Additional Information

Planting Instructions:

1. Before planting, wash the seeds to remove any grime or dust. Next, place them in a jar and will with water.
2. Soaking the seeds: To soak sunflower seeds you will need some wide-mouth jars and square nylon mesh screening and a rubber band. Place the seeds in the jar and fill with water. Put a screen over the top and let it sit overnight (or for 12 hours) Drain the seeds after soaking, rinse well, and let them sprout in the jar at a 45 degree angle for another twelve hours. Use approximately ¾ cup of sunflower seeds for a 10" X 14" tray.
3. Planting in a tray: After the seeds have sprouted for twelve hours, spread a one-inch layer of soil at the bottom of the tray and smooth it out, leaving small trenches around the edges to catch excess water. Pour the sprouted seeds in the middle of the tray evenly with your hands and to cover the soil. Ideally, each seed should touch the next, without being piled on top of each other. Sprinkle the tray with water, making it damp (but not swampy) and cover it with another tray. The second tray, used to cover, acts as a mini-green house that keeps moisture and heat in and light out of the growing environment. After you have watered and covered the tray, set it aside for 3 days.
4. At the end of the three days uncover the tray, water it well and place it in indirect light. The more light the plants receive, the larger and thicker the leaves will be. On the other hand, too little light will product tall, leggy plants with tiny leaves. A good balance of indirect sunlight and shade will produce greens that are thick and juicy. If you uncover a tray and see greenish-blue mold instead of baby plants, you may have used poor-quality seeds or drowned good seeds by over-soaking. It is also possible that you may have over watered the tray after planting. Try again with new seeds and less water, and make sure that the spot where you put the tray is not too warm. It should be between 65 and 75 degrees.
5. Once the green are set out in the light, they will need to be watered every day or every other day depending on the weather, humidity and indoor temperature. The first or second time you water the plants, mix a tablespoon of powdered kelp into the water to add trace elements that will be taken up by the plants. Try not to muddy the soil, but keep it moist at all times. If by accident a tray is allowed to dry out, resist the temptation to flood it with water as this will only shock the plants further. Instead moisten the soil, and make sure it doesn't dry out again for the next few days. Don't worry if the plants refuse to stand up straight again, Drooping is caused by the lack of water and they greens will be good to eat anyway.
6. After about a week, the greens will be about 5-8 inches tall and ready to harvest. In cooler weather it may take a little longer for them to fully mature whereas during hot summer weather they can reach ten inches in five days. To harvest, cut the stems as close as possible to the soil without pulling any up with the plants. A sharp knife and sawing action will cut them easily. If some soil does come up with the plants, merely rinse the root ends with plain water before juicing or eating the greens. Do not rinse the plants if you are going to store them as the water will speed their decomposition.
7. Sunflower greens should last 7-10 days in the refrigerator. The fresher they are, the better.

After you harvest your greens you will be left with a mat of roots and short stems and that can easily be recycled into new soil for planting in a few weeks. Feel free to compost it or mix it with your garden soil so the earthworms can do their job. The mats will need to be broken up and compost well with vegetable scraps and the work of a few earthworms!