KIDS GO GARDENING

Sunflowers

Choose your favourite variety, plant some seeds and watch them grow. How many days until they grow taller than you? How tall will they be when they flower? Have fun with your friends to see who grows the tallest.

How to grow sunflowers

1 Choose a sunny sheltered patch of soil and give it a good water the day before you plant.

2 You might have a wall or fence you can grow sunflowers against. If not get help to bang some stakes firmly in the ground.

3 Sow seeds about 1cm deep. Hint: If you have lots of seeds, sow in pairs and pull out the weakest seedlings when they start to grow. Water gently after sowing.

4 As they grow, tie them gently to their stakes with stretchy ties (old socks cut up make good plant ties). Water to keep the soil just moist and feed them every week with liquid fertiliser. Sunflowers need plenty of food because they grow so fast.

TIP: Sunflower roots don’t like being moved. If you want to start seeds in pots for planting out later, use little biodegradable pots so you can transplant them into the ground, pot-and-all.