Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Sunflowers, cont'd.

Charles Shattuck, the owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Hockessin, responded to my item about the apparent dearth of sunflower fields this summer:
"Jamie Hicks only planted this year's crop of Sunflowers in mid July. Last year he split the season by planting some in early spring and then a second batch in July. The fields move around each year to allow for crop rotation in the fields. Plus it's a great guessing game for local people....
"The one place that I get him to plant sunflowers each year is the Myrick Conservation Center on 842. This is open to the public and a great place to walk. The positioning of fields at Myrick is a way to create awareness and perhaps members for the nature organizations that call it home, the Brandywine Valley and Red Clay Valley Associations. I checked the fields last Saturday and the first seed leaves had just emerged from the ground. Flowering is a long way off, late September."
Charles keeps a close eye on the sunflowers because much of the seed grown locally is sold as bird food at his store. "The Farm to Feeder locally grown sunflower seed for your birds has been a big hit with my customers since its inception three years ago. I'm actually doing a talk on the partnership and program on September 3 at the College of Lifelong Learning in Wilmington. I glad to be a part of this regional attraction."

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