Sunday, April 13, 2014

Sunflower Seedlings at Thirty Days

It has been a month of thirty days since planting my flower garden of four rows of sunflower seeds. Time for measuring the sunflower seedlings. By now, I think I can call some of these sunflower plants as they seem a little large to be called "seedlings."

Sunflower Garden Four Rows of Seedlings at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Sunflower Garden Four Rows of Seedlings at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 13, 2014
I captured a photo of the sunflower garden from the other direction. You can see a lot of growth in the two rows on the left. There are plenty of sunflower seedlings in the two rows on the right - much more than last year's crop!

SUNFLOWER SEEDLING MEASUREMENTS

Our first measurement of the sunflower seedlings was taken one week ago, April 6th, at twenty-three days. At that time, the measurement stood at 6 inches wide by 7 inches across by 6 inches tall.

Sunflower Seedling Height of Twelve Inches at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Sunflower Seedling Height of Twelve Inches at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 13, 2014
With the tallest sunflower seedling reaching a height of twelve inches, or one foot, at thirty days, I am confident we can now call this a sunflower plant! That is double the growth in one week or seven days time! Not bad.

Sunflower Seedling Width of Nine Inches at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Sunflower Seedling Width of Nine Inches at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 13, 2014
The sunflower seedling I measured had a leaf width of some nine inches. At least the height was no surpassing the width.

Sunflower Seedling Width of Ten Inches at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Sunflower Seedling Width of Ten Inches at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 13, 2014
The second measurement on the leaf width across came in at ten inches. The leaf clusters wide and across are still tracking pretty uniform measurements and growth.

Comparing our two measurements:

  1. 23 days - 6 inches wide by 7 inches across by 6 inches tall
  2. 30 days - 9 inches wide by 10 inches across by 12 inches tall

It is curious to note that the width and across measurement both increased by 3 inches whilst the height increased by 6 inches - that is two to one growth on the height to width of the sunflower seedlings.

SUNFLOWER SEEDLINGS AS TALL AS THE DECORATIVE EDGING!

Sunflower Seedling Height of Twelve Inches at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Sunflower Seedling Height of Twelve Inches at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 13, 2014
This past week, I replanted the sunflower seedlings from the three backup pots into the four rows in my sunflower garden. I filled in the "bare" spots with seedlings. With the growth throughout the four rows, I had to change up my protective covering of the sunflower seedlings at night.

Lowe's Liners and Weed Barrier Cloth Protecting Sunflower Seedlings ~ JaguarJulie
Lowe's Liners and Weed Barrier Cloth Protecting Sunflower Seedlings ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 12, 2014 pm
I've been using the three lengths of the black weed barrier cloth to cover the three rows of sunflower seedlings. The cloth is light enough to carefully place one length centered over the seedlings. In my fourth row, with the least growth, I have used four Lowe's liners. I am contemplating purchasing another roll of weed barrier cloth so that I can have one length for each of the four rows.

Each evening and morning, with the put down and take up of the protective covering, it has been a little workout with the placement of the brick pavers.

Sunflower Seedlings Prospering at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Sunflower Seedlings Prospering at 30 Days ~ JaguarJulie
Photo Taken: April 13, 2014
I took that last photo right after I removed the weed barrier cloth in the morning. That's fifteen days of putting down and taking up the protective coverings! You can see that the sunflower seedlings -- er, sunflower plants -- are prospering at thirty days. Compare that growth to the sunflower seedlings of six days! Quite a difference.

This experience is all thanks to Burpee! I started with their sunflower seeds in 2013 and then harvested my own seeds. This year's sunflower garden is from my harvested seeds entirely! This year, I'm anxious to see if I can attain the same heights of seven to eight feet along with the beautiful array of sunflower blossoms. Gosh, I wonder when we will see that first blossom and will it be yellow or orange or red?

Hey, why not make a little sunny magic in your garden. Start with Burpee Sunflower Seeds available at Amazon. I suggest picking a variety of at least three different packages. Try the taller ones like I did!

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