The Sunflower Challenge

Could you be crowned Veolia’s Greatest Grower? Sunflower season is upon us so pull up your gardening gloves and get competitive with your colleagues to raise funds for your local Groundwork community project.

Get your team of colleagues taking part and plant your sunflower seeds on Monday 31 May (Spring bank holiday) to compete to grow the tallest sunflower and raise funds for your local Groundwork community project at the same time.

You have until the deadline day of Monday 30 August (Summer bank holiday) to measure your sunflower and see who comes out on top!

If you think your growing skills are impressive enough to bag the title for the tallest sunflower and take the national crown then submit your measurements along with photo evidence by the deadline using the form at the bottom of this page to be in with a chance of winning £50 in Garden Centre vouchers!

Two runners up will win a bag of Pro-grow soil conditioner so you can keep growing!

Great for Kids!

This is a great challenge to get kids involved in throughout the summer, so let them take the lead in tracking your sunflower’s progress with this Sunflower Diary.

How to take part

What you will need

• Sunflower seeds (you can buy these online or at your local garden centre or shop. Remember to check the packet to see how tall they grow; you’ll want the tallest ones you can find!)
• Compost
• Small pot to plant your seed
• A larger pot or a sunny spot in your garden to plant your seedling as it grows bigger
• A watering can or any simple watering method

Ps. No garden? No problem! Sunflowers don’t need to be planted outside, as long as you have a bright and sunny space inside they’ll be happy!

Step-by-step

1. Donate £5 to your local Groundwork community project to join your colleagues in the competition. Click here to find your local project, click on your location then hit ‘DONATE NOW’ at the top of the page.
2. Put some compost in your small starter pot, not quite to the top. Poke your finger into the soil to make a small hole to pop your seed in.
3. Pop your sunflower seed into the hole and cover over with a little compost. Give it a little water to make the compost nice and damp.
4. Place your pot somewhere bright and sunny (a windowsill would be perfect!) and top up with a little water whenever it feels dry.
5. After a couple of weeks, you should see your plant starting to poke through. At this point, you can start measuring its weekly progress. Time for any kids to start filling out their Sunflower Diary!
6. When your plant starts getting too big for its small pot, plant it in a bigger pot or in a sunny spot in your garden.
7. Watch it grow! Here’s where it starts to get competitive! Remember you have until Monday 30 August to submit your sunflower height with photo evidence using the form below to take the national crown! We’d love to see photos of your sunflowers on social media tagging @groundworkuk #GWSunflowerChallenge.

How to measure your sunflower

You should measure your sunflower from the base of the stem to the top of the stem.

Submit your measurements for the national competition! (By 30 August)