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- Peel the sticker off and find your soil tablet, leave it in the tray.
- Pour 60ml of water into the hole with the soil tablet.
- All the way to the top of the hole.Let the soil tablet absorb all the water for 5 minutes.
- Mix the water into the soil with your fingers to make a even wet mixture.
- Remember to wash your hands when you’re done.
Sunflower
Helianthus annuus
- ABOUT
Cheerful ‘Golden Crown’ sunflowers will bring a smile to everyone’s face, plus the flowers are packed with nectar and pollen so will bring in bees and butterflies. Sunflowers hate the cold, so start your plant inside and don’t move into the garden until Labour Weekend at the earliest.
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- Follow The Steps!
Getting started
How to keep your Little Garden healthy
- Place the tray in a place with enough light, but not directly in the sun.
- Check the soil every day. If the soil feels dry and crumbly, pour a small amount of clean water over the surface.
- Within 1 week, you should see a little plant appear from the soil, which means the seeds have germinated and will be ready soon to move into a bigger pot or garden.
- You can thin your sunflower seedling by choosing the strongest-looking one if more than one little plant grows.
When your seedling is ready to go in the garden
- When your sunflower has at least two pairs of true leaves, it’s ready to move into the garden or pot, but wait until mid-late October.
- You can harden off your sunflower seedling by putting it in a warm and sheltered spot for 1-2 hours a day and return inside for the night. Do this for 4-5 days, leaving it outside for a little longer each day before you shift it out into the garden forever.
Planting best practice
- Sunflowers love the sun! So give them a sheltered spot with full sun and good drainage.
- They will grow in a pot too.
- Sunflowers are fast-growing and love a really rich soil: dig through some compost and sheep pellets a few weeks before planting.
Look after your plant while it’s growing
- As it’s growing, tie it to a garden stake or bamboo cane.
- Nomally, It should grow to about 2m tall!
- Try using your sunflower as a climbing frame for your Little Garden cucumbers or sweet peas.
Harvest time
- Put a paper bag over the flower head and tie it at the bottom with string when the seeds starts to ripen and turn brown. It will stop the ripe seeds from falling out or being stolen by birds. As the seeds ripen, the flower petals will start to brown and fall off the plant.
- You can save seed from your Little Garden sunflower to plant next year.
Watch out
- Slugs and snails love sunflower seedlings, so create your own pest protection, lay out bait or pick off these slimy pests.
- Cheeky birds like pulling out new sunflower plants, so protect your seedlings with netting while they’re getting established.
- Wear gloves, pick the beetles off the plant and squash them if green shield beetles attack your sunflowers. Be prepared for some major stink: these guys are known as stink bugs because of the foul smell they emit when they are squashed.
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