How to grow peanuts on Long Island
Unlike tree nuts, peanuts grow and develop underground. Credit: nationalpeanutboard.org
Dear Jessica,
I would like to know if peanuts can be grown on Long Island.
— Lou Bentivegna, South Setauket
Dear Lou,
Peanuts require a long growing season — up to 160 frost-free days — so even if you plant them outdoors in May, they might not be on track to reach maturity until October. A look around my garden during a typical October would reveal some summer plants hanging on, but just barely.
However, as with most anything else, you can extend the growing season by starting them early indoors, and all the better if you have a greenhouse in which to do so. This way, by the time the danger of frost has passed and you can safely transplant them outdoors, they will have gotten as much as a 60-day head start. It’s important to point out that starting seeds indoors too early can result in stressed, leggy plants. Still, peanuts are largely carefree, easy-to-grow plants. Selecting early-maturing varieties such as “Early Spanish” or “Valencia” will bolster success.
Start seeds indoors in large peat pots in early April. Remove the shell from unroasted peanuts and, keeping the pink seed-covering intact, plant one peanut to a pot, about one inch deep. Place pots in the sunniest spot available, and water about once a week. They will sprout quickly.
After the last frost, and when the soil temperature has warmed to 60-70 degrees, transplant seedlings outdoors in full sun (if you have a south-facing slope, all the better), spacing about 10 inches apart, ensuring they receive 1 to 1-1/2 inch of water per week.
As with potatoes, hill soil around plant bases when plants are a foot tall, and apply about 2 inches of straw or grass-clipping mulch around plants to facilitate “pegging,” described below. Fertilizer isn’t necessary, and, in fact, the addition of nitrogen should be avoided.
Peanuts are not nuts at all. They’re part of a vegetable family called legumes, as are beans and peas. Peanuts also grow differently from tree nuts: they flower above ground but produce seed pods or fruit (what we recognize as peanuts in their shells) underground via a unique process called “pegging,” so they must be dug up to be harvested.
About 40 days after planting, yellow flowers emerge, and when they self-pollinate, the petals drop as the peanut ovary (the “peg”) begins to form, according to The National Peanut Board in Atlanta. “The peg enlarges and grows down and away from the plant, forming a small stem which extends to the soil. The peanut embryo is in the tip of the peg, which penetrates the soil. The embryo turns horizontal to the soil surface and begins to mature taking the form of a peanut. The plant continues to grow and flower, eventually producing some 40 or more pods.”
When leaves turn yellow, typically four to five months after planting, dig up entire plants, shake off excess soil, and set them in an airy spot for two to three days until leaves dry up completely. Remove pods and roast or store unshelled in airtight containers for up to a year.
RECIPES
Homemade Peanut Butter
Blend 2 cups of shelled, roasted peanuts with 2 teaspoons of oil in a food processor or blender until pasty. The addition of salt and/or honey is optional.
Roasted Peanuts
Place peanuts in a single layer on a baking pan and roast at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes (shelled) or 15-20 minutes (unshelled).
Southern-Style Boiled Peanuts
Instead of air-drying, simmer 1 pound or more unshelled green, freshly dug peanuts for three hours in a gallon of water with one cup of salt added. Consume within a few days.
FUN FACT
It takes 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter, according to The National Peanut Board.
