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Connecticut

If you are a sunflower grower and a pumpkin grower beware! If you plant sunflowers within five feet of your plant you are decreasing the possiblity of growing a giant. As not to have weeds growing around them, they produce a toxin from their roots. This can stunt or kill any plant including pumpkins.

11/16/2001 5:41:06 AM

Eureka, Ca

Thank You. Good info to Know. That might explain why my Artichokes didn't grow. Not being able to grow Artichokes on the North Coast is like not being able to grow potatoes in Idaho.

B.T.W. Whats the source of this info?

11/16/2001 1:17:51 PM

Northeast

Do you have a source for this info? I line my entire patch with sunflowers!!!! Concerned David

11/16/2001 6:50:11 PM

Deer Park WA

A first year grower friend of mine had so many sunflowers growing in his patch you couldn't see the dang pumpkin. He still hit 275#. I agree that Sunflowers produce a harsh environment for anything beneath them, and they are voracious feeders.

11/16/2001 8:09:30 PM

Topsfield, Ma.

i use sunflowers on two side of my patch as wind breaks and also heard of the toxin issue for the first time this year !
how do we resolve this issue ? p.s. had a personal best despite the sunflowers.

11/16/2001 8:24:20 PM

Connecticut

A few years ago I had a lot of sunflowers and nothing, not even weeds would grow under them. Then somewhere I read that they produce a mild toxic inhibiting plant grow and haulting it in some plants. I will try searching the web for info.

P.S. David I wouldn't be worried about the sunflowers except if they are very close to the plants.

11/16/2001 8:27:03 PM

western Kentucky

ok question,,,,,, how lond does the toxin stay in the soil?

If i plant a pumpkin next year where i had my sunflowers this year....will it affect them any?...or will the toxin be long gone?

Justin Peek

11/16/2001 8:27:50 PM

Connecticut

Duff, where did you hear about them?

11/16/2001 8:28:40 PM

porterville, calif.

If you ever notice bird feeders that have alot of sunflower seeds in the mix. When the birds discard the shell from the kernal, the hulls under the feeders there is almost nothing growing under or around the feeder. There is a toxin in those hulls that do bother the growth of some plants.

11/17/2001 3:19:51 AM

Roanoke Il

I've grown pumpkins for 2 years with sunflowers next to them haven't noticed any problems . I also remeber seeing pictures of larry checkons patch he grows sunflowers to did seem to hurt him. I have noticed slugs like the stems. mark

11/17/2001 6:38:53 AM

Connecticut

I think it said that the spread is only 5 feet, which might explain some people's sucess including Larry's. I've seen picts of his patch and the sunflowers seem to be only on the border.

11/17/2001 7:52:21 AM

comstock Park Mi

I grow a 856# pumpkin with 8 sunflowers on the west and south side.

11/18/2001 6:43:34 AM

Topsfield, Ma.

i tried growing "freight trains" (single main vine, no secondaries) along each side of my patch that was lined with sunflowers for the last two years. leaves were gigantic and vine was super-sized, but fruit production was nil. i couldn't bring myself to discard healthy young plants. there may be something to the sunflower toxin issue ! just my 2 cents worth.

11/18/2001 5:57:08 PM

Buffalo, NY

I just checked a Companion Planting chart I got somewhere from the internet and it said the following are good companions to pumpkins & squash:
Beans, Broad Beans, French Beans, Runner Beans
Lettuce
Marjoram
Nasturtium
Peas
Petunias
Radish
SUNFLOWER
Sweet Corn
Tagetes varieties of Marigold
Yarrow

The following are NOT recommended:
Potatoes
Sage

I don't know if the place is correct on all these but this is what they published.

Mark

P.S. For anyone who want to attract bees for pollinating, try borage, lemon balm, calendula, bee balm, etc.

11/18/2001 7:23:28 PM

walton n.y.

i had a row of sunflowers as a windbreak about 30 ft from the stump of my plants grew a 652 and a 507.5 i've also heard that planting marigolds are suposed to deter nematodes radish and nastursiums are also used for detering some other types of bugs but don't remember what ones i also had some weeds under my sunflowers but they were in a single row and pretty far away

11/22/2001 12:42:39 PM