.....perhaps another perfect crop

The sunflower.....so easy to grow .... anyone that fails with this crop...... should stop being a farmer and go work in some office downtown . We planted a short row of these eye catchers last March.... as another experiment crop.

Not only did the bees love the bright colored flowers.....the black birds did too. I must add that the tourist we have visiting here at the farm admired the flowers as much as the chickens. Oh....and the Farmer Deno thought that the flora finality was great too.

So what did I learn about sunflowers that is not commonly known?

When planted in rows.....the entire stalk that grows up to eight feet or more.......pushing out large leafs from the stem...creates a great afternoon shade barrier for the sensitive crops. Our assorted peppers were happy campers. Big... fat.... happy.... campers!

We have self guided tours and guided tours here at the farm. Lots of kids with their Mum and Pops. The number two picture taking area is that of the flowers...with the kids in pose. These pictures always end up on the FaceBook page that the parents have....and that my reading friends ...is the best advertisement our farm can get!

Oh....the number one area of picture taking .... is that of Richard and Vicky (named after my kid brother and his wife).....our Pot Belly Pigs.

The flower itself served several purposes.....and what a big surprise I found. Out Fig Trees were being attacked by black birds ......so many many many birds. We never had a issue with these gobblers until the CA drought came around. The more I scared off the birds from our trees...the more discovered the seeds of the sunflowers. Ah! After a week playing spook to the birds....most never returned to the figs....rather they returned to the sunflowers.

So now I have a perfect way to repel birds! We will be planting mega more sunflowers.

Of course the honey bees were going crazy for the crop as well. More bees that we can attract to the  produce and fruit.....the more yields we get from the these little buzzing field workers. Once the bees are finished.....and the seeds develop....the chickens get their turn at the flowers.

I'll cut off the huge flowers that are really loaded with thousands of seeds.....for a additive to the chicken feed that we make each day. The seeds are a high source of protein...a requirement for healthy chickens. You know...it takes a lot of protein to produce a egg.

Finally.....what about that thick stem that the sunflower has. Up to 2-3 inches of thickness and about 7-8 long... that this farmer cannot break with his hands once it has dried out. I have found two great uses of these stems. When and where a shade area is needed for the smaller animals....the stems are used for roofing material...just like a trellis patio cover! The second use is to cut the stems at 18 inch lengths to be used for starting our wood burning heater in the house.

The perfect crop.