Sunflowers

My cousin planted some between the yard and driveway about 8 years ago...and now they're like weeds, LOL. Wasn't a good choice for spot since they would always grow and lean over the driveway to the point where we couldn't get the car in or out without difficulty. Think we finally got them eradicated this year. If she'd put in smaller ones, it might have been all right...the wild birds here love them so we basically just left them.

Next year I'm going to put in quite a lot of them, but along the back fence! I'll plant runner beans at the base so they can use the stalks to grow on. I've got good organic mammoths on the way and have some black oil seeds ready to plant as well. Our chickens love 'em all so they'll get the lions share, but we're more than happy to share with the local fauna as well. LOL, the squirrels use our fence as a highway between trees, so I'm sure they'll be snatching them up as well.
 
I'm not sure about the beans in the sunflowers, Mickey. There is something called Allelopathy.

It was a little surprising to read that even the seeds, dropped beneath the sunflowers, may inhibit the growth of other plants. Here's something about that from Ohio State, Sunflower alleopathy.

I haven't found that any plant likes sunflowers very well. Weeds don't even grow very well around them ;). However, if the "runner beans" you are thinking of are Scarlet Runners, they very well may be vigorous enuf to handle the sunflowers. I just don't know.

My blackoil sunflowers bloomed just about the time that we had the 1st frost; they were planted late. The frost destroyed the flowers. There are still seeds in many of them since it didn't completely kill the buds. The chipping sparrows have really moved in on them of late. In fact, I've found that a little flock is roosting in a nearby plum tree so they can better keep an eye on those sunflowers ;). The goldfinches have been in the sunflowers all summer. It is like they are trying to stake out a territory but it also could be that since sunflowers are aphid magnets and the goldfinches were been having some high protein snacks all along.

Steve
 
My beans and sunflowers did well together this year. They were not planted all that closely, but the beans found their way up them. come to think of it, the cherokee trai of tears were very close to the snackseed sunflowers. I don't think they will be close next year though. My compost soil probably takes awhile to build up the sunflower's natural chemistry. Add to that, I finished my sunflowers as soon as they were ripe, cutting the flower and leaves off.
 
Wow, I wasn't aware of that, Steve...thanks for the heads up...I'll definitely do some checking up on it. Might have to re-think the placement of the sunflowers and just hang some netting on the back fence for the beans. The first year I grew Scarlet Runner, I planted them around our new crabapple tree...it was really pretty and they did well. They sure make pretty dried beans to add to soups and such...might just put a few of them in next year as well.
 
i thought the only thing found to be able to grow near sunflowers in a garden were cucumbers. i could be wrong since i've never tried this combo yet.
 
Anna, I'm guessing that the sunflower chemistry takes awhile to build up, and may be a bigger deal in some soils than others. I am going to generally rotate things for next year.
 
marshallsmyth said:
Anna, I'm guessing that the sunflower chemistry takes awhile to build up, and may be a bigger deal in some soils than others. I am going to generally rotate things for next year.
Click to expand...
That is what I am thinking too. Though I have have planted many sunflowers in the same spot for two years with no problems. Our soil here is clay, but I mixed a good amount of compost in the gardens.
 
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