Peanuts in your own garden

Who doesn't love keeping exotic flowers and plants in their garden? But often, it takes a long time before one dares to grow such plants. The cultivation of peanuts offers you a "light" version of growing exotics. That's because hardly any other exotic is as undemanding as Arachis hypogaea.

It's especially fascinating to watch this plant in its various stages of growth and fruit development. Unlike any plants we're familiar with, the delicious legumes grow in a unique way. First, the peanut produces its small, yellow, butterfly-shaped flowers. But after about two days, when the flower has withered, the incredible happens: the fruit-bearing stalks begin their downward journey into the soil, where the fruit capsules begin to grow.

Like all other legumes, the peanut is very undemanding and can even help improve the quality of your soil. For the best results, plant about 3-5 untreated peanuts in a seed tray with well-draining, humus-rich soil starting in March. The trays should be kept at a temperature above 20°C in a bright location.

Make sure the soil remains evenly moist but not waterlogged. By the end of May, you should have healthy, strong plants that can then be transplanted into a sunny spot in your vegetable bed. If you live in a cooler region, it’s a good idea to keep these heat-loving plants in a cold frame under glass or plastic.

Especially right after flowering, it is important that your plants find soft soil so that the fruit-bearing stems can penetrate the soil about 10 cm deep, where they will then form the fruit capsules.

You can prepare the soil well by incorporating mature compost and about one-third sand, which helps prevent waterlogging that can cause rot, ensuring you won’t have to do any more work with your peanut plants throughout the summer.

Now, it's just a matter of waiting. When the plant starts to wither around September, it's harvest time. Simply pull the entire plant out of the soft soil. Remove the peanuts and let them dry.

If you want to enjoy your own peanuts as a snack, you need to roast them after they’ve dried, either in a pan or the oven. It's the roasting process that brings out their characteristic flavor.