Growing your Own Peanuts - It is SO EASY!!

Peanut - Arachis hypogaea

The peanut, groundnut, or monkey nut is a perennial plant belonging to the pea family, native to South America. After flowering, its pods bury themselves in the ground where the fruits ripen. The plant is widely cultivated for the kernels which are rich in oil and protein.

HOW TO GROW YOUR PEANUTS:

The flower of the Peanut is borne above ground and after it withers, the stalk elongates, bends down, and forces the pod underground. When the seed is mature, the seed coat changes color from white to a reddish brown. The entire plant, including most of the roots, is removed from the soil during harvesting.
The pods begin in the yellow petaled, pea-like flowers, which are borne in clusters above ground. Following self-pollination, the flowers fade. The stalk at the base of the pod elongates rapidly, and turns downward to bury the fruits several inches in the ground to complete their development.
Peanuts grow best in light, sandy loam soil. They require five months of warm weather, and an annual rainfall of 500 to 1000 mm (20 to 40 in) or the equivalent in irrigation water. So if you plant your plant or seed now you will be harvesting your peanuts in February to April.

HOW TO HARVEST YOUR PEANUTS:

The pods ripen 120 to 150 days after the seeds are planted. If the crop is harvested too early, the pods will be unripe. If they are harvested late, the pods will snap off at the stalk, and will remain in the soil.
Poor storage of peanuts can lead to a fungus destroying them so I advise freezing the shelled nuts for successful storage.
Harvesting peanuts occurs in two stages. First cut off the main root of the peanut plant by cutting through the soil just below the level of the peanut pods. Then lift the "bush" from the ground and shake it. Then turn the plant upside down on the ground to keep the peanuts out of the dirt. This allows the peanuts to slowly dry to a bit less than a third of their original moisture level over a period of 3-4 days while they are left upside down on the garden or in a well ventillated area out of the rain.
After the peanuts have dried sufficiently, remove the peanut pods from the rest of the bush and store in a cool dry place.
You can wait till the bush dies away till you harvest but if you cut and harvest as the plant withers you will get a high quality nut and not lose so many in the soil.

Peanut Butter Recipe:

Prep time: about 10 minutes
Makes about 24 tablespoons of Peanut Butter

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. unsalted roasted peanuts
1 tbsp. peanut oil

Utensils:

food processor (You'll need help from an adult assistant.)
bowl
mixing spoon
storage container
measuring cups and spoons

Directions:

For smooth peanut butter:
Mix the peanuts with the peanut oil, and pour the mixture into the food processor.
Process the mixture until it's very smooth.
Store your smooth peanut butter in a sealed container in the fridge. It will be good for 2 weeks.
For chunky peanut butter:
Take about 1/4 cup out of your 1 1/2 cups of peanuts and set them aside.
Mix the rest of the peanuts with the oil, and pour the mixture into the food processor.
Process the mixture until it's very smooth, then stir in the peanuts that you had set aside.
Process a few seconds more to create the chunks in your chunky peanut butter.
Store your chunky peanut butter in a sealed container in the fridge. It will be good for 2 weeks.

Happy Growing!