Anybody growing Peanuts?

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bethie7 Riverside, CA(Zone 9b) Jul 28, 2006

Hi. As an impulse buy I decided to get a peanut bush from my local nursery in the spring. They didn't come with a lot of info - just a label that said "peanut". I've never grown peanuts and have only been able to find very vauge info on growing them. I stuck them in a big ceramic pot and they seem to be doing fine. They bloomed and put little runners down about a month ago. Now I'm left to wonder when they should be harvested. The plant is still green, although not putting on new top growth as quickly as before. This could be due to the awful heat wave that we've had for the past 3 weeks - I'm used to the mid 90's but tripple digits for this long is just silly. I do water it througly every morning but now I'm starting to doubt that that's such a good idea. Should I be cutting back on the water now and how long do I wait to harvest?
Thanks.

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Farmerdill Augusta, GA(Zone 8a) Jul 28, 2006

http://peanutvan.com.au/growing.htm

Peanuts basicly grow like a bushing shelling bean, except that the pods must be underground to develop. Dont know how well they will do as a container plant. They bloom on top like a bean, send out a peg from the fertilize bloom which grows into the ground where the pod forms. Like a shelling (dry) bean, the plant will yellow and die when the pods ripen. They are a long season crop depending on cultivar (100-130 days). We normally dig them when the vines die back or just before the first frost. Grown in the field, we try to get them out before the vines is completely dead. That is because, critters like field mice also wait for the harvest, and the pods will break off the vines making harvest difficult if the vine is completely dead. Should not be a concern for your container plant.

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bethie7 Riverside, CA(Zone 9b) Jul 28, 2006

Thank you for the great information!

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nivlac San Antonio, TX(Zone 8b) Jul 28, 2006

my son started some from seed/green peanuts from the grocery store. He (on his own) got a pot and planted it. Saying all along "I'm gonna grow my own peanuts". I didn't argue and let him make the mess. (I cleaned it up after he was done). His interest lasted about 30 days. he saw the seedling come up and the runners go into the ground, but got tiredof waiting. I still water it and have from time to time disturbed the pot. I have become interested in te small harvest and lesson to teach my son.

I add, thanks for the info. I really did not know when to harvest.

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