Here comes the sun.

A road trip through the Sacramento Valley during the summer months dazzles visitors with acres and acres of sunflower fields in bloom. With their radiant, daisy-like composition and broad seed heads, sunflowers add a sunny disposition to floral displays and backyard gardens while the nutritious seeds introduce a tasty crunch to salads, sandwiches, and desserts. 

Humans and wildlife have subsisted on sunflowers for thousands of years, and today, hybrid varieties are coming full circle as an important crop for California’s agricultural economy. As far back as 3000 BC, Native Americans living in present-day Arizona and New Mexico are believed to have cultivated the wild sunflower. According to the National Sunflower Association, tribes pounded sunflower seeds into flour for bread and porridge, and they mixed it with other vegetables, such as beans, squash, and corn. Parts of the plant were used to make a purple dye for textiles and body paintings, and medicinally to treat snake bites. The seed oil was used for skin and hair. 

Spanish explorers brought the North American plant to Europe around 1500, and by 1830 sunflower oil began being produced on a commercial scale. 

A California Super Crop

The Sacramento Valley now supplies about 25 percent of the world’s hybrid sunflower seeds. Most of California’s hybrid seed production takes place on tens of thousands of acres of farmland in Colusa and Yolo counties. Harvested sunflower seeds grown for seed companies are shipped around the world for oil production in the Midwest, Eastern Europe, Russia, and Ukraine, according to Sacramento Valley representatives.

The majority of sunflower seeds grown in California are crushed for oil. Valued for its light taste, health benefits, and frying performance, it’s the oil of choice for making potato chips. With the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe, two international seed companies have shuttered, sending shockwaves throughout the local oil seed market — a major blow to local growers. 

“With the war in Ukraine, I think it changed that whole dynamic. It was a big hit to growers. Farmers are looking for other things to grow,” says Tom Heaton, who grows ornamental sunflower seeds. He estimates the region lost $100 million in opportunity. 

In Woodland, Tom and his wife Olga Chengaeva of NuFlowers develop 55 seed varieties for ornamental sunflowers that they sell online to hobby gardeners and cut flower professionals. “We ship our seeds all over the world. We’re really the leaders in developing new colors,” says Heaton, a sunflower geneticist who has spent 47 years developing new varieties of sunflower seeds. 

On 200 acres of breeding plots, the couple grows thousands of varieties using conventional plant breeding practices sans genetic engineering. It’s a long process that takes at least seven years from start to finish before seeds are produced. They develop seeds in a rainbow of new colors that depart from the customary palette of yellow and orange. “It’s like painting a picture. We enjoy making new colors and like it when people are surprised,” says Heaton, who holds a doctorate in genetics from University of California, Davis.

 California growers remain optimistic that sunflowers will continue being a profitable and reliable crop, one that can survive the ebb and flow of world events. The ongoing conflict in the Black Sea, recent seed company closures, and competitive interests in other parts of the country have brought challenges to the California crop, but the sunflower is a survivor. 

The Mighty Sunflower

Early maturity and a long tap root make this plant a top contender for farmers who aim to grow drought resistant plants. The deep roots of the sunflower help aerate the soil, improve soil structure and drainage while improving the uptake of nutrients and minerals. This adds to the overall health of the soil for all plant communities. Sunflowers are such helpful plants, they’ve been known to clean up hazardous materials like heavy metals from the soil. 

A few years ago, researchers eyed sunflowers for some of the most inhospitable lands, including the Southern California desert. Researchers studied 300 genotypes to explore the potential this mighty plant holds for the future and to find varieties that can tolerate the drought and stress of a changing climate. 

For now, favorable weather in the breadbasket of the Golden State keeps disease pressure at a minimum for these mighty seeds. Warm, dry days and cool nights of the valley give hard working bees the conditions they need to thrive and pollinate the flowers. A farmer favorite for crop rotations and attracting pollinators, sunflowers help with long-term management of weeds. After harvest, the plant’s woody stocks add biomass to build healthy soil. These attributes make the sunflower a top pick for home gardeners, as well.

Growing Gold at Home

Organic and heirloom varieties are full of nectar-rich blooms that are considered an important food source for pollinators and beneficial insects. Plus, they’re easy to grow. “Even if you only have a small space, tuck a few here and there, and they’ll become the stars of the garden,” says Angela Pratt, owner of The Plant Foundry in Sacramento. 

The nursery focuses on certified organic plant starts and seeds, and multi-branch varieties of sunflowers, ensuring pollen for the bees and butterflies. It carries a wide variety of seeds, with names like Paintbox, Van Gogh, and Ring of Fire, for a range of heights, textures, and colors. 

Besides attracting the usual suspects like bees, hummingbirds, and sphinx moths, sunflowers create a wildlife refuge for ladybugs and lacewings, helping to control pest populations. Songbirds such as the lesser goldfinch will flock to the garden to nibble sunflower leaves. Pratt recommends sowing seeds every three to four weeks for continuous blooms and staggering harvests. “Not only will you have a source of pollen for pollinators, you’ll have cut flowers throughout the season,” she says. 

Try companion planting next to climbing plants like pole beans and cucumbers. Plant seeds in a sunny location and remember to water once a week. “It’s great for your vegetable garden. The more pollinators you can attract, the better,” says Pratt. 

On the Menu

In the kitchen, small sunflower kernels are loaded with nutrition. Considered good sources of vitamin E, magnesium, and selenium, sunflower oil supplies more vitamin E than any other vegetable oil, and it’s low in saturated fat. Try the seeds in granola, crackers, salads, pesto, and seed brittles, or roast the whole sunflower seed head on the grill. Lower in fat than nuts and high in protein, sunflower seeds are an easy to digest complex carbohydrate loaded with omega 3s.“

There is a nuance in texture. They have that crunch factor,” says Nina Curtis, a plant-based chef and speaker known by many as Botanical Chef.

“They are very versatile. You can toast them and roast them. They have such a neutral flavor that can really work nicely in healthy snacks and nutrition bars.” 

Curtis uses seeds to make everything from nutburgers to “toona” salad — a plant-based version of tuna salad — and kung pao sauce with crispy cauliflower. She blends the powder with masa to make tortillas, adds it to smoothies, or roasts, grinds, and mixes it with nutritional yeast to sprinkle on popcorn or salads. Beyond providing sustenance, the flowers brighten her day. “You look at a sunflower, it just makes you feel better,” says Curtis.