HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN PEANUTS
ARE you nuts for processed, salty snacks? Well, if you want to go down a healthier route, consider growing your own peanut plant.
You can grow your own peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) – also known as monkey nuts – out of doors, according to specialist breeder and grower Lubera (lubera.co.uk) as it launches a new range of five varieties to cope with a changing climate, which it says can be grown unprotected in the UK.
The look of the nuts is a surprise with one of the new varieties, Justbehappy, producing red and white striped peanuts, two per pod. Others in the range feature seed coats in white, red, pink and almost black.
HOW DO YOU GROW THEM?
LUBERA advises that peanuts like to be planted at the beginning to the middle of May in full sun, and prefer soil which is not too heavy. A sandy soil would be ideal.
They produce small golden flowers (like peas, but smaller and brighter yellow) with extended stems that have to find their way into the soil after pollination.
Then they force the developing nuts into the soil, where they grow. Peanut plants make perfect companions for other vegetables, such as salads and radish.
WHEN DO YOU HARVEST THEM?
THE peanuts can be harvested from mid-September to October when the leaves and shoots turn yellow to black.
CAN YOU GROW THEM IN A POT?
THE new varieties can be grown in a large pot (from about 5-7ltrs) or in a garden bed, with a planting distance of 30-50cm.
The narrower the planting, the faster the soil is covered, but plant them too close together and you may not get such a good yield.
HOW MANY CAN BE HARVESTED?
IN TRIALS, when planting the best varieties at the beginning to middle of May, up to 100 pods per plant were possible, Lubera found – that’s more than 200 nuts per peanut plant, as each variety produces two nuts per pod.
Justmore(R) and Justblack(R) varieties showed significantly less fruit rot than other selections when harvested late in October.
Plants will be available from Lubera from May.
■ Report by Hannah Stephenson.