Enter our 5th Birthday sunflower growing competition! 🌱🌻

 

Last years winners (Dennis + Margaret) grew a 3m+ sunflower - don’t worry we’re going to give them dwarf seeds this year.

We’d wanted to host a sunflower growing competition for YEARS - we held our first last year and it was cuter than we could have DREAMED 💘

We love sunflowers, growing stuff and competitions so it’s really a dream come true. It’s just a bit of fun (we say until someone grows a sunflower taller than ours…).

📆 On Saturday 13th April 10am-12pm we’ll have pots and compost outside of the studio ready for you to come and plant your seed.

If you can’t make it you can plant your own seeds at home - just make sure to register using the form below ⤵️

HOW’S IT GOING TO WORK?

🪱 Enter below - all entries must be in by 25th April to be in with a chance of winning a prize.

🌱 Either pick up a packet of 3 seeds from our studio between Saturday 13th April - Friday 19th April or buy your own - take them home, plant them, tend for them, talk to them, feed them etc etc.

🌻 On 25th September we’ll send you an email asking for a measurement + picture of you* with your sunflower. *if you don’t want to be in the picture you can ask a friend, neighbour or helpful animal to pose.

There will be prizes for the biggest and best sunflower, and boobie prizes too because we can’t all be gifted with green fingers.

Register your entry here ⤵️

* Entries must be in by 25th April to be in with a chance of winning a prize. Pictures / stories might be shared on our socials.

SOME OF LAST YEARS GORGEY SUNFLOWERS

We’ve chosen Unwins seeds as they’re what they had in Asda when we decided we were doing this… No other biases.

TOP GROWING TIPS:

(straight from the Unwins website - you can read the whole page here)

“Nothing beats the simple beauty of tall sunflowers. With a little feeding and nurturing, it is easy to grow plants to 4m (12ft) or more! Loved by children and adults alike, the plants are quick growing and in autumn the attractive seed heads are great for providing wild birds with a treat.

🌱 Flowers up to 4m or more
🌱 Great for children
🌱 Huge 40cm flower heads
🌱 Quick growing
🌱 Strong sturdy stem

Sow indoors March - May, flowers July - October.

How to sow:

  • Fill a small 6cm (2 1/2 in) pot with seed compost, shake well and level firm with the base of another pot.

  • Water well with a fine rose

  • Sow seeds individually into compost, pushing seeds to 1cm (1/2 in) deep

  • Place in a propagator at 15-20°C  (60-70°F) or cover pot with plastic and leave in a warm room

Growing on:

  • When shoots appear, remove plastic cover

  • Keep seedlings in a light position, but shade from direct sunlight

  • Grow on in a minimum temperature of 10°C

Hardening off / planting out:

  • Gradually accustom plants to outside conditions for 2-3 weeks before planting out when the risk of frost has passed

  • Water well until established

 Special note : do not remove spent sunflower heads. They provide attractive autumn seed heads which are great for providing wild birds with a treat.”

We hope you enjoy this as much as we will - if you follow us on socials we’ll be posting updates of how our seedlings are coming along [insta @thepotteryexperience]

Happy growing!

Lots of love, Hazel + the pottery exp team xoxo

 
Hazel Stephenson