Growing peanuts

Peanuts

Growing peanuts is often put forward as a great project for kids, because of the interesting way in which the plants propagate themselves. And it is, but that doesn’t mean that older gardeners can’t have a go too!

My attempts at growing peanuts this year have been so pitiful that I don’t think I even have a photograph of the plants, but I do have some useful hints and tips if you want to give it a go yourself.

My peanut seeds came from Seeds of Italy, but you can plant seeds from the pet shop or the health food store. The only requirement is to buy them while they’re still in their shells (as in the picture above). Shelled peanuts rapidly dry out and won’t germinate.

Once you have your seeds, you have to crack the shells or shell the peanuts before you plant them. I didn’t do this, and only a couple of my seeds managed to break out of their shells and sprout.

Various planting depths are recommended, and I’ve even read one article that recommends planting your peanuts at different depths, so this is one area where experimentation is needed.

Peanuts are not hardy plants, so you will need to sow your seeds after the risk of frost has passed, or indoors. You then need to keep your plants away from frost – I grew mine in the Grow Dome.

Use large containers. A clue to why peanuts are interesting plants is given by one of their alternative names – groundnuts. When the plants flower, the stalks bend over so that they plant their seeds in the soil beneath them. If you don’t use a large container then they’re unlikely to be able to find any soil to plant their seeds in!

Protect your seedlings from slugs – they wiped mine out completely.

All being well, you should then be able to watch the plants grow and flower and plant their seeds in the ground. You can then dig these up and use them for seed next year, feed them to the birds or even roast them and eat them yourself!

On Friday 16th November I will be releasing a special edition of the AKG to support the BBC Children in Need appeal. I am also writing articles and blog posts on the same subject. If you have any stories, or hints and tips, about growing edible plants from pips and stones, then send me an email and I will include them in the show.

© Copyright Emma Cooper, 2007. All rights reserved.

Posted 14 November 2007, 21:16.  

2 Comments for Growing peanuts

  1. i am findng growing peanuts really easy but trying to find a large enough container tricky as they go deep into soil i have pics of plants if you want, you do not need shells just a nut whole

    nicki · Jul 18, 03:11 PM

  2. I’ve got some plants growing in a relatively shallow bed, and some in a deeper container, so it will be interesting to see if the container works better.

    Emma · Jul 22, 12:13 AM

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