Sunflower seed and soil question

I am sure that lots of people have the same question if they have bird feeders in their yard. I have two, and keep just sunflower seeds in them. Directly underneath them, is a layer of hulls probably about two to three inches deep. I am not sure what to do with them.

I am reluctant to throw them away because they are organic matter, but I don't want to leave them there, and have to pull sunflowers from the soil since the area they are in is not where I want to grow sunflowers. There have to be seeds mixed in with the hulls, because the birds and squirrels aren't that good. I don't have a compost bin. I did consider spreading them around the garden, but again I worry about stray sunflowers. Is there a good way to use this resource?

I wonder if storing them in a plastic bag or other container, to decompose over time would be a good way to go? I stopped buying the seed with hulls because it was attracting nuisance animals, but when I did use it I would throw that deep layer of spent hulls into my compost bins. I didn't have any sunflowers growing in my compost as a result, but they were sprouting up elsewhere in my garden. Switching to hull-less has been a big improvement, though it is much more costly.

You might like to know that sunflower hulls are mildly allelopathic & inhibit growth in other plants.

Al

I had considered putting them in a pail for a few months to breakdown, but now I'm wondering if this would work because of Al's comments. Wrightie, did you see any difference in your plants when you composted the hulls? I just hate to throw away good organic matter if there is some way of using it.

No difference whatsoever.

I notice that right under my bird feeder, nothing will grow for a while in spring. Then it's the best looking part of the lawn, no weeds at all, just grass.

My feeder hangs over a low azalea, but the hulls are falling on the mulch that surrounds it, and they are spreading out into the lawn. I probably woudn't have to worry about flowers in the lawn since it is mowed regularly in the summer. I had actually thought about scooping up the hulls and just spreading them around the garden, until I realized that I might end up with sunflower seedlings everywhere!

Maybe there's a place you wouldn't mind growing some sunflowers, like near a fence or wall? The birds would sure love it!

Just to close out this thread, I decided to take care of the hulls today since it was so beautiful outside. I raked and scooped up as many hulls as I could from the deteriorating mulch, and also from the lawn. I decided to just dump these since I don't think I really want to begin a compost heap. Also, now that I know that the hulls can inhibit plant growth, I don't want them to pile up.

Fortunately, the main feeder is hanging over the mulch surrounding my azaleas. I plan to scoop up the hulls on a monthly basis, and just continue to put down new mulch each time. The second feeder is in another bed with barberries, and annuals. I guess that this will get the same treatment. I don't have a deck or patio so wherever I put the feeders, the hulls are going to fall onto the ground, but it is probably better in the mulched areas.

Thanks for the idea of using shelled sunflower seeds. I decided to continue with the shells though because I think they will stay in better condition for the birds (and unfortunately, the squirrels).