larry, i grew some peanuts last year, and i won't do it again without some major encouragement! i got 3 plants, (cuz it was the 1st time growing them) they grew fine, and were so pretty in the garden - but when it was "time" to harvest them, some were over-ripe, some were ripe, and some were just lettle tiny baby peanuts. so, after taking up a good sunny spot in my garden for the entire summer, i got about 20 usable peanuts. not worth it, imho.

maybe someone else has had better luck....

but that's my story, and i'm stickin' to it!

dody ;)

I've never tried it but you could try growing them in a large container (cardboard box, maybe). That way you could give it a try without taking up precious ground room and the critters wouldn't have access to them. It might also improve yields. I'm growing my potatoes in boxes, and I hear from people who have done it, you're meant to get a lot more potatoes. The only problem is the constant need to buy dirt, but you can get it fairly cheap from Minick materials in Edmond. Just a thought. Shame the puppy doesn't like sunflower seeds!

Kelly

Kelly, I bet "Puppy" would like sunflower seed, he likes about all nuts and veggies. I think the things he likes most are squash leaves, bean leaves and sweet potatoes.

I had some containers on the floor of sprouting sweet potatoes. I brought them in on cool nights. One morning I saw that one was missing, I found it in his bed half eaten.

Larry

Larry,

George grows them so I'm sure if he sees this thread he'll tell you about his experiences.

Peanuts do best in sandy soil but tolerate other soils as long as they are loamy and well-draining. They also like somewhat acidic soil more than alkaline soil. They need a really long growing season too. Love County used to be a really big peanut producer, but after the price support program ceased, growing them became less attractive. A few people still grow them here, but not many. There's only one 'peanut farm' that we drive past and still see peanuts there every year....and they also raise cattle, wheat, melons, etc. because you cannot depend on a peanut crop for your only income.

I think George has pretty good luck with peanuts. I've never tried them because my clay would be all wrong for them and I think the yields would be poor, and my little band of sandy soil is getting really shady. And, besides that, I grow too much of everything as it is so growing space is really tight.

Dawn

It was one of my weaker moments, when I saw the seed peanuts I just thought what DW had said and bought them. I knew better, but I may plant just a few so I can tell her I tried.

We have raw peanuts on the cabinet now that she bought for the dog and quite often she will tell me "Herc wants some peanuts". He really thinks its great for me to shell and chew them for him. Yes we are "sick" people, but the dog is pretty smart.

Larry

I grow Carwile's Virginia Peanut which supposedly handles clay better than others. It produces moderately for me. I do use the same rat-poison-in-a-coffee-can trick, as I use for sweet potatoes to prevent burrowing rodents from destroying my crop. I also plant then near the front of the garden, without a lot of taller, leafy plants around them. This better enables me to harvest visiting rabbits, which are drawn to the foliage like magnates. There doesn't appear to be a dry-down stage for this crop. I just wait about 6-8 weeks after heavy flowering and try digging a plant up. If a good many peanuts are mature, then I harvest them all.

George
Tahlequah, OK

Just wondering. Do you plant them in the shell?

Mark

No, I haven't. Though, I've seen them sprout through the shell.

George

Would you mind revisiting this please? :) I'm a sucker for an interesting plant and I bought some of the Schronce's Deep Black Peanut seeds from Baker Creek last week.

I understand peanuts need a very long season so I was thinking of starting some with my spring tomatoes for a fall peanut harvest, does this sound doable? Also will they transplant well once it finally warms up enough to plant outdoors? Is there anything "special" I should know or do for them to be productive?

I have heavy clay soils still, but I plan on growing a few in various large containers (think big enough for horseradish and lemon grass to grow in) in full sun on the south side of my home. Sound ok so far?

Thank you,

Christina