Learning how to grow peanuts is easy if you know the basics. Peanuts growing is an old craft that has been around for centuries because peanuts are an easy source of protein. We’ll talk about what do peanuts grow on, planting peanuts, and growing peanuts in containers, too.
Are Peanuts Easy to Grow?
Surprisingly, peanuts can be easy to grow because they are not proper nuts – they are legumes. The well-loved roasted peanut is from a plant that originates from South America.
It takes about four months for a peanut plant to fully mature. It is one hardy plant as well, as it can withstand light bouts of frost in early spring and fall. The most common variety used by home gardeners is the Jumbo Virginia variety.
Peanuts can grow both in the Southern United States and the Northern United States. You can also use other hardy cultivars like the Early Spanish if you are planting peanuts indoors.
However, keep in mind that peanuts and other fruiting plants cannot be kept like other indoor plants. They are more demanding in the sense that they need to be watered regularly, and you need to control the temperature of the environment, too.
Where Is the Best Place to Grow Peanuts?
Outdoors in regular soil is still the best place to grow peanuts. We say this because peanut plants are demanding in terms of having full sun exposure. It also thrives best on lighter soil, so if your garden soil is somehow heavy, you have to ensure sufficient drainage, so your peanut plants don’t get stunted.
You can start growing your peanut plant in a peat pot. Your deadline for starting is just before the last frost of the season. Younger peanut plants will not survive bouts of frost, so you have to be careful.
Outdoor transplantation can be done when the temperature outside is 60°F-70°F. (15°C-21°C). Peanut plants should be planted nearly a foot from each other (about ten inches). The crown of the peanut plant should not be buried in the soil.
You need to start planting your peanuts around the last bout of frost if you are from the South. If you are planting outdoors, make sure that the seeds are planted two inches into the topsoil, and the seeds are five inches apart. Seedling rows should be three feet from each other. The soil must be patted firm and watered regularly. Eventually, you will also have to thin your plants, so they are ten inches apart.
Can You Grow Peanuts in Containers?
Peanuts can be grown in containers, but they have specific requirements that have to be met. You still have to match these requirements, and they have to be grown outdoors after five to eight weeks of making them robust indoors.
Transitioning the peanut plants is also necessary, so the move outdoors won’t shock the young peanut plants. Alternatively, you can also try to find mature cutting of peanut plants and transplant them to your home garden. This is the fastest way to get peanuts from your peanut plants. Cuttings are taken and grown from robust and mature peanut plants, so the level of care you need to give them is not the same as the care given to peanut plants taken outdoors from indoor germination.
There are several kinds of peanut plants that are commonly used by gardeners. Virginia peanuts produce the most massive nuts and are best suited for roasting and other commercial cooking methods.
Spanish peanuts are the opposite of Virginia nuts – they are the smallest and are often used for different kinds of snack mixes. Runner peanuts are mid-range in terms of size. Runners are used more often for manufacturing peanut butter and related products. Valencia peanuts, finally, taste sweet and are known for having skin that is bright red.
Hilling soil is essential for peanuts, mainly when grown in containers. The germination process takes five to seven weeks on average. At the seventh week mark, you will begin to see the plants beginning to flower. Hilling can be done when you see tendrils growing out of the stem. The tendrils will eventually point downward and grow into the soil. A single mature peanut plant can produce anywhere from one pound to three pounds of peanuts each.
Peanut plants thrive with fertilizers (all sorts) that are high in phosphorous and potassium. Nitrogen is not that necessary for legume plants, for apparent reasons. After germinating your plants, your first harvest will fall either on the 90th day or, in some cases, the 150th day after successful germination. Be patient with your peanut plants, and you will be sure to get the best experience with having them in your home garden. Just imagine being able to harvest up to three pounds of peanuts per plant.
How Long Do Peanuts Take to Grow?
The peanut plant needs a minimum of four months (an average of 120 days) to fully mature and start producing peanuts. This is why the planting season usually takes place on the last bout of frost in early spring.
Luckily, peanuts can withstand some light frost and will not die on you, provided that you took some precautions with the soil and the spacing of the plants. The best kind of head start for peanut plants can grow them indoors for about five to eight weeks. The air temperature has to be consistent, too, to ensure that the plants’ production is right.
How Many Peanuts Do You Get from One Plant?
Peanuts are capable of self-pollination. When the peanut flowers mature, they form pegs that droop downward – these are eventually turned into peanuts. The shells mature first before the peanuts inside.
Upon full maturation, expect to harvest twenty-five to fifty peanuts at a time. When fully mature, peanut plants can stand at three feet. However, take note that not all peanut pods will be ready for picking all at the same time. When harvesting, take only the mature pods and leave the ripening ones to mature fully.
