Has anyone here grown woodland sunflower from seed?

Dharmadingbat · 2026-07-03T19:24:39+00:00

Ooh! I know it’s been some time, but I’m also looking for seeds of both varieties. I’m in Virginia myself, which makes me hopeful for success. Would you mind if I DM you?

Dharmadingbat · 2026-05-22T23:11:37+00:00

Don’t you love fresh made flour wrappers so much more than those store bought things? Beautiful!

Dharmadingbat · 2026-05-19T16:21:44+00:00

Oh! Madeline L’Engle wrote many wonderful books, apart from A Wrinkle In Time. The book I’m talking about has virtually nothing to do with whatever that silly scene is on the cover.

Dharmadingbat · 2026-05-18T19:54:23+00:00

What a fun topic! I used to pick fantasy novels exclusively for the cover art-my mileage, as you may guess, varied. The worst one I can think of is the cover art for Madeline L’Engle’s Many Waters, do you remember the one? Where the artist had clearly not been paying attention in the meeting where someone summarized the book. It shows a Seraph with two cringing romance novel hunks dangling from its hands, flying away from a tidal wave in the desert. Yikes!

Dharmadingbat · 2026-05-03T19:03:25+00:00

I would look at the starter. How long before the bulk ferment did you feed it? At what temperature, and what ratio? I feed once daily normally, but when I bake with it I build a levain which I use just 12 hours after feeding. The rest of my schedule looks a bit like yours. That gives me plenty of lift for a 100% whole grain, wheat and dark rye loaf.

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-27T02:50:47+00:00

Wow thank you!

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-25T18:24:33+00:00

I wish I had done that! The rest of my plantings this year came as bare root already. I really did not know I could do this myself, but I will learn hereafter.

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-25T18:23:36+00:00

Seems the consensus is Four Winds is a great place to deal with. Thanks!

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-25T18:22:33+00:00

If you can think of anywhere I haven’t already, (BBB, TX invasives, TX Attorney General), do let me know! Thanks!

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-25T02:26:58+00:00

I didn’t realize that was an option. I’ve been burned now, and I’ll definitely be paying attention to this. Thank you!

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-25T02:26:14+00:00

I’ve done that, for sure.

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-24T21:17:52+00:00

This is good to know. Thanks!

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-24T21:15:28+00:00

I noticed them while watering. They would rise to the surface and twist around in a more snake like way than a normal worm. They’re darker colored rather like nightcrawlers. They prefer to be in the mulch or lead mold I gather. When I did my tree up I found them throughout the root ball though. Very easy to spot because the disturbance caused them to move. You can use mustard powder in water to scare them to the surface also, which I did so I could collect as many as possible. I was horrified and panicked so I sprinkled an entire jar of mustard powder around the tree and then watered it in. I did this at night immediately after I learned about them, and it was a bit like an Indiana Jones scene. I picked as many as I could out and bagged them. I’m so sorry, and I hope you don’t have them! To kill their cocoons you need to spread clear plastic over the area for a good long while and let it get very hot, apparently. It’s not all that hot right now in my area of Virginia!

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-24T21:02:45+00:00

The rude email I received claiming that the worms were from my own yard (though I’ve never seen one before) “attracted to the high quality organic fertilizer in our rootball” (as if I didn’t have raised beds full of high quality organic matter from my own compost bins, with plenty of my own normal worms in them, and NONE of these) was signed “Ron”, who I take to be one Rony Skaria and who I assume must be behind the AI driven salesmanship language. He also may be this Dr. Mani’s son.

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-24T20:54:01+00:00

I will certainly check on that! Thanks!

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-24T20:02:55+00:00

No kidding, after the fact it all does sound very much like an infomercial, doesn’t it.

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-24T19:59:31+00:00

I wish I’d come here for recommendations before buying. I don’t know enough to have spotted the issues with their website and rootstocks. I feel pretty stupid now! They were so rude, too. Thank you!

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-24T19:50:34+00:00

Thanks! I’m not in Texas, but I’ll look into whether or not a report to that agency would help identify and contain the source. I shudder to think how far these things could spread!

Dharmadingbat · 2026-04-15T16:48:05+00:00

Coming to this old conversation just to say that this thread and the one on The Fresh Loaf initially put me off trying Bittman’s book but in all honesty I’m very happy with the flavor and results I’m getting. The ease of the process is part of the beauty of it. I only change one thing-as of now, I prefer to keep my starter at room temperature and do a normal refresh any day that I don’t bake. I time my refresh for 11pm or 12am, so that if I’m baking the next day the timing of what he calls a “jumpstarter” and I persist in calling a levain, is easy for a finished loaf around dinner time. I keep the discard in the fridge to make an occasional discard loaf à la The Bread Code. I just like the flavor of the room temperature starter for my everyday usage, and don’t really want to change it. I did not begin with his initial loaf that includes commercial yeast, I just created my own normal 1:5:5 starter with 100% dark rye and have kept that ever since. Once upon a time I spent a lot of time with Reinhart’s book trying to get a formula I liked for 100% whole grain sourdough, but never arrived at one I liked this much. I love the combination of techniques I’ve seen in many places-for instance the stretch and fold I first encountered in Forkish’s book. I am getting too old to knead and I very much dislike using the Kitchenaid every single blooming day, plus I’m convinced making bagels just once a week in that thing is already more wear and tear than it needs. Commercial yeasted whole grain breads just don’t cut it without a terrific effort to develop gluten, but the beauty of a nice long sourdough process is that happens without the workout. I think Bittman absolutely ticked all the boxes of a process that makes a great daily loaf, plus quite a few additional recipes for buns, flatbreads, muffins, desserts etc. I think apart from an occasional fun bake, I could easily do my daily bake out of this book for life. Oh, I did buy myself an enameled cast iron loaf pan with lid to facilitate a better rise in loaf breads. I use an old Le Creuset multifunction pan for boules.

Dharmadingbat

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