Feeding BOSS... and a rice question

[Sonoran Silkies]

Okay, so what kind of sunflowers do I plant if I want black oil ones? (Thinking about purchasing the packets so I can select among cultivars if possible, although I suppose I could simply plant some of the boss itself.)

 

[Chris09]

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I just plant the BOSS...

Chris

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

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I'd simply plant the BOSS form the bird seed bags itself, since I've never seen any packets with BOSS seeds, probably because they are mainly bird feed and are so common. I have no trouble sprouting the boss, just get it went, keep it warm and in the light and once they get starts you can either feed them (which is what I do) or push the starts in the soil and grow some sunflowers. I've tried growing the sunflowers, but either my girls or the squirrels get to them before they are big enough.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Okay, so how large are BOSS sunflowers? Colour? (I've seen sunflowers from pale yellow to orange and every shade in between, and from a couple of feet tall to probably 10 feet tall.) How many seeds per bloom?

The chickens are in the back yard and we have exactly 2 squirrels in the entire neighborhood--this is a real treat for us as squirrels are NOT common in Phoenix. Oh, and I would be planting the flowers in a flowerbed along side one of the driveways in the front yard.

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

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They are a small 1/4 of an inch seeds with a pure black shell that's relatively soft, the flowers should be yellow, like a wild sunflower. You can get them almost anywhere, from target to walmart, petsmart/petstores or your feed store, all those places. Pretty much anywhere you can buy wild bird seed, a 10 pound bag lasted me 3 months since I only feed a couple small handfuls a day. From what I know, the flowers aren't that big, but you should get enough per bloom, maybe a couple dozen.

 

[emys]

BOSS sunflowers are short, about 3 feet tall and the heads are small about 3-6 inches across, with multiple flowers per plant. Seeds per bloom depends on pollination etc, but not all that many because the blooms are small.

 

[Organics North]

I planted a few seeds from the bag this year and have some that will bloom.
I can not find organic BOSS for a decent price... Why?
I would love to contract with someone to grow me organic or even "natural" BOSS. I would pay $18 per 50 and take about 300lbs maybe more.
ON

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

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LOL....same happening here re: the dog and scraps. I don`t usually feed our dog too many scraps because he is a garbage guts lab and puts on weight like crazy. However he sure does not like to see those chickens getting treats. Yesterday he pulled a mangled core of romaine lettuce out of the run....something he would never eat if the chickens did not have it!
Thanks for the info on BOSS. I did not know about them and went to buy a bag yesterday. My chickens LOVE it and are more excited than ever to see the treat people.