We may earn revenue from the product available on this page and participate in affiliate programs . Learn More ›
No , Arachis hypogaea do n’t develop on trees , nor are there peanut George Walker Bush . Once called goober pea , peanut are actually annual legumes , like peas . They just happen to produce their pods underground .
When contemplating how to get earthnut , now considered to be asuperfood , keep in mind that the peanut growing time of year requires at least 4 calendar month of summerlike temperature . peanut vine can be unmanageable to bring up successfully in northerly and craggy growing zone . However , gardeners there may deliver the goods in harvest home at least a small crop by starting the plant indoors in outflow or by covering them in autumn .
Photo: istockphoto.com
Growing Peanuts at a Glance
uncouth Name : PeanutScientific Name : Arachis hypogaeaHardiness zona : AnnualSoil : Light , sandy , humus richLight : Full sun ( 8 hours)Water : HighFood : humble - atomic number 7 fertilizerPropagation : SeedSafety : Dangerous for sensitized people
Peanut Plant Characteristics
Native to South America , groundnut plants grow 1 to 2 feet tall with foliageresembling cloverand self - pollinating yellow blooms form similar to those of peas . After a flower is fertilized , its fecundate ovary , holler a “ rowlock , ” buds and forms a small still hunt that spring up downward . The peg implant itself a twosome inch mysterious in the ground , where a cod will be produced . Once the nuts in its fuel pod ripen , a monkey nut plant begins to die back .
allot to theNational Peanut Board , traditional U.S. peanut turn zone admit parts of Alabama , Arkansas , Florida , Georgia , Louisiana , Missouri , Mississippi , North Carolina , New Mexico , Oklahoma , South Carolina , Texas , and Virginia , and each plant can produce 30 to 40 monkey nut . The Australian peanut tree ( Sterculia quadrifida ) is n’t part of the peanut species and does n’t really grow peanuts , but rather seeds with a flavor resembling goober peas . So , if you want to produce actual peanut , you ’ll have to dig them in more slipway than one !
Recommended Peanut Varieties
When growing peanuts , pick out a variety to establish look on the eccentric of soil in which they will mature and personal druthers . distance of grow season is a critical consideration in cool area . Below are example of the four peanut eccentric ( Virginia , Valencia , Spanish , and Runner ):
Planting Peanuts
You either can purchase peanut seeds from a seed seller or use sensitive , unroasted peanuts for your planting .
When is the best time to plant peanuts?
Peanuts germinate well at a soil temperature between 68 and 95 grade Fahrenheit , so wait until about a monthafter the last frostto plant life them . Alternatively , embed them near a Dixieland - facing paries or in another by nature warmth - generating position . If necessary , you could get going them indoors about a calendar month before you plan to set them outside .
Where can peanuts grow?
Choose a location in full sunlight , where other legumes have n’t grown recently , in fast - draining arenaceous soil with a pH between 5.8 and 6.2 . If you have clay ground , loosen it by dig in an in or so of compost . Peanuts wo n’t acquire well in voiceless ground where it ’s unmanageable to jell their peg .
How do you plant peanuts?
Remove raw peanuts from their eggshell , but do n’t remove the paperlike seed coating covering each peanut .
Can you grow peanuts in containers?
If you need to grow peanut plant in containers , theNational Peanut Boardsuggests using a can 18 to 20 inches across and 18 inches deep for each plant life . You will also want to conform to some of the recommendations for garden - grown plants , such as hill them up after a month or so and avoiding high-pitched - N plant food .
Watering Peanut Plants
Peanut plant life will postulate 1 to 2 in of pee per week via rainfall or irrigation ; the precise amount depends on stain type . If possible , avoid overhead tearing , which can run to fungal problems . A mulch of 2 to 4 inch of compost applied after hilling the plants can keep their soil moist and suppress locoweed around them . Stop watering the peanut a couple weeks before you destine to reap them so the soil will be dry and easy to shake off .
Fertilizing Peanuts
harmonize to Clemson University , “ peanut vine plants respond better to residual fertility than to straightaway apply spring plant food . ” The college go on to say that it is best to plant peanut in a spot where another type of well - fertilized crop was grown in the past . This also will help to prevent fertiliser burn when use fertiliser , a condition to which groundnut are prostrate .
Since the plants canset their own atomic number 7 , gain them occasionally popular as acover crop , use a low- or no - nitrogen character of fertiliser if you make up one’s mind to put on one . Also , mix it thoroughly into the top 6 inches of the soil before you sow in seeds rather than applying it flat beneath or above them .
Pollination
TheNational Peanut Boardnotes that monkey nut are self - pollinating , explaining , “ ego - pollenation means peanut do not require outside aid — such as bees , other insects , or the farting — to bear pollen from one industrial plant to another in facts of life . ” In other speech , the peanut plant flower can fertilize itself via its own stamen and does n’t need pollen to be carried to it from a dissimilar bloom . pollenation is one scene of goober pea industrial plant aid with which nurseryman need not concern themselves .
Safety Considerations
For most humans and creature , peanuts pose few hazard . In fact , the dry leaf often is fed to livestock as hay . However , hoi polloi with spartan allergies can suffer living - threaten anaphylactic shock if exposed to the proteins in peanuts . It ’s definitely not a in force estimate to develop these industrial plant if any phallus of your contiguous family or social circle has such a sensitivity .
And , yes , even though dog adore goober , it is possible for some of them — and some CT — to be allergic also . In animals , the reaction often takes the sort of utmost itching rather than anaphylactic electric shock .
Potential Pests and Diseases
Among the worst monkey nut pests , wireworms ( the larvae ofclick beetles ) can use up up a harvest while it still stay on underground . Deep disking or till before planting may help reduce their population .
Keep in mind that mice and other gnawer like goober too , so you may have to protect your crop from them , either while it is still in the ground or while it is drying . Keep an eye on Fido as well to check that your pet is n’t helping himself to the upshot of your DoL .
Harvesting Peanuts
The correct time to harvest peanuts will count on whether you intend to boil or roast them .
When is the best time to harvest peanuts?
You may harvest Valencia groundnut for boil in as piddling as 75 to 110 days . They will be green ( not fully mature ) at that time . If you intend to roast Spanish or Virginia earthnut , expect for 130 to 150 daylight or so until the industrial plant ’ foliage begins to yellow . When that happens , pull up a plant and canvas its peanuts . The papery semen coat enclosing them should be dark pinkish or red rather than white or pallid pink .
How do you harvest peanuts?
Keep in intellect that once temperature of 40 degree Fahrenheit or below have occurred for several days , peanuts are n’t go to get on any further and might as well be reap .
How do you store peanuts?
If your raw peanuts have n’t mold , you’re able to hive away them still in their shells in loosely woven container such as gunny bags and hoop . When placed in a cool , dry localisation , they should keep for several months . Nuts that have been shelled and roasted and keep at elbow room temperature should be use up within a month . Those stored in airtight containers in the icebox or freezer can keep for up to a year .
Looking for more undercover crop plant ? Check out our scout on growingcarrots , potatoes , andsweet potatoes .
This Is the Year for a Kitchen Renovation
Photo: istockphoto.com
Whether you ’re selling or staying , everyone can get something out of a kitchen update . see why we think this renovation the Most Valuable Project of 2025 and how to stay on budget .
Photo: istockphoto.com
Photo: istockphoto.com
Photo: istockphoto.com
Photo: istockphoto.com
