Callen Molenda wrote:

...you think I can put the sunflower seeds in the ground this weekend and
have some sprouts before too long?..



I buy the hybrid pollenless sunflower seed for cut flowers. THe seeds
are way too expensive to just put them in the ground, so I start them in
individual cells and then transplant them after the roots fill the cell.
I use a small cell so the roots fill it faster, otherwise I wind up with
a really tall plant with a small root ball.

I don't see why this approach wouldn't work with the ordinary
sunflowers. Try starting some indoors on your windowsill and put them
out when they get in the way. For my sunflowers, it takes about 3 weeks
before they're ready to put out. The advantage is that they get a head
start under controlled conditions. Having larger plants in your garden
is a real help when you're weeding, since it's more obvious which are
the weeds. The disadvantage is that it's a bit more work and takes up
some space in the house.

I find that although the critters like young sunflower plants (along
with most everything else), I can protect them by putting a fence
section between the plants and safety for the critters, then making sure
that the critters have something they like on their side of the fence.
The fence alone won't do it, even if it completely surrounds the plants.
Most of the herbivorous critters will be happy with a good clover in
your lawn. Clover has the advantage that it's leguminous and has deeper
roots than grass, so it resists drought better.