I Grew My Own Sunflower Seeds 🌻

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Sunflower seeds are one of my favorite snacks, so why not make my own? In this video, I harvest the BIGGEST sunflower I've ever grown and turning it into the most delicious sunflower seeds I've ever eaten!
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
00:22 - Harvesting Sunflower Seeds
02:54 - Processing Sunflower Seeds
DISCLAIMER
Epic Gardening occasionally links to goods or services offered by vendors to help you find the best products to care for plants. Some of these may be affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission if items are purchased. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. More info on our process: www.epicgardening.com/disclai...

[@MikeS42069]

To stop your cheap sheetpans from sproinging in the oven: put them in while the preheat is happening. You'll a little better browning from the preheated pan, and the slow expansion of the metal won't cause it to warp!

[@ProHomeCooks]

This is some “epic” gardening. Ive got a sunflower getting some seeds right now so all the tips were super helpful

[@superdevinO7]

Brothers green channel taught me to cook in college. Cheers 🫡

[@epichomesteading]

EDIT: Out of stock already! Sorry everyone...I'll have to grow more next year ;) Grab some of these seeds here: shop.epicgardening.com/products/giant-sunflower-seeds-limited-supply

[@hollydrouillard5115]

I'm so sad! It's already out of stock! :'(

[@johndezulovic3509]

I want some seeds please

[@johndezulovic3509]

Im said to

[@JustMe-ju3je]

I tried!

[@danjenkinsdesign]

Those went quick 😢

[@dustyflats3832]

Had several like that last year and would have this year, but the deer ate them once the drought hit. They even ate hostas. I have one that is hanging lower every day after the one and only rain we had. Last year we had a heck of a time cutting them down and this spring tripped over the stump. They do get big.

[@baneverything5580]

A bunny moved in to my garden during the drought so since she only came out in the mornings and evenings I put an alarm on plants I didn`t want her to eat and she ate the bush snap beans and black eyed pea leaves. I left water bowls out and frogs put eggs in it so I made them a shaded puddle. My garden and yard became a zoo before the drought ended and the bunny became friendly and would hop right up to me. She left for winter but came back about 5 days ago looking for green beans.

[@FrederickDunn]

Hey Kevin, I have an interesting question for you. Do you think that some pollen remains in a large enough quantity that it ends up in bags of sunflower seeds after harvesting? Do you think the dust in sunflower seed bags could include remnants of actual sunflower pollen? Thanks. It doesn't look like you responded to any questions posted, but I'll take a chance.

[@BozackZodiack]

That whole process of first simmering in salt water and only then baking the seeds works super well for pumpkin seeds too! Although usually just a rolling boil for 10 minutes or so, for them. We always save the seeds after carving pumpkins at Halloween and have them as a treat like that - they get sooooo good, and you can eat the whole shell of those too!

[@KevinMichaelA]

You could have left the bottom in the ground as a trellis instead of sticking it back in. I use mine as trellis as they grow. I cut all the leaves and side shoots below 6 feet and they usually grow more than 10 feet.

[@joem924]

I'm so sad that I missed the see drop lol. My kids would freak out if I grew a flower that big. The yield on those seeds is legit!

[@Yarnofthewild]

I'm sad I missed it too! Kevin please do more drops with the other sunflower heads that are maturing!

[@XxTwobirdsonestonexX]

I have a mature mammoth sunflower! I’m about to do a quick video of it. Let me know if you want some seeds :)

[@joem924]

@@XxTwobirdsonestonexX That would be awesome!

[@XxTwobirdsonestonexX]

@@joem924 if theres a way I can get your information I’d be happy to send them

[@catieholland6575]

Omg, I immediately went on there, and by checkout, they were sold out. I was too slooooowwww!!!! I hope everyone grows some "Epic" sunnies!!

[@baneverything5580]

300+ Large Mammoth Grey Stripe Sunflower Seeds for Planting (Helianthus annuus) from SEEDS NEEDS

[@polarberri]

Truly epic!! Loved seeing the process. The editing touches with the sounds and effects were so fun!

[@FoodForestUtah]

I grew my own sunflower seeds as well, all were delicious. However, I found the black seeds were absolutely incredible 🌿

[@user-mr7su5gu7h]

I have entire garden of vegetables ,fruit. It took me a couple years to grow it but I don’t even need to go grocery shopping most of the time for fruits and vegetables

[@jennydfrog8007]

I grew a bunch of sunflowers this year, they didn’t get past knee height. I had one that was producing seeds, woke up yesterday to find a squirrel got to it, one seed was left in the carnage pile. I picked it up, admired its beauty and ate it. Before I bought my house the previous owners were squirrel feeders, it’s been a battle with them.

[@MezzoForte4]

If I were you, I'd take up small game hunting. Sounds like an opportunity for a good time. :P

[@k9spot1]

The smell of sunflowers is sooooo underrated. When you brush those little flower heads off the seeds… pure sunshine. I wanna bottle that stuff.

[@ryan_cowan]

That thing looks like a movie prop

[@uncreativenessatitsfinest4968]

I might get some seeds! Looks good

[@danbrito7619]

That looks amazing. I love it. I love your videos as well.

[@PinoyITGuide]

i just bought sunflower seeds and i thought of finding how it is made or harvested. Your video is on time since it has just been uploaded!!! what a timing :D

[@3SmoothYoda3]

Just happened to be chilling on the floor with my cat, early enough to get some seeds. Pretty cool, high hopes for these next year!

[@jeil5676]

Theres gotta be at least 25 seeds in that sunflower.

[@socialmediamate]

Now this is epiccccc!! 😝🥰

[@7-ten]

I grew my own sunflower seeds also! They just all got enjoyed by the squirrels and birds 😢

[@WiscoMel]

I forgot to plant sunflowers this year and totally regret it!! Planning to clear another patch of lawn along my garden for some next year.

[@gingerpunk916]

You look like a ghibli character holding a leaf umbrella at the beginning😂

[@19OJ78]

Omg, I want some of those seeds..Its huge!😊

[@kushpaladin]

you should hold the sunflower stalk/stem over a fire to fire-harden it once it dries. i saw this once on Naked and afraid ^^

[@Ano_Niemand]

growing plants ;) is so lovely, great flower man epic size :D

[@edithmurphy384]

You are so lucky I had one not that big but plate size and the birds got most of it I will not get seeds had to take it down to early❤

[@a.l.a.7847]

I wish you had weighed the Sol-sized sunflower head before removing the seeds.... that would have been a fun data point! Massive, gorgeous volunteer sunflower. Hope the Giant Sunflower Joy gets spread all around with your seed packs!🌻

[@thomgizziz]

Not how that works... just because that sunflower was big doesn't mean all the seeds are going to make big sunflowers... the dude is basically scamming people by making them pay 10 dollars for something that should be quite a bit less than a dollar.

[@las7]

That's what I've been thinking, 1kg is 0.7 $ where I live

[@michaelstern7179]

My dog loves playing with the sunflower stalks. Free dog toys that last pretty long

[@CandysGarden]

I'm so sad😢 I got to this video too late, but glad I will be notified when you have more in stock🙏🙏

[@barbarastefani254]

It’s a sunflowers groom some varieties but everything came out small nothing like that yours yours are awesome

[@shirleyjchu]

I’m going to try this with my sunflowers too! P.S. Your editing team is amazing 😂🌻I loved the crack/crunch test 😂

[@dustyflats3832]

All I could think of was a cracked tooth 😮😂

[@tannenbaumgirl3100]

That is one massive sunflower! Yum!

[@sosgardening]

Amazing and impressive sunflower head! The seeds look like they are a grey stripe variety, which I have grown this year but they are nowhere near the size of your monster. Thanks for the tip on soaking the seeds, I will definitely be following this for my seeds. I'm actually going to try and make soup stock using the stalks etc. of my flowers (before it dries up and dies off).

[@3rdeyeopen802]

Wow! That is crazy big! 👍❤️

[@mamasuki]

Love your editing crew! And “called you a flavor snob…sorry” made my day. 😄🌱☀️

[@mezenman]

How do you know when your plant is ready to harvest? Inhale some that look similar. I pulled one seed out and it looked good. Do you think the whole head is ready?

[@lanetower3411]

I grew one Russian Mammoth like that a couple years ago. The birds got most of the seeds. I don’t remember the seeds looking like that. Small black ones with no decent edible bit. The stalk was huge. Can dry and use as a walking stick.

[@daisyblooms4813]

Those are black oil seeds. Different varieties of sunflowers make different kinds of seeds.

[@blackkennedy3966]

Russian mammoth isn’t black you got scammed. Russian mammoth is grey striped

[@lanetower3411]

@@blackkennedy3966 possibly. I didn’t pay much for it. Only got one and was gigantic. Happy birds.

[@vindictivetiger3958]

I'm growing my first sunflower, but it's a dwarf. I may try to grow a big one next summer.

[@soarpurpose]

Stem stripped of leaves looks like a funky lamp.

[@laurieslifeessentials]

Wish I had seen this before I harvested my sunflowers! They were so beautiful but didn't get particularly large before they started to die off (multiple varieties) so I didn't have huge hopes for a big harvest going in. I did end up getting a fair amount of seeds, but they were kind of small and the seeds inside dried up too much during roasting. I think they definitely would've benefitted from that pre-boil step. I had no idea that was a thing, so thanks! Can't wait to try again next year, maybe with some of your seeds! 😄

[@laurieslifeessentials]

Eh, okay, maybe not those seeds, lol. That was fast!

[@baneverything5580]

Mammoth Grey Stripe Sunflower Seeds (Helianthus annuus) is the type.

[@nebsun]

How long do you need to wait from harvesting the seeds until planting ? (assuming the growing season is long enough / ignoring seasons) or can they be planted straight away ?

[@joycebovee5818]

I’d say 100 seeds! Because that is a big hunka chunka sunflower!

[@onemoredoll5791]

1 hour and they are sold out!

[@orionx79]

You've grow your own loofa, and your own toliet paper, Now grow your own umbrella!

[@raymondkyruana118]

Finally!!!! I was wondering what variety this was for weeks now haha

[@joycebovee5818]

My son’s liked 😊the pickled sunflower seeds

[@tigerlilly03152012]

Have you thought about making a walking stick out of the sunflower stalk? 5 lbs of seeds?

[@j.d.x4451]

Im sensing an apocalypse grow challenge video coming soon..................

[@kprigmore3]

I wonder if the soaking process is the difference between “dry roasted” and regular.

[@ponwajeechrans7372]

Kavin's staff ..the Wizard 😂😂😂.

[@-_MR666_-]

Most of my sunflower seeds have been eaten by the birds but I'm happy that they have grown so huge and that the birds had a feast! Give nature back what it wants to take is something I've learned.

[@baneverything5580]

I`m growing some from bird seeds this year. Last year I planted a few dozen and armadillos uprooted nearly all of them but several lived. The bumblebees really liked them. I put a dried head on the old washing machine where I feed the birds and they threw it off. But you can plant a bunch from bird seeds that have black and regular striped sunflower seeds in it. These he grew are Large Mammoth Grey Stripe Sunflower Seeds (Helianthus annuus).

[@uncledick9445]

Well, those sold out fast!

[@CandysGarden]

Just checking back on this kind of sunflower... are there any new seeds availabile yet? If not, can you let me know what kind of sunflower variety this is?🙏🙏🙏

[@canadianartist69]

That little "coming up" animation was fantastic 😂

[@JuvenileStacks]

The edits going crazy on this one 😂😂

[@donnadudas606]

Would love to grow something like that.

[@KK-FL]

Did Jacques eat the shell & all? 😂 Waste not, want not! The sunflower looked like a shower head when you cut all the leaves off. Seeds sold out too fast!

[@kevinjohnson7300]

I miss my sunflowers i had, i had 2 massive sunflowers and one that was probably the same size as the one in the beginning of this video, plus a bunch more in my backyard. Been taking the seeds and re growing them year after year and I like to plant random massive sunflower seeds in random spots. The best one I planted was at an elementary school field and and they ended up building a little fence around it to keep it protected. They recently cut it down so hopefully they kept the seeds and will keep going. They dont know who planted it so i just kept my mouth shut and i may go for 2 or 3 sunflowers next year lol.... no idea if its illegal but I'll do it again i dont care come get me cops.

[@MezzoForte4]

I try to grow sunflowers just to admire them, the bigger the better. Gotta up my game next year and maybe even try this!

[@CathDad4]

Perfect Timing! Just harvested mine, roasting today!

[@hris02]

our favourite snack in south east Europe . we have them with bacon , with ranch, with any kind of flavour in the stores

[@noelkuiper1199]

The birds got all my sunflower seeds this year. Am I too late to buy some of yours? i have been watching yours grow all season and I am jealous.

[@bublhed]

So bummed that I missed out on the giant sunflower seeds! That recipe looked tasty.

[@dianamayfield5615]

My little (under 5 ft tall) grandma would grow sunflowers to roast the seeds for us kids. I remember her in her garden with a machete (almost as big as her) chopping down her 12-foot-tall sunflowers. She would save some of the biggest seeds from the biggest plants for replanting the next year. Great childhood memories. She was a real pistol! lol

[@MD-ky4ho]

I grew about 20 different sunflower plants, three different varieties. About a month ago, I saw unusual movement in the plants! It was like a seen out of the first Predator movie when they first showed the Predator. I finally noticed large green wild parrots eating the heads of the plants. (They were the same color as the leaves.) I counted about 8 of them. They stayed for about 30 minutes and flew away at the same time. Two days later, only 3 came back to eat more. Now the squirrels are biting off the heads and finishing them off. (The heads were only about 2”-4” in diameter.) 🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜

[@LH-ic7wy]

Tried doing this with my teenage son this year. Grew a huge mammoth, waited then harvested it… all of the seeds were empty. No kernels! So disappointing. Planning to try again next year!

[@RoyHolder]

Sunflower stalks can be used as garden stakes! 😂

[@lindyroy7803]

Try Old Bay Seasoned - they are awesome!!

[@joy4ki]

Huge garden gnomb with a giant sun flower umbrella. 🌻

[@GrimReaper9980]

What got this sunflower to grow so big? I planted over 100 this year and while some were about 3 feet tall, they never got such big stems or heads

[@KF_Jaymon]

Especially loved the sound fx on this one!

[@eduardochavacano]

Simply Amazing.

[@Anna-ip8ub]

I wanted to see the chicken attack the sunflower head!😢

[@Nikki-mx5my]

I noticed those ginormous sunflowers in your garden tour video. The look like something out of a kid’s storybook. Jack and the ginormous sunflower rather than beanstalk. How cool.

[@chadeller5588]

Was the yield ever reported? My first guess was 1kg and I want to know!

[@thesquirrellygardener]

I think you'll get about a quart and a half to 2 quarts of sunflower seeds. Should dry out the stalk for an Epic Hiking Staff!

[@aprild714]

I absolutely fell in love with sunflowers the last couple years, i always take a picture under them when they're done, to me it looks like a shower head lol

[@StormWarningMom]

Yum looks pretty tasty

[@elaineshoemaker8229]

They are so incredible ! Great job Sir !🎉😂🎉

[@kennethng3757]

i tried growing sunflowers but the flower is tiny. how do you get them so big?

[@muhamadthemotorcityfarmer6016]

What State you have your farm at?

[@jkdruid]

Wini walbaum (gardener from Chile and friend of charles dowding)roasted the whole head of sunflower like an artichoke on the grill.I have to try it. Thanks for the tip of boiling the seeds beforehand, it all makes sense,thats what I was missing.

[@jkdruid]

kzbin.infoQjQGTtzLiaI?si=5lcAc_oJHr5sMdt0

[@jkdruid]

Also wini speaks perfect english ,would be great to see a video of north and south of america

[@jkdruid]

Opps just realized you made a video about this already,you guys rock

[@gnargnar1992]

Or some sort of sunflower daddy cane.

[@juliel.bateson4971]

Too Epic to count how many seeds in that mammoth epic sunflower

[@christopherwalter4206]

Where can I buy some seeds?

[@kevinli6544]

I grew russian mammoth sunflowers this year and while the flowers were big, my deeply countryside raised parents just keep saying how the seeds are "not ready" or "stunted" or "no meat" when compared to "chinese sunflowers". But it is ironic that such large sunflowers produce relatively small sized seeds (compared to comercial sunflower seed snacks).

[@jennifersiegrist8440]

Sold out in less than an hour 😢. ❤❤❤

[@BoomCarson]

This maybe a dumb question, can you do that to any sunflower or just a specific kind?

[@roelven1282]

i didnt grow any sunflowers on purpose ever..... but accidentily it seems 1 did sprout and grow from a birdseed this year so the coming year i will be using its seeds to grow sunflowers....

[@Kawale04]

Very informative video. One thing I learned is I don’t think I will be going a sunflower seed that big because it triggered my trypophobia. 🙄

[@scottiegrav]

I watched the video 37 mins after it came out and the seeds are sold out 😅

[@gardenx5574]

Same!

[@alexpresent8907]

I had ones that big this year… but the squirrel 🐿️ got them befor I could. What do you do about those lil jerks?

[@ericrushine]

It's like a shower cuts off the leaves.

[@59apachestepside]

“I don’t like sunflower seeds that much...” Proceeds to eat the shells.

[@lionheartfarmandgarden]

🌻 Now that is one EPIC SUNFLOWER!! 🌻 Nice hat sir! That is amazing! Love to see it!❤❤

[@Liltoolillied]

i eat the shell and im always surprised people dont do that i like te shell more than the inside

[@johnboyajian1689]

What variety of sunflower seeds are you growing? Do you need to leave the soil consistently wet? If I do that I get a $1000.00 water bill so it would be much cheaper to buy them from the store!

[@patriciacooper7809]

We had a three pound coffee can full from one large head. The size of a dinner plate

[@heath3r388]

What variety of sunflower is this?

[@kevinjohnson7300]

They are called "Mammoth Sunflowers" and they are pretty damn big when you grow them. Just beware of paper wasps because once they find the sunflowers, they tend to stay by them and bite the stems to get the juices. Apparently the sunflowers juice helps them create the saliva needed to create thier hives.