The HEIGHT of the Summer 2016

Sunflower Growing Competition

The measuring of the finalists with the official laser measuring stick will take place on Saturday 27th August 2016 or Sunday 28th August 2016.

The Winner Announcement will be made on Sunday 28th August 2016 at Shakespeare House, Purton.

News

Tuesday 5th July 2016

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Maureen and Rob's sunflowers Despite the best efforts of the wind, rain, slugs and snails, Ronnie and Reggie are still surviving. A little ragged around the edges maybe but doing reasonably ok. A little bit more sunshine wouldn't go amiss.

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Thomas & Benjamin Colwood's sunflower Of the 2 sunflowers they started out with, only one has survived and seems to be thriving at almost 4' 6" (136cm).

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Andrew Woodhall's sunflower Apparently modesty prevents any associated measurement!

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Oliver and Maisie Scott's sunflower Doing really well and enjoying all the rain they've been having up the hill in Hinton.

Sunday 26th June 2016

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Recovery at the Pritchards Later the same day - an amazing recovery - what did they put in the water?

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Disaster at the Pritchards Is it heat exhaustion or are they in desperate need of a drink?

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Harry, Jack & Lily tending to their sunflowers (Marie & Gordon's great grandchildren)  How cute - and they have obvioiusly developed their green fingers at a very early age!

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Joseph Woolams and Sadie Sunflower She' s very tall with a strong stem and lovely big leaves. We can't even see any slug or snail bites!

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Tad with his sunflower It must be well over 6ft tall.

Sad news from Heather Priestly .... Alas and alack some little buggy bug crept up my sunflower and has bitten it clean in two! No photograph I'm afraid, it's all too distressing!!

Thursday 16th June 2016

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Duncan with his sunflowers One of them seems to have been on steroids. The other has a bit of catching up to do!

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Debbie and Richard's sunflowers 'Bill and Ben' Still doing well despite the wind and rain. One of them seems to have been invaded by a poppy.

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Heather's sunflower 4'4" tall when measured a week ago, enjoying the sunshine.

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Maureen and Rob's sunflowers 'Ronnie and Reggie' photographed a week or so ago in their very tidy garden border. They will soon be able to look over the fence.

RIP Both of Jo and John Hayes' sunflowers have sadly died. They were found with broken stalks and looking very sorry for themselves a week or so after being planted out in the garden. They think a  couple of visiting squirrels could be the culprits.

Monday 6th June 2016

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Oliver with his sunflowers Enjoying life in the sunshine. One took a short holiday in Cam before returning to the fertile soil of Purton. Will it catch up?

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Jenny's sunflower Fighting for the sky through all the other plants!

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Callum's sunflower She had to be planted in a pot due to restricted to space, but here she is today, about 2ft tall and looking very healthy. We think she will need a bigger pot very soon!

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Geoff's sunflowers A sneaky peak Geoff's sunflowers. Geoff won the competition last year and is looking like a strong contender again this year!

RIP Both of Rebecca and Stanley Williams sunflowers have sadly died.

Tuesday 31st May 2016 

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Jane and Tad's sunflowers Alongside their little friends the sweet peas.

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Jan and Chris's sunflowers They seem to be racing upwards but could do with fattening up a bit!

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Debbie and Richard's sunfllowers Bill and Ben enjoying the sunshine.  Still alive despite a few slug/snail nibbles.

RIP Sybil, one of Sally and Joseph Woolams sunflowers has been eaten by a giant slug. Apparantly she didn't taste very nice!

RIP Both of Mandy Keedwells have sadly died too.

Friday 20th May 2016 

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Philip and Teresa's sunflowers The sunflower eater strikes again, but fortunately they survived .... this time!

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Ali and Duncan's sunflowers Braving the great outdoors in their nice little garden enclosure.

Friday 13th May 2016 

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Pam and Tony's sunflowers .... allegedly! They seem very large for this early in the competition. Something rather fishy going on here we think!

Monday 1st May 2016

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All 114 baby sunflowers have been sold. A few went to homes outside the local area and there were two early fatalities which were eaten by a dog. However there are 105 in the competition. Hopefully they are all happy in their new homes. We look forward to receiving news and pictures for this page.

Friday 29th April 2016

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The baby sunflowers are ready and looking forward to going to their new homes.

Tips for Growing Sunflowers

Getting Started

Your baby sunflower has been grown in the greenhouse. It has also spent some time outside to get used to colder conditions, but it definitely won't withstand a frosty night.

Planting Location

Sunflowers like a sunny position and preferably not too much wind. Preventing them from falling over is one of the greatest challenges of growing them.

Watering

Sunflowers don’t like drying out and they can soon start to wither. Make sure they are well watered; each watering should aim to reach its roots, rather than just touching the surface.

Feeding

Sunflowers enjoy a rich well fed soil. If going for height, use a nitrogen based fertiliser, switching to potash (tomato food) as the buds begin to appear.