Fields of Sunflowers

[Anellis01]

Planning my 1st Camino in 2025, when is the best time to see the field of sunflowers in full bloom?

 

[trecile]

I saw the most sunflowers in July. May was too early for sunflowers, but there were fields of poppies and other wildflowers along with expanses of fields of green grain.
I started my first Camino the last week of August and most of the sunflowers had passed their full blooming stage by then.

 

[davejsy]

Its a tricky question as of course it depends very much on when they plant them which can differ from field to field, and of course the weather. I would suggest mid-July to end of August though is perhaps your best bet, but you can get fields of them well in to October in some places. My Camino (CF) which started end of September 2023 saw most of them very much past their best though.

 

[Tincatinker]

past their best though

The best Sunflower, as far as the farmer that planted them is concerned, is when its head has drooped; all the petals have shrivelled to little brown wisps and the black and white seeds are just loosened in their sheaths. Perfect sunflowers; perfect time to harvest.

I appreciate that the friends of Vincent get their kicks from all that yellow and orange and the flicks of green and blue but the people what plant’em - they’re after brown, black and white

 

[CWBuff]

I appreciate that the friends of Vincent get their kicks from all that yellow and orange and the flicks of green and blue but the people what plant’em - they’re after brown, black and white

Vincent - Yellow Orange Green and Blue

 

[HRR]

Great pics

 

[Hom4]

Saw plenty of sunflower fields outside of Burgos this September. Does anyone know the purpose of the sunflower fields? I saw some that were dried out in the fields and not yet harvested. Is it a rotation ceop?

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I live in Palencia, where sunflowers are now one of the principal crops. They are rotated between soybeans, rye, wheat, oats, and alfalfa, according to the soil type and market price. Depending on how much rain there is in the spring months, the big blooms start in late June and continue in waves, sometimes til September. They are left to stand and dry before they're cut, threshed, and sold -- mostly for sunflower oil, some for biodiesel.
The swallows almost always arrive for my birthday in early April, and the sunflowers bloom to mark my wedding anniversary on 13 July. (Yes, I am the center of the universe!)

 

[Anellis01]

I live in Palencia, where sunflowers are now one of the principal crops. They are rotated between soybeans, rye, wheat, oats, and alfalfa, according to the soil type and market price. Depending on how much rain there is in the spring months, the big blooms start in late June and continue in waves, sometimes til September. They are left to stand and dry before they're cut, threshed, and sold -- mostly for sunflower oil, some for biodiesel.
The swallows almost always arrive for my birthday in early April, and the sunflowers bloom to mark my wedding anniversary on 13 July. (Yes, I am the center of the universe!)

What a wonderful response, thank you!