How to Grow Peanuts by Yourself [A to Z Guidelines for Gardeners]: Peanuts are heavily rich in vitamins and minerals. Whether you eat them raw or roasted, they taste delicious. You might be accustomed to buying them from stores. But if you have a garden, you can grow peanuts easily.
If you want to know how to grow peanuts, this article can help you. Here we have explained everything about growing and taking care of peanut plants. Read the full article and also don’t miss the bonus tip at the end.
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Contents
How to Plant Peanuts?
Many people ask how to grow peanuts from seed. If you are one of them, this section will be beneficial for you.
Usually, peanut plants prefer warmer conditions. The best time to plant peanut seeds is late spring. Try to select a space in the garden that always gets sunlight.
Prepare the soil by clearing any leftovers from the previous harvest. Also, do get rid of the weeds if there are any. Before planting peanuts, add some compost with the soil to make it rich in nutrients. Do not forget to loosen the dirt, as this helps the peanut plants to grow well.
Now, dig holes 2 to 4 inches deep for planting seeds. Keep a distance of 6 to 9 inches between each seed. Keep the gap 2 to 3 feet between the rows. As peanuts need some space to grow, leaving gaps are essential.
After that, plant the peanut seeds carefully. Many people make mistakes here by removing the brownish coverings with the shells. But if you do that, the seeds will likely not germinate.
Keep the coverings when you plant peanut seeds. And also, remove the shells after you purchase the peanuts. You do not need to plant with the shells.
How to Grow Peanuts?: Detailed Guidelines
After planting the seeds, now you need to take care of them for better growth. Follow the tips below to take care of and grow peanuts:
- Water: As the weather will be warm when you grow peanuts, you need to water regularly. But do not overwater as that can lead to root rot or other problems. At least twice a week should be enough.
- Mulch: Try mulching around the peanut plants when they are almost a foot tall. It helps them penetrate through the soil better. Mulching will also help you to harvest easily.
- Fertilizer: Peanuts do not require much fertilizer. If you use fertilizers, try to avoid nitrogen-rich ones. That is because peanuts supply their own nitrogen like other legumes.
- Disease & Pest Control: Normally, peanut plants do not get attacked by any disease or pests. This is why many people consider them as one of the easiest plants to grow. However, make sure that the area is free of weeds.
These were some of the common caring guidance for peanut plants. Follow these to have good-quality peanuts.
How do Peanuts Grow?
Watching the peanut grow is itself a treat. Within two months of planting the seeds, you will notice small and yellow flowers are growing.
This is the time you would want to have light mulch around the plants. Create a little hill of loose soil or dirt.
Typically, a single plant grows about 30 to 50 plants. Therefore, the plants require quite a bit of space to grow. Do not forget to keep the room between the plants as we recommended earlier.
Peanuts do grow beneath the soil. So you may not see them until you harvest. We told you to loosen the dirt, so the peanuts can easily grow through the soil.
When and How to Harvest Peanuts?
After the peanut plants are fully grown, you can proceed to harvest. Do you know how long does it take to grow peanuts? Well, usually, the time frame ranges from 4 to 5 months.
That means you can harvest peanuts in the late summer. When you see the foliage turning yellow, it is a sign that you need to harvest. The plants are also starting to die at this time.
Before you harvest all the plants, dig up one plant to check if the peanuts are matured. If yes, then carefully dig up all the plants with a fork. Do not pull with your hands, or you may leave peanuts inside the soil.
After harvesting, please keep them in a dry place. If you remove the shells, put the peanuts in an air-tight jar. You can store shelled peanuts in a dry place for almost a year. In the case of unshelled peanuts, they remain well for 3 to 4 months.
Bonus Tips for Growing Peanuts
We hope you have got a good idea of how to grow peanuts. Before we conclude, we have a special tip for you. Though you can plant the peanut in any loosened soil, sandy-loamy soil offers the best growth for peanuts. Not everyone will tell you this secret. But as you know this, we hope you will go for such soil and have excellent results. If you have any more questions regarding growing peanuts, please let us know. We will try to answer your question ASAP.
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Frequently Answered Questions
How long do peanuts take to grow?
It depends on the type and variety of peanuts you are growing. Generally, from planting to harvesting, the whole process takes 4 to 5 months.
Are peanuts easy to grow?
Although it might come as a surprise, growing peanuts at home is quite easy. The plants require minimal care yet provide a large yield that lasts the entire year.
How many peanuts do you get from one plant?
A mature plant produces 25 to 50 peanuts.
Should I soak peanuts before planting?
It is a good trick to soak the seeds overnight in water before planting. It promotes faster germination of the seedlings.