The Garden

• Planting:

  Sunflowers can be started as early as May in individual pots within the classroom or directly outside, depending on the growing season of your region. Potted sunflowers can remain in the pots only if the pots are at least 12 inches deep.

  Sunflower seeds can be planted in hills of dirt, similar to corn. They should be planted on the north side of the garden so they do not shade the rest of the garden. Using the planting stick, plant three seeds per hill, at the depth of the second joint of an adult's finger. Cover over with dirt and water.

• Growing Season:

  Plants should get at least an inch of water and six hours of sunlight per week.

• Harvesting:

  Although it is the first thing to plant, sunflowers are one of the last to be harvested in the fall. The seeds are ready when the covering of the seeds falls off, exposing the ripe seed beneath. The back of the flower head, which was green, will turn yellow. You can allow the seeds to dry on the plant, but you run the risk of losing the seeds to birds and animals. An adult should cut the heads of the flowers off and place them in a basket. When they have all been gathered, lay the heads out, face down in a dry, warm area. They should dry in about four days.

• Threshing:

  Lay the heads out, face down, on a sheet or blanket and beat them with a stick. Gather up all of the seeds and store in a sealed container.

• Post-harvest activities:

  Sunflowers can be used, raw or baked, and eaten alone or mixed with dried berries and grain as a snack.

  Parching:

  This pot I set on the lodge fire, working it down into the coals with a rocking motion and raked coals around it; the mouth I tipped slightly toward me. I threw into the pot two or three double-handfuls of the seeds and as they parched, I stirred them with a little stick, to keep them from burning. Now and then I took out a seed and bit it; if the kernel was soft and gummy, I knew the parching was not done; but when it bit dry and crisp, I knew the seeds were cooked and I dipped them out with a horn spoon into a wooden bowl.

  Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden