What is the contest?

Let’s see who can grow the tallest sunflower, and add joy and beauty to Croton in the process. The sunflower growing contest is intended to spread a love of nature and gardening to a wider group of families in our community and to inspire us all to keep planting and growing healthy plants for the environment and for our own family meals. Plus sunflowers are easy-to-grow and fun!

If these are the only seeds you plant this year, you will still learn so much from the experience, and have a great hobby to share with the kids in your life.

How to enter?

Signup is easy! Fill out this form, and we’ll reserve your seeds (4/family). We’ll contact you with seed pickup times for early May. If we have seeds left to distribute, we’ll continue allowing signup until June 1. We’ll plan to all collectively plant in Mid-May to all be on the same growing schedule!

How do I grow sunflowers?

With your seed pickup, you’ll receive easy-to-follow (we promise!) step-by-step instructions on planting and caring for your gorgeous sunflowers.

Who is eligible?

All kids 0-18 and their parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, or guardians (one team/family) living in Croton-on-Hudson.

Why sunflowers?

If you’re like me, you are likely thinking why not? But for those who have not experienced the joy and wonder of growing gorgeous flowers taller than your whole family, welcome to the party! Sunflowers are amazing edible flowers. They are powerful pollinator-attracting plants —just wait until you see the happiest bees circling your blooms and feast on sunflower seeds in the Fall.

What type of sunflowers will we plant?

This year, we’ll all plant organic scrumptious umbers sunflower seeds. They bloom in beautiful warm tones of orange, red, and yellow, and will spread so much joy across our neighborhoods.

How will the winner be selected?

Once you fill out the entry form and plant your sunflower, you’ll be checking in monthly to report your height and progress, so we can hear how all our Croton sunflowers are doing and start to learn who our top contenders may be. Depending on our growing season’s weather, we’ll determine a measuring date for the contest (likely in late August or early September). You’ll send in your best sunflower height with a picture, and we’ll come on-site to do the official measurements for our top few sunflowers and find the winners and runners up.

What’s the prize?

The prize for us all will be so many new sunflowers growing all over our neighborhoods. For the winner, the prize will be $10/foot of sunflower grown (put that right in the piggy bank!), a sunflower t-shirt, and fun seeds for fall planting to keep the garden going. Our second and third place winners will receive a sunflower t-shirt, seeds, and other garden surprises.

Any other questions?

Email Alexandra.n.maniglia@gmail.com, subject line “Sunflower contest question.” Can’t wait to connect with you!