Planting a sunflower garden? You probably know that the head of a sunflower moves in the direction of the sun; this is called positive phototropism.

Sunflowers follow the sun from east to west. As their blossom matures, however, the head of the sunflower settles to face east. We don't exactly know why; we can only presume that they are protecting their precious seeds from the late day heat and sunscald. As you plant sunflowers to celebrate fall, remember to plant toward the west side of the house so that they face you and not your fence line when they mature.

At your local nursery, you may find more than 60 cultivars of this fall favorite. You can choose a packet containing a single cultivar like Mammoth, which produces sunflowers of giant size, or a mixed-seed packet, with different colors and sizes.

It is best to germinate your seeds first. Fold a paper towel once and then again, mist with water and place on a plate. Place the sunflower seeds on the paper towel about 1/2 inch apart from each other. Cover the seeds with another damp paper towel that is folded in half and then half again. Mist the top layer with water every other morning. In a week or two, you should see some of the seeds start to sprout. Place sprouts into the ground 1/4 inch deep and cover with soil.

There are two types of sunflower seeds. Small black sunflower seeds, primarily used to make sunflower oil or meal for cooking, are also the seed of choice in most bird feeders. Sunflower oil is very high in vitamin E, an important antioxidant. Non-oil seed is black and white striped, which is mostly eaten out of the shell or roasted in the shell. Seeds are ready for harvesting when the back of the sunflower head turns brown.

At the University of Hawai'i Urban Garden Center in Pearl City's Second Saturday, we are celebrating fall with Sunflowers & Scarecrows. Discover gardening with certified master gardeners and Urban Garden Center 'Ohana, 9 a.m. to noon tomorrow, with free family activities, and take a free sunflower cultivar home.

Jayme Grzebik is an urban horticulturist with the University of Hawai'i Cooperative Extension Service. She can be reached at grzebik@hawaii.edu.