*I have cut the head of my sunflower off in hopes of retrieving some seeds soon. But now I'm getting that awful head rot and am afraid I won't get the seed output. Is there a way to grab the seeds out before the entire flower head is lost?

Of note, the inner seeds never fully developed, but the outer rim seeds look like they would have fallen off naturally after a while. I cut the head due to critters and birds, not to mention tons of fire ants around.

Thanks!