Peanuts form their nuts underground.
That makes harvesting peanuts a little like a treasure hunt.
These warm-season plants are easy to grow in areas with long, hot summers and moist, well-drained soil.
Credit:Marty Baldwin
The underground nuts areready to eata few weeks after digging and drying.
Grow peanuts in the vegetable garden where the soil is loose and moist.
Provide a site with lots of sunshine and loose, well-draining soil.
Credit: Denny Schrock
Sow seeds 1 to 2 inches deep and 6 to 8 inches apart in well-draining, slightly acidic soil.
After the peanuts germinate and start growing, they produce yellow flowers.
At this point, gardeners hill up the soil around the base of the plant.
Credit: Jason Donnelly
Peanut Plant Care Tips
Promote a strong peanut crop by cultivating around plants toremove weeds.
Work carefully and shallowly, being careful not to damage the peanut roots.
Light
Peanuts grow best in areas withlots of full sunat least eight hours daily.
Credit: Denny Schrock
This root croplanguishes in claythat stays wet.
Don’t let the soil dry out completelykeep it slightly moistbut don’t overwater.
Temperature and Humidity
Peanuts grow best inhigh heatand high humidity.
The soil must reach 65F-70F for germination.
After that, the plants grow best in a range of 85F-95F.
When nighttime temperatures fall for several days, the soil temperature might drop to 65F or lower.
At this point, the peanuts stop maturing.
Add the fertilizer to the soil before the seeds are sown.
Peanut plants are susceptible to fertilizer burn, so don’t over-fertilize.
It doesn’t burn the plants and is vital to peanut production.
Pruning
Although pruning a peanut plant isn’t required, it might increase the yield.
Repotting won’t be necessary as this hot-weather annual lives only a single season.
Row covers can discourage moths that lay eggs resulting inleaf-eating worms and caterpillars.
Harvest them from your plants, order them online, or pick up a few at the local market.
launch the shells and sow the peanuts on a prepared garden bed when the weather is at least 65F.
Cover them with 1-2 inches of soil and water well.
Peanut Plant Harvesting Tips
Peanut plants bloom about 40 days after they germinate.
After pollination, peanuts develop in nine to 10 weeks.
Use a spading fork to gently lift the peanut plants from the ground.
Shake off any loose soil.
Then, shake off any remaining soil and pull the peanut pods from the plants.
Continue to air-dry the peanuts for an additional one to two weeks.
Types of Peanuts
Peanuts are classified by their nut key in.
Four types of peanuts are commonly grown in the United States.
Virginia
Virginia types are large-podded and contain one or two large peanuts per pod.
These bunch-punch in plants produce the largest peanuts and are an excellent choice for in-the-shell roasting.
Spanish
Spanish types are smaller-podded and contain two or three small peanuts per pod.
However, they aren’t frequently grown in the United States.
They take up more room to grow but yield more peanuts per plant.
In addition, manyaromatic herbsthat repel pests and attract pollinators are good companion plants for peanuts.
Summer Savory
Summer savoryhas a delicate, feathery texture and a delightful scent.
Summer savory can handle the heat as long as it grows in moist, well-draining soil.
Zones 5-11
Society Garlic
Society garlicis a perennial with delicate blossoms and a potent aroma.
It works in rock gardens, sunny borders, herb gardens, and containers.
Hardy in Zones 7-10, society garlic blooms in the summer and can last through the fall.
This low-maintenance, heat- and drought-tolerant plant adds interest to any garden.
Plant society garlic in an area of the garden that receives full sun and has rich, well-draining soil.
Instead, they are ornamentals that are often used as ground cover plants.
After peanuts are shelled, they last about four months at room temperature and a year in the refrigerator.
