Experiments in Peanut Growing
By Vanessa Richins
I’m a sucker for plant experiments.
There have been many times where I come across some new plant and simply must buy it.
At my last trip to the nursery here in Southern California, I saw peanut plants for sale and fell in love. I just knew I had to try growing peanuts.
I was especially excited because I knew about the way that peanuts are formed. It seems normal at first – the flowers bloom and are self-pollinating. However, after they are fertilized,the stems starts growing towards the earth and the ovaries (called pegs) bury themselves underground. The peanuts continue to grow beneath the soil until they are ready for harvest.
You may also be surprised to learn that the peanut is not actually a nut. Like beans and peas, peanuts are legumes. One special ability that legumes enjoy is the ability to to “fix” nitrogen. Legumes, with the help of soil microorganisms, are able to take nitrogen from air and process it to benefit the plant. It also enhances the surrounding soil with the nitrogen.
If you’d like to try your own peanut growing experiments, start planting when the soil is around 65F. If there is any threat of frost, you will be better off waiting. You should make sure the soil is not packed at all and drains well (loam is best). Your peanut flowers need to be able to push below the ground easily.
You can buy peanut seeds at a garden center, online, or by choosing unroasted varieties from a health food store. They should be placed in water overnight to prepare them for germination.
Plant your seeds about 1″ deep and 6″ apart. If you are doing more than one row, it should be 3′ apart. They should sprout in about a week.
Keep your plants well watered. Flowers will form about about a month and a half. Keep working the soil lightly to keep it loose until the pegs go underground. It will take about 4-5 months total, depending on the variety and kind of peanut you choose.
You can expect your harvest to be ready when you notice that the leaves are turning yellow. Carefully dig up the entire plant and hang it for 2 weeks, peanuts and all, in a place that is warm and dry, and where they will be safe from rodents. Take the peanuts off the plant and dry for 2 more weeks. Ta da! You now have delicious peanuts to eat.
Have you ever grown your own peanuts?
May 4th, 2009 at 7:19 am
This post took me back to living in Suffolk, Va., home to Planters Peanuts and the Peanut festival. Each year, attendees were given peanut plants to take home. We planted ours and it did grow and gave us about 6 peanuts. It was a really fun experiment! I hope other people try it after reading this.
May 4th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Planting potatoes last year was like a treasure! Peanuts might have to be the experimental plant this year.
May 4th, 2009 at 7:51 am
My husband and I put out a large, urban garden, and this year my mother asked if we would grow peanuts. I laughed at her, but now you may have encouraged me to give it a try. The plants are good for the soil, and homemade peanut butter from my own peanuts sounds just to good to resist.
May 4th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Oh, that’s so funny. I just picked up 6 peanut plants to try, too. I’m in Zone 6, PA, and I am curious to see how they will do for me. Another gardening experiment
May 4th, 2009 at 9:38 am
When I went to the Cincinnati Flower Show in 2006, a vendor was giving away peanut seeds for growing. I still have them and am wondering if they would even germinate now. I guess I could plant them and see!
May 4th, 2009 at 9:39 am
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May 6th, 2009 at 3:10 am
We did not know how peanuts grew thank you for the information. That sounds like something worth doing. Thank you
Dan and Deanna “Marketing Unscrambled”
July 24th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Vanessa, I live in So. Cal, too, and want to grow peanuts next year in my backyard garden. What nursery did you buy your peanut plants from? I never seen them in these parts before.
Thanks!
Shelly