Black Oil Sunflower Seeds – Open-Pollinated for Seed, Oil & Cover Crop

Black Oil Sunflower is the workhorse of the sunflower world — equally at home in a backyard raised bed,  or a cover-cropped field. Whether you're growing for seed harvest, pressing your own sunflower oil, or building soil health, this open-pollinated variety delivers season after season with minimal fuss.

Which Packet Size Do You Need?

• ~14g /~200+ Seeds — Perfect for a 4×4 raised bed cover crop, or half a 10×20 microgreen tray
• ~28g /~500+ Seeds — Covers a 4×8 raised bed cover crop, or one full 10×20 microgreen tray

Why Grow Black Oil Sunflower?

• Dual-purpose crop: Harvest seeds for eating, bird feed, or cold-press oil production
• Powerful cover crop: Deep taproots scavenge nutrients from subsoil layers and break up compaction
• Soil cleanser: Known for phytoremediation — helps draw impurities out of the soil
• Drought-tolerant: Thrives in summer heat with minimal irrigation once established
• Easy to grow at any scale: From a single raised bed to broadcast-seeded acres

Planting Guide

• Planting Method: Direct seed, broadcast, or tray sow
• When to Plant: After last frost (cover crop); year-round indoors (microgreens)
• Planting Depth: ½ inch (cover crop); surface sow, lightly covered (microgreens)
• Cover Crop Spacing: Broadcast evenly; no need to thin
• Microgreen Sow: Dense — seed touching is fine for tray production
• Days to Maturity: 110 days (full plant); 8–12 days (microgreens)

Growing Tips

For cover crop use, broadcast seed by hand or spreader, then lightly rake to improve seed-to-soil contact. Once blooms have died back, harvest seeds or mow stalks and incorporate the debris as green manure.

For microgreens, sow densely on a pre-moistened growing medium, mist well, and keep covered for the first 2–3 days to encourage germination. Expect thick, crisp cotyledons with a sweet-and-savory nutty flavor — a go-to topping for salads, sandwiches, and grain bowls.

Seed Specifications

• Botanical Name: Helianthus annuus
• Days to Maturity: 110 days (full plant); 8–12 days (microgreens)
• Disease Resistance: None listed
• Non-GMO, Open-Pollinated