over the ground and quickly eaten by birds.

When planting sunflower seeds, there are a few things to keep in mind. It's probably a little obvious, but sunflowers love the sun. When you plant sunflowers in your garden seeds should be put where they will get the most exposure to the sun.

When they are grown the bloom will follow the sun through the day so plant your sunflower seeds where they will be attractive at any angle. Looking at the back of a sunflower blossom is not nearly as pleasant. When planning your garden seeds should also be planted where they won't shade other vegetables when they are fully grown.

When the plants have blossomed and are started to die off, the sunflower seeds will begin to fall off the plant. Birds will quickly help this along too. If you let the plant seeds fall, they can be difficult to find. If they fall into the garden seeds will grow there the following year, so be sure you either want them there again or that you pick up any loose seeds.

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