hey ya'll! I was looking up growing info on nyjer seed (also known as niger or thistle seed) and I ran across this site about nyjer that has a bunch of info on it. I think that I may try to grow this if I can get the seeds to sprout and grow but it said on the site I think or on another site I saw that they heat the seeds or something so they won't germinate :p :rolleyes: but I'm still gonna try to grow them though but I just thought I'd share this site with ya'll in case some of ya'll have wondered about the seed like I have...and I found out that the reason it's so expensive ($16 something for a 20 pound bag!! ) is because they import it from other different countries :p

I hear it's been sterilized, too. But I heard someone else say that they WERE able to get some to grow. It's to expensive for me to use much, but I grow a lot of my Sunflower Seed.

yeap but that's not gonna stop me from experimenting! and that makes me inspired to hear that somebody actually had luck to grow them. I can't wait to grow my own sunflowers this year! those goldfinches have been eating me outta house and home...yesterday I had a feeder half full and today it was emty!!! so I had to go to walmart to get some more...we'll just see how long that'll last me!!

i've tried sunflowers the past few years for the birdies but the squirrels get to them before they even grow!

Miss Jamie, If you have a Tractor Supply Store, (TSC)in your area, you can get 50POUNDS of Black Oil Sunflower Seed there for $14.00! It's the best deal I've ever found. And they have all SORTS of new farm and garden tools, equipment, and supplies there. (And I get 20 pound bags of rabbit feed there for just $7.00! 20 Pounds lasts Two Bean Bags 2-3 months with daily feedings.

Miss Jamie, there IS a TSC store in Madison Heights. It is at 248 Amelon Square and there phone number is 929-6730. Give them a try.

Just bought a packet of sunflower seeds from KMart - Martha Stewart (OK, nobody make fun of me!) called "Teddy Bear." They are absolutely ADORABLE! The centers are, well, fluffy. Don't know if the birds will like but they should be too cute along with the packet of picked sunflower seeds I picked up.

Looks like I was trying to type a tongue twister!!

ALITTERATION!

lol.

You all are so fun. I have some of the blackoil sunflowers and some of the vanilla ice sunflowers. I'm not really a fan of them because I like my flowers short but for the birdies and squirrels I'm willing to give them a try.

I have about 10,000 sunflower plants coming up underneath my feeders right now!

TK, the Black Oil Sunflower only get about 3-4 feet tall at the most and the blooms are about 3-8 inches in diameter. These are NOT the Russian Mammoth Sunflowers that get 8-12 feet tall with blooms about 12-18 inches in diameter, (although those are GREAT for birds [and people], too)!

hi thorny! I knew there was a tractor supply store here and I know exactly where it is but thanks!

Miss Jamie, I don't know what kind of thistle seed you're thinking about getting, but I think they can be very invasive. At least, the kind we have around here are, and they are like weeds. Just one plant can produce thousands and thousands of seeds. Unfortunately, they must germinate very easily. Maybe the ones you're looking at are a different kind.

patches

patches I know what you're talking about...that's thistle...we have that EVERYWHERE here too I'm not talking about that kind though I'm talking about nyjer....it's also called thistle but it's not the same kind of thistle though.

Okay, Miss Jamie. I appreciate the information! I didn't know if there were different kinds or not, now I know!

patches