When And How To Harvest The Best Sun Flower Seeds To Consume

Illustration (Pexels Userai/Pexels)

JAKARTA - Tall, colorful sunlight always looks striking in the park in the summer. And when those beautiful flowers wither, they will produce edible seeds, one of the best snacks you can grow in the garden.

Knowing when and how harvesting sunflower seeds requires training, the following tips will help you pick the sun's flowers when the seeds are in the best taste.

Adapting to Better Homes & Gardens, Friday, August 1, if you check the back of the packaging of sunscreen seeds, you will see that there is usually information about the "flower time". However, this information usually refers to when the sun flowers will bloom. Most seed packaging does not provide any information about when the sunflower seeds will be ready to be harvested.

Most varieties of sunflower bloom in about two to three months, but the sunflower seeds take one month to ripeen after the flowers bloom or 80 to 140 days after exposure. Sunflower seeds can be harvested from July to October, depending on the planting time and the varieties you plant.

Knowing when to harvest the sun's flower seeds requires balance. Harvesting too early will produce small and bland seeds. If it is harvested too slowly, birds and other wild animals may precede you. What's more, some varieties of sunlight are ripe faster than others. But there are signs that you can pay attention to when deciding if your sunflower seeds are ripe.

When the sun flowers are ripe and the seeds develop, the flowers dry and melt in the stems and the leaves begin to turn yellow. If you check the back of the sunflower, you will see the ripe flower head change color from green to yellowish brown, and the petals wither and fall out. All of this is the main sign that the sunflower is ready to be picked.

When the harvest arrives, the farmer has two basic options for harvesting the sun's flower seeds. The seeds can be dried directly in the plant or harvested early and dried indoors. Outdoor filtering usually produces slightly more delicious seeds. However, letting the seeds fully mature in the plant increases the possibility of birds eating the seeds before you pick them up.

If you prefer to dry indoor sunflower seeds, harvest the sunflower when the back of the flower head changes from green to yellow. To harvest it, cut the sunflower stem with a sharp knife or cut shear about 1530 cm below the flower head, remove the remaining leaves, and tie two to three stems of the sun flower with thread. This sunflower bond hang overturned in a dark, well ventilated place until it was completely dry, and the back of the flower head turned brown.

Meanwhile, if you prefer to dry the sunflower seeds outdoors, cover the sun flower with a paper bag, kasal cloth, or a fine kasal cloth as soon as the petals begin to wither. This protects the sunflower seeds from the hungry bird when the seeds dry up in the sun. When the back of the sunflower turns brown, cut off its flower head and take it into the room to collect the seeds.

After the sun flower is ripe, the next step is to remove the seeds. Take a large bowl or bucket and rub the sunflower seeds from the flowers with your thumb or brush. You can also rub two flower heads to help remove the seeds. The ripe seeds should be knocked out and formed properly and will easily be separated from the flower head when processing them. If the seeds look immature, hang the sun flowers until dry for a few more days.

Although you can eat raw sunflower seeds as soon as they are harvested, roasting the seeds will increase the taste and make the skin more easily peeled.

To roast the sun's flower seeds, spread fresh seeds in one layer above the pan and roast them at a temperature of 200°C for five minutes. After roasting, the skin will crack easily, but if it is still difficult to open, roast the seeds with an interval of 2 minutes to dry. Be careful not to be too cooked or make the sun's flower seeds brown, because this will reduce the taste.

To roast and sprinkle the sun's flower seeds, put 1 cup of raw sunflower seeds into one liter of water with 2 to 4 tablespoons of salt. Boil water on the stove, reduce the fire, and boil the sun's flower seeds for 15 minutes. Comb the seeds, spread them over the loyang in one layer, and roast them at a temperature of 200°C for 10 to 15 minutes to dry.

Raw and grilled sunflower seeds can be stored in an waterproof container in your kitchen for about 2 to 3 months. For longer storage, store sunflower seeds in the freezer to stay fresh for a year. Don't forget to store some raw sunflower seeds to be replanted in the garden next year.