Cathy Isom fills you in about how sunflowers provide a helping hand in your garden. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Many people grow sunflowers for the simple fact that they are stunning, massive flowers that brighten up the scene. However, sunflowers are beneficial in the garden for many reasons. They are easy growing and can thrive in just about any type of soil.
When planted about six inches apart, will supply a living fence around the garden or even between beds. They can also act as a garden stake for climbing vines such as cucumbers and tomatoes.
Sunflowers are often grown for distracting pests, such as aphids. They’re also attractive to bees and other pollen-collecting insects and hummingbirds.
Sunflowers are noted as being allelopathic, which means that they emit a chemical that prevents other plants from propagating nearby. Amazingly, sunflowers can sprout up to six feet high in a matter of three months, and seeds are usually harvestable around the same time, possibly extending on to four months.
I’m Cathy Isom…