Planting, growing and caring for peanuts in the garden and in a pot at home

Peanuts are a nutritious food with incredible taste and aroma. Many people still believe that peanuts grow on trees or bushes. Spicy annual nuts are a prominent representative of the Legume family. The crop received the original name “groundnut” because the fruits ripen in the soil. Therefore, if a person wants to have his own groundnut plantations, he must know how to grow peanuts.

Types and varieties of peanuts for growing

Groundnut, which belongs to the legume family, has up to 100 plant species. Due to the characteristics of the crop, it is grown mainly in areas of South America. Only two types of peanuts are suitable for cultivation in the country - Pinto and cultivated. The number of plants is divided into 4 groups.

Spanish

Also called Spanish nut. The main feature is the increased oil content, unlike other varieties. Spanish kernels are medium in size, covered with a pink-brown skin. It is an excellent raw material for the production of candied and salted nuts and butter.

Valencia

The group is represented by varieties with large fruits. The plant can reach a height of 1.2 m. In one shell there are not two nuts, as in other groups, but 3 at once. The seeds in the box have an oblong shape and are covered with a bright red husk.

Runner

The taste qualities of representatives of the Runner group are several times superior to the Spanish and Valencia varieties. The fruits respond better to roasting and produce high yields. Peanuts are very large and stand out for their elongation. Grown to make salted beer nuts and peanut butter.

Virginia

It is considered the highest quality product among other representatives. Before going on sale, Virginia undergoes a thorough selection procedure. The largest fruits are left and used for making confectionery.

Preparing peanuts for planting

For further cultivation, unroasted peanuts are selected, the fruits of which have reached technical maturity. A handful of nuts is poured into two glasses of cold water and left overnight. The place where peanuts are soaked should be away from direct sunlight and well ventilated.

In the morning after soaking, the seeds are washed and dried. At night, the peanuts are again filled with water. The soaking and drying cycle is repeated 3 times.

If a bulge appears at the top of the grain, this means that the product is ready to be planted in the soil.

Sowing pattern and depth

The sowing procedure is quite simple:

1. It is necessary to prepare a container for plants and fill in the substrate.
2. One seed is placed in the center of the box and covered with soil. In this case, the depth is no more than 2.5 cm.
3. To make the plant sprout faster and feel more comfortable, cover the container on top with cling film or glass.

A homemade greenhouse must be periodically ventilated so that oxygen enters the soil and the soil can dry out a little. This is a kind of prevention of the appearance of fungus. If the first leaves appear above the soil, the shelter is removed, and the container with seedlings itself is taken to a permanent place. After this, they begin caring for the growing peanuts.

Methods for germinating nuts

There are many techniques that allow you to grow your own product. This could be a window sill, a balcony, a summer house or a plot of land near the house. They all require the right approach.

In a pot for growing at home

If you decide to cultivate peanuts at home, you need to start by selecting containers. It should be spacious and fairly stable. This allows you to avoid shoots hanging over the edges of the pot, which is unacceptable for the crop. Fruit formation occurs after the flowers appear.

In containers for further planting in the ground

If peanut sowing takes place in the country, the square-cluster method is used. Scheme - 60 x 60 or 70 x 70 cm. In one nest, from 5 to 6 groundnut bushes develop at once. Sowing can be done using the wide-row method.

In this case, there should be at least 70 cm of free space between the rows, and 20 cm between the bushes. Peanuts are laid to a depth of 7-8 cm.

A representative of legumes can be planted using the seedling method, and not just by direct sowing in the ground. The grown plant is planted in the soil and cared for. The container for sprouts should be small. These can be separate cups for each seed or a large container for several seedlings.

The most important thing in this method is the ability to transplant a sprout with an earthen lump. This becomes necessary, as there is a possibility of damage to the peanut root system. When performing the procedure, you must be careful and monitor the actions.

In the greenhouse

It is considered the easiest way to grow peanuts. It is better to plant nuts together with tomatoes, since they are not only good neighbors, but also contribute to each other’s development and growth. So that the crop does not need space and light, it is planted closer to the glass. In greenhouse conditions, you need to make sure that the peanut stems do not lie on the soil. To do this, they are tied up. During the growing season, only 1 hilling is required, and the crop is harvested in the fall.

Plant directly into the soil

Open sowing is carried out in May, when it is warm enough outside. The earth must be heated to a temperature of +15 °C and not lower. The best predecessors for peanuts are melons.

As a rule, disembarkation time occurs in mid-May. For favorable seed germination, the possibility of frost returns is completely eliminated.Such weather conditions are considered detrimental to culture.

When sowing crops in the garden, whole or shelled beans are used. If there are any flaps left, they are thrown into the hole along with the kernels. This technology allows you to populate the root system of a plant with beneficial mushrooms.

Necessary conditions for cultivation

Proper development of the bush and rapid growth depend on human compliance with agricultural technology conditions. Regardless of the place of cultivation - a window sill, a greenhouse, a summer house or open ground, the plant should feel good. If this is a room in the house, it must be moderately lit and periodically ventilated.

Lighting

Peanuts are tropical dwellers and therefore need proper lighting. To do this, you need to increase the daylight hours for the plant. If lighting conditions have been violated, this will affect the crop itself. Lack of light is the cause of poor crop growth.

Optimal temperature conditions

The culture feels great at a temperature of +30 °C. The permissible low value is +20 °C. If the mark is set below +15 °C or above +30 °C, the plant may die.

Humidity level

Groundnuts need a lot of moisture during flowering and fruit formation. But there should not be stagnation of water. A large amount of water in September is undesirable, as it prevents the ripening of fruits.

Soil composition

Peanuts love neutral, light and moderately moist soils. The soil should contain magnesium, calcium and humus. It's better to take for growing beans sandy loam or black soil.

If the area allocated for planting peanuts has acidic soil, it must be limed.This is done in advance in the autumn by digging up the earth and adding humus to it. In the spring, it is also necessary to cultivate the future plot of land for peanuts.

Complete care from seedling to first harvest

After planting the beans in the ground, they move on to the next stage of cultivation - caring for the crops. For normal growth and development, the crop should not need water, light and fertilizers. This is the only way to get a peanut harvest.

Fertilizers for feeding the soil

After planting, time must pass for the sprouts to grow to 10 cm in height. At this time, the first feeding is carried out. The composition can be purchased at a specialized store or prepared independently. At the beginning of fruiting, you can re-fertilize, but this is not necessary.

Plant Formation

As a rule, a plant rarely needs human help at the time of bush formation. If the tops of the shoots cannot reach the ground and bury themselves, the nut will not be able to ripen. For this purpose, the branches are bent or a container with soil is hung near each flower.

Protection from pests and diseases

Peanuts occasionally succumb to attack by various pests and diseases. To minimize the likelihood of insects appearing in the beds, it is necessary to follow crop rotation and agricultural practices. These are the simplest control measures. Weeds are sources of disease, so they are removed from the site.

Irrigation

This procedure is a type of watering. Irrigation is carried out as the soil dries out. There is no clear number of times you can water. The best method of adding moisture to the soil is drip irrigation.

Peanut ripening time

The amount of time that passes from planting to harvesting peanuts takes no more than 6-7 months.If the peanuts stop blooming and growth stops, this indicates that the nuts are beginning to ripen. At the same time, the leaves on the stems still turn yellow and dry out. The second half of September is the period when nuts are dug up.

Productivity and harvest

Each bush produces about 30 nut pods. The amount varies depending on the type of peanut. When harvesting fruits from a garden bed, they try to dig up the plant with a pitchfork. After collecting the bushes, the beans along with the stems are dried in shady and ventilated places. If the shell crunches and cracks when pressed, then the peanuts can be torn off and poured into containers for further storage. As a rule, it takes up to 2 weeks to dry.

Nuts should be stored in a dry place to prevent them from becoming damp, as this will spoil their flavor. If you delay picking, the beans become tart and bitter. Therefore, a person is required to be careful and follow the rules of agricultural technology in order to get a harvest of tasty fruits.