Sunflowers in the garden reach considerable heights of three meters and more. If you want to go that high, you need a lot of nutrients. Regular fertilizer applications are therefore particularly important when caring for sunflowers. How to fertilize correctly!
How should you properly fertilize sunflowers?
Sunflowers require regular fertilization with nitrogen-containing fertilizer such as horn shavings, nettle manure, mature compost, cattle dung or ready-made liquid fertilizer. Fertilize at least once a week, ideally twice, to ensure optimal growth. Make sure there is a planting distance of at least 70 cm for sufficient nutrient supply.
Sunflowers are heavy feeders
The sunflower is a so-called heavy feeder. This means it needs a lot of nutrients to grow to its full size and beauty.
Without regular fertilizer, the flower will remain small and puny.
Before sowing the seeds or planting early sunflowers, you can enrich the soil with mature compost. This offers the plants the best starting conditions.
The right fertilizer
Sunflowers like nitrogen. Therefore, make sure that you use fertilizer with a high nitrogen content.
Good fertilizers are:
- Horn shavings
- Stinging nettle manure
- Mature compost
- Cattle dung
- Ready liquid fertilizer
Avoid chemical fertilizers as much as possible, especially if you want to harvest the sunflower seeds for your own consumption or as bird feed.
If you grow a lot of sunflowers in the garden, it is worth making a large barrel of nettle manure and bottling the manure. Then you have a good supply to fertilize the sunflowers regularly.
How often do you need to fertilize sunflowers?
What would lead to over-fertilization with other plants is exactly right for the sunflower. You can supply the plants with nutrients twice a week. At least once a week is mandatory.
Do not pour liquid fertilizer directly onto the stem, but rather create a two to five centimeter deep watering channel around the plant into which you add the fertilizer. Otherwise there is a risk of “burning” the stems.
Don’t plant sunflowers too close together
Don't plant sunflowers too densely in the garden. If they are too close together, they will compete with each other for nutrients. In this case, even frequent fertilization doesn't help much. Maintain a planting distance of at least 70 centimeters.
Tips & Tricks
Thanks to their long roots, sunflowers improve the garden soil. Do not pull out the plants in autumn, just cut them down. The root rots in the soil, loosens it and enriches the soil with nutrients.
