My sunflowers are growing and growing. I'm so excited since I had 0 germination last season. I learned a few things during my endeavor this season:
- They love lots of compost/manure.
- They are heavy feeders.
- They need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight each day.
- They grow well with Zinnia, Asters, bush beans, corn, cukes, squash, spinach and lettuce.
- There's conflicting information on grouping them with tomatoes, which is exactly what I did. I moved them with the squash and cukes after another gardener told me that they compete with tomatoes for nutrients. Both are heavy feeders and shouldn't be planted together. I wasn't sure if they would withstand the shock, but they survived. To avoid the risk next season I'll plant them exactly where I want them.
- You can direct sow seeds through June starting two weeks after the last frost date.
Here's my babies weeks after I moved them. The one with the beautiful face is Autumn Beauty, I believe. I have no idea where I planted what, so I'll just have to wait for the others to show their pretty faces. I may try directing sowing a few to see if my luck has changed this season. What's happening in your garden?
Meet my Lil Farmer. This is my 3 year old grandson and Mama's heart. He truly has my blood running through his veins, he loves to garden. I believe in exposing children to many things. I want him to grow up to be a diverse man who appreciates all that life has to offer. As he grows up, I want him to remember visiting me in the hills of West Virginia and being able to run freely over our little acre of ground. I want him to remember eating fresh vegetables and fruit from the garden and eating grass feed Black Angus burgers from his Uncle's farm. I'll be taking him to visit the farm while he's visiting me this week. A calf (bull) was born in February, so I'm curious to see how big he's gotten over the past few months. Okay I'll be honest, I want to put my name on a side of beef, lol. There's nothing better than grass feed beef. Makes you not want to purchase another slab of meat from the grocery store again that's for sure. Meet T-bone, fitting name isn't it. We plan to get a lot of T-bones from this bull.
I found these adorable rain boots on Amazon for my grandson. He's a big fan of Cars, so I thought they were perfect. They have gloves and a little shovel to match, lol. He wants to plant seeds while he's here, so I thought we could plant a few sunflowers. I like to go out to the garden early morning or in the evenings, so I thought I better get him a pair of boots to keep his feet dry. He wakes promptly at 7:30 AM, and tells Mama he's ready, meaning he's ready to start the day. He wants his pancakes by 8:00 AM and by 9:00 AM it's on!
I'm going to try planting lettuce too. I have an area on the deck that's pretty shady, but gets a little sun as well. His mother and I are big salad eaters, so a fresh salad from the garden will be treasured. Now if I could just get him to eat his vegetables. That is another story, but I'm hoping the exposure to gardening will get the ball rolling. Do you garden with your children or grandchildren? Leave me a comment and let me know about your experience.
