Collecting the flowerheads

“Sunflowers are so versatile,” says Lucy. “I don’t think people realise just how many ways you can eat them.”

Every sunflower will create a crop of seeds you can collect and then roast to use as a snack food or make bird food from. You’ll be able to see when the seeds have set because the petals of the flower will start to die and drop off leaving the round middle where the seeds form.

“You’ll be able to see the fat, round seeds forming,” says Lucy. “Once they’ve appeared, take the sunflower head off and leave it to dry out. This will give you usable seeds.”

Other ways to eat sunflowers

Lucy recommends growing microgreens from your harvested sunflower seeds. “All you need to do is spread the seeds out on moist compost or a coir sheet,” says Lucy. “Snip them off before they grow the second set of leaves and they make really fantastic microgreens. It’s a really good way to get greens through winter.”

The buds can also be eaten when they’re still green, just before they begin to open. “You can pick them and eat them a bit like a globe artichoke,” says Lucy.

If you’re growing giant varieties, try picking the seeds before they’re fully formed and have grown a thick seed coating. You can roast them at this stage and eat them like sweet corn. “It has a similar flavour to corn on the cob,” says Lucy. “I’ve eaten them smothered in miso.”

How to grow beautiful sunflowers successfully at home (and how to eat them)