Competition Time: Grow a sunflower!

While everyone is at home I have an agricultural challenge for you all:

Can you grow the tallest sunflower in the school? Perhaps the world? Currently the world record is 9.17m!

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/tallest-sunflower/

By July I hope to be able to judge your entries; you can email pictures into school. There will be prizes! Individual, tutor group and house!

You'll need to get hold of some seeds, which I suggest you pick up next time you or a friend goes to the shops. I additionally suggest that you keep a journal of your progress, noting changes and developments. Not only will this impress your teachers and help you learn, you might also win the category for "best journalling". I will also be hoping to include other categories such as "most beautiful" and "largest flower".

Please send me any thoughts you have and ideally pictures of your progress!

Good luck

Mr Greetham

Hints and tips…

• Plant your seed outside in April once the chance of frost has passed. You can start them off inside but it is just as easy and you are more likely to grow larger blooms if you start them off outside.
• Sunflowers can be sown straight in to the ground where they are going to flower, so make sure the space you are going to sow is weed free, by using a trowel to remove the weeds.
• Make sure to plant them where they will get 6-8 hours sun per day – this is what they need to grow successfully.
• Rake the soil to a fine tilth (a fine crumbly texture) and make some drills 12mm deep. Leave a 10cm space between each seed if you are sewing more than one.
• Place the seed in carefully and cover them up with soil. Don’t forget to water the seeds gently.
• Be careful, as slugs and snails like to eat the new shoots. You may like to protect the seedlings by cutting the top off a plastic bottle and placing it over your seedlings.
• As your sunflower begins to grow taller than you, you will need to help support the stem, by placing a cane near the stem and loosely tying the cane to the plant with string.
• Watch your sunflower (hopefully) grow and grow and grow…