Re: BlackOIl Sunflowers are bitter

[Guest guest]

Hi Bonnie, I use 1/2 coir and 1/2 perlite. Soil is not necessary. My black oil

seeds come out great. I grow them in the kitchen window and snip them off as I

want them. My grandkids love to come by and munch. How does your city water

taste? You can leave your tap water sit in and open container for 24 hours and

the clorine will evporate. See if that helps.

ew

BlackOIl Sunflowers are bitter

could it be a soil issue.. i dont use much soil for my greens.

i use sungro soil mix and coco peat.

any ideas?

city water

[Guest guest]

Peggy,

I buy coir bricks from my local nursery, also, Los Angeles County has compost

workshops where they teach about composting and vericomposting. They sell coir

brick there also at a better price than the seed catalogs do. However, I like

the brick I get from the nursery best. If you have a favorite nursery, ask if

they can get the coir for you.

PS: I just bought some striped sunflower seeds from Sprouts Farmers Market - in

the bulk bin section. They sprouted real well and tasted great.

ew

BlackOIl Sunflowers are bitter

could it be a soil issue.. i dont use much soil for my greens.

i use sungro soil mix and coco peat.

any ideas?

city water

[Guest guest]

Peggy:

r u still having problems with bitterness?

I have sensitive pallate. and i don not like to grow hydroponicaly either.. i

find they look nice but are bitter.

maybe im fussy.. but i sell commerically.

i get cocoa peat from canadian tire or peavy mart.

my new experiment this week.

is #1 more ;dirt

#2 water with sugar water, mid week.

#3 half sungro and half cocopeat

i will grow with plastic on.. under lights to shed hulls and

to keep them from drying out...

ive done this all before.. o,, and i wont water wi;th city water. ill let it

sit for 24 hours like suggested.. thank you...

[Guest guest]

Hi Bonnie,

I have just ordered a coir (basically coco-peat, I believe, or very similar to

it) brick from Amazon which will be here in a couple of days. I plan to mix it

half and half with perlite (as suggested by ew of this board) and see what

happens. I've just purchased a water purifier so hope that will help. What kind

of dirt are you using? And what concentration of sugar water?

Previously I used an organic bamboo batt in a broiler pan, topped with about

1/2 " of organic potting soil. When the soaked seeds were scattered over the top,

I placed another pan directly onto the seeds, weighted it, and left it for a day

or two until it was being pushed up by the growing sunnies (they are amazingly

strong!!) Then I removed the top and allowed them light. They were beautiful,

but I couldn't get rid of the bitter/metallic taste. I'm hoping for better

results this time.

Thanks for your input!

Peggy

________________________________

To: sproutpeople

Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2011 8:50 AM

Subject: Re: BlackOIl Sunflowers are bitter

 

Peggy:

r u still having problems with bitterness?

I have sensitive pallate. and i don not like to grow hydroponicaly either.. i

find they look nice but are bitter.

maybe im fussy.. but i sell commerically.

i get cocoa peat from canadian tire or peavy mart.

my new experiment this week.

is #1 more ;dirt

#2 water with sugar water, mid week.

#3 half sungro and half cocopeat

i will grow with plastic on.. under lights to shed hulls and

to keep them from drying out...

ive done this all before.. o,, and i wont water wi;th city water. ill let it

sit for 24 hours like suggested.. thank you...

[Guest guest]

Bonnie Sue,

The product I bought is called

Coco Garden CCF650 650-Gram Compressed Coco Fiber Growing Medium

It's an alternative to peat-based potting mixes, so I gave you the wrong info

before - sorry. I had looked at quite a few products and some were coco-peat,

but not this one.

I think perlite and vermiculite are similar, but not the same product. EW could

tell you more.

Happy new year and here's to yummy sunnies in 2012!

Peggy

________________________________

To: sproutpeople

Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2011 3:11 PM

Subject: Re: BlackOIl Sunflowers are bitter

 

hope your cocopeat works good for you.

basically, it is like growing hydropinically,, it holds water well, which is a

must for sunflower.

sugar / water.. i dont know.. i will try 1 tbsp to half gallon.. and use it

once. im not sure

perilite/?? hmm. i did try vermiculite,, is that heh same thing??

[Guest guest]

Great News! my sunny's were perfect this week.

i th ink the dif was more soil and i let the water sit 24 hours before using..

they were the best!!!!!!!!! I want more!!!!!!!

-

[Guest guest]

Great news indeed! I'm getting ready to test new seeds received from a friend

who so kindly harvested them from her own sunflowers (thanks again, !).

Instead of soil, I'm going to use the coconut fiber and perlite and weight the

seeds until they push up the weighted lid, then give them light and watch them

grow. Hope my results are as good as yours!

Will keep you informed.

Peggy

________________________________

To: sproutpeople

Sent: Friday, January 6, 2012 9:26 PM

Subject: Re: BlackOIl Sunflowers are bitter

 

Great News! my sunny's were perfect this week.

i th ink the dif was more soil and i let the water sit 24 hours before using..

they were the best!!!!!!!!! I want more!!!!!!!

-