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It's Peanuts

A few months back, I took a few raw peanuts, still in the shell and decided to add them where I had grown decorative corn earlier in the season. I had never grown peanuts and I was only investing four or five peanuts to anyway. I figured that if I had grown beans and peas, eggplants and cantaloupes successfully that I should give peanuts a try. Branching out of my comfort zone can be a good thing.

So back in mid to late August, after harvesting the last of the decorative corn, I set to my task. Compared with the extensive gardening that I had been doing all summer, this was a breeze. I took my spade and buried four or five raw peanuts in pretty shallow holes; they were barely convered with dirt.

After a few weeks, I began to see the sprouts emerging directly from the peanut. To the right is a photo of one I dug up today while harvesting them. Peanuts grow like most tuberous or root plants. If you allow them to remain in the ground, unharvested, new plants will grow directly out of the new peanuts. This one actually grew from the peanuts that were a result of the ones that I had planted.

I happily dug up the first plant and found quite a few peanuts. The plant you see in the picture to the left was one of the smallest so it only yielded about 20 mature peanuts. I know that doesn't seem like much but that was more than what I had before and way more than what I had invested. The larger plants yielded considerably more. Both the big plants and the small plants contributed to make my yield respectable. Though my take of fresh peanuts was not a lot, I am quite happy with how this experience growing peanuts turned out.

With minimal effort, I was able to see results and reap rewards. I am very encouraged by this effort and will definitely be more diligent on the next go around. Imagine my results, if I actually put a bit more effort than just scattering the seeds and waiting for results.

How do you cultivate your garden?

Posted by Rich Dansereau on 11/01/2008 07:18 PM

Comments (23)

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Originally posted at: Rich's Blog: It's Peanuts

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23 Comments on It's Peanuts

NOV

2008

Rich This is fascinating. I always wondered how they grow. You'll have to give me directions and I'll try. What is the peanut "season"?

I have tried so many things and the only two I have managed to grow were basil and cilantro... maybe I'll try peanuts next year. Is August the best time to plant them?

Rich, it's always fun and a learning experience to try different things, even if they don't work out!

Rich, I wound if you plant a cashew, would it grow? That would just be nuts.

Awesome, what wonderful blessings our God has given us. Thank you for the experiment. I loved it.

Later in the rain~Deb

Gayle - I think I would have done better to plant them earlier and I think the soil should be less compact than what I planted them in.

Donna - They were very easy to grow. I would honestly plant them a bit earlier.

William - That it is. Trying new things is exciting.

Danny - What a funny guy...LOL!

Rich, I'm just amazed, I didn't know you could grow peanuts (duh!). I'm almost commentless---I think it would be too cold here but I have no idea. Enjoy them!!

NOV

2008

I've always been a scatterer except in the rarest of circumstances where a seed needs a hot fire in order to germinate. Then I'll roast it in the oven. But those types of plants are rare and not usually grown in the back yard.

Some of my earliest plants when I was six were peanuts, potatoes, yams (I hated eating them but they are beautiful plants), and, of course, the requisite first-grade lima bean experiment (great education using lima beans since I hated them, too. What child doesn't? - LOL).

Carole - They were really easy to grow. They would probably grow there, maybe even in a container, or planted earlier in the summer. The plant is quite beautiful with deep green oval shaped leaves, bright yellow flowers, and maybe you can see the deep purple stems.

Russel - I grew lima beans and potatoes this year too! Lima beans are one of my favorites, though as a kid the only veggie I would eat was carrots!

NOV

2008

Wow Rich they seemed to grow awfully fast - I always understood that they needed a long growing season - which is why we don't grow them here - you must have the magic - and you're so adventurous!

Deborah - They took 90+ days which really seem like forever. Life would be boring if you didn't try new things.

NOV

2008

That's so cool! Over here you can buy boiled salted peanuts in the shell, they're kind of soggy, but yummy ... do you get those where you live?

NOV

2008

Georgina - YES! They are a southern specialty! Just made some this past Sunday. Flavored with cajun spices. Yummy! I didn't think they were popular outside the south!

Hey Rich,

Twenty peanuts from one sounds pretty darn good to me! I don't currently garden, maybe I should start.

Thanks for the inspiration! Laurie

Laurie - It is a lot of fun and very cathartic. Though from some early childhood memories from Appleton,Wisconsin, unless you have a green house, you may want to wait 6 months or so. You could always do a bit of container gardening inside during the winter.

NOV

2008

Amazing! Feeling dumb, certainly you should be able to harvest peanuts from a peanut! Never thought of it.

Envy you Tennessee.

Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting. The donkey is smiling a bit more now...LOL

~Lily

Lily - Tennessee is great! I think a lot of people don't think about getting peanuts from peanuts. That donkey is funny!

Hi Rich - What a fun experiment! I'm working on forcing peach seeds to see if we can get trees from the delicious peaches we had this summer.

NOV

2008

Karen - I do hope it works for you. I have never had any luck growing trees from seeds. I do know it can be done however as my sister-in-law's parents planted a grapefruit see when she was born 30+ years ago. Though she keeps it indoors during the winter it produces the stray grapfruit here and there and is about the size of a well manicured, indoor ficus. It is quite a beautiful tree and the story makes it even better.

NOV

2008

Rich, I grew some peanuts this year....the squirrels loved them!

Maria - That is a good use for them. In the south we boil peanuts with spices, especially cajun spices, and they are awesome!

NOV

2008

I had no idea you could grow peanuts!! That sounds so nutty!! Really though I would love to try next year or whenever the season is!

NOV

2008

JoLynn - I think I would have done better had I planted them earlier as there were lots of immature peanuts as well. I think I will try the beginning of July next year. In Washington state, I'm not sure when the best time to plant would be, but they require no care really!

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