Peanut: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
When and how do you sow peanuts indoors?
Sow peanuts in spring, a few weeks before outdoor soil is likely to be warm enough for planting, or for a crop remaining in a bright protected space. Choose a variety suited to your growing season. Starting indoors cannot fully compensate for a summer that is too short. The shelter must provide actual germination warmth; an unheated greenhouse that is still cold at night may be unsuitable.
Use seed intended for sowing, raw and unroasted. Remove the shells without breaking the kernels, keeping their thin skins intact. Prepare individual, reasonably deep pots with drainage holes and a light, free-draining compost. Sow one seed per pot about 2 cm deep, or follow the supplier’s instructions. This reduces root handling when the plants are moved later. Label each batch with the variety and sowing date.
Moisten the compost and let excess water drain away. Keep it slightly moist, without standing water, in a warm place around 20 to 25 °C. After emergence, provide plenty of light to prevent weak, elongated stems. Check moisture before watering and ventilate an enclosed growing space during warm weather. Keep seedlings safe from frost. Their gradual acclimatisation comes next; height alone does not establish when they are ready to go outside.
When and how do you sow peanuts outdoors?
When and how do you plant young peanut plants?
How to care for this plant
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Weed
Early in the crop, hand-pull weeds competing with your peanuts and disturb only the soil surface. Once the pegs from the flowers grow down towards or into the soil to form pods, stop hoeing around the plants to avoid breaking them. Skip weeding if the soil is already clear.
When and how do you harvest peanuts?
