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Re: [SG] sunflower seeds.. reply.

At 12:18 AM 3/30/98 EST, you wrote:
>In a message dated 3/29/98 3:43:33 PM, you wrote:
>
>>"Sunflower roots, not the seeds, secrete a toxin that inhibits the
>>germination of other plants. This natural defense, called allelopathy,
>>also is exhitbited by plants such as Artemisia,barley, and black walnut
>>trees..."
>>
When I was a child, I had a small garden in between two old ash trees.  In
it, I grew potatoes, tomatoes, radishes, and sunflowers.  The sunflowers (a
giant variety) were planted at the back of the garden, about a foot and a
half in back of the other (a row of each species was planted perpedicular
to the row of sunflowers).  Here're the questions:  How far away must
plants be to avoid the sunflowers' poison (mine grew at a foot and a half;
but the potatoes were small.  Of course, they were growing between two
large trees)?  Are some varieties of sunflowers non-poison-exuding, or less
so?  If the poison is in seed hulls, then do the sunflowers that have green
or yellow seedless centers contain no toxins anywhere?
Sheila Smith
mikecook@pipeline.com
Z 5/6
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