germinating sunflower seed indoors

[Currysniffa]

If anyones got any tips on best way to germinate sunflower seed I'd love to hear it please

[jackie j]

I just shove them in a pot of compost the same as any other seed. One per pot.

[Currysniffa]

I just shove them in a pot of compost the same as any other seed. One per pot.

I do that every year, I just wondered if people had any different ideas like chitting them first on paper towel or like I do with my broad beans in a small freezer bag of damp compost..

[Bren In Pots]

Chris mine took 4 days only because I'd got space in my heated propagator.

[Gearoid]

I find them pretty easy. Just pop them in a pot, cover and off they go. Are your seeds from a flower seed packet or a birdseed one with the hull still on?

[Currysniffa]

I find them pretty easy. Just pop them in a pot, cover and off they go. Are your seeds from a flower seed packet or a birdseed one with the hull still on?

From EBay (GIANT SUNFLOWER - SKYSCRAPER - 4M PLUS - 40 SEEDS on eBay (end time 17-Feb-11 11:08:53 GMT)) with the hull if that's what you call the hard case the seeds in, do you take them out of the "hull"?

[Currysniffa]

Chris mine took 4 days only because I'd got space in my heated propagator.

I was thinking of popping them in the HP, do you take them out the hard seed case?

[Bren In Pots]

Chris mine were sown straight out of the packet.

[Alison]

I do that every year, I just wondered if people had any different ideas like chitting them first on paper towel or like I do with my broad beans in a small freezer bag of damp compost..

Do you normally have problems with them then? Unless you can't get them to germinate then I'd carry on doing what you're doing. I don't like to germinate mine in the warm as I find they get leggy pretty quickly so tend to do them in the cold greenhouse so I get nice strong plants.

[Bren In Pots]

I do the same Alison, this time mine only went in the heated prop because I'd got some space but as soon as I spotted the 'U' they were put in my unheated greenhouse.

[rana]

Fresh sunflower seed is very easy to germinate but I've found that viability falls quickly with age so old seed is poor.

[neil1280]

I got a little propagator and seeds at poundland, it said to put them in the compost, moisten it and put in the airing cupboard, had them 2 weeks now the seedlings are about 1 1/2 and they will be ready to plant out soon me thinks