On Wed, 21 Aug 2013 22:29:31 +0100, Sacha
wrote:

A goodish sized
row of sunflowers have been planted in the field, so I'll be interested
to see what goes for the seed.

The last time I grew a few sunflowers, a squirrel first chewed great
chunks off the seedhead, then chewed through the stalk and carried
away what was left of the head.

Gardening on Wilts/Somerset border
on slightly alkaline clay underlying soil worked for many decades.