How to grow Peanut

Arachis hypogaea · groundnut, monkey nut, goober

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) — a warm-season legume from South America. It flowers above ground, then the stalk of each fertilised flower (the peg) pushes into the soil and the pods ripen underground. Frost kills it and it needs at least 120 frost-free days, so in cool climates grow the quicker Spanish or Valencia types and give them a head start in pots.

Checked against sources: October 3, 2026

Quick facts

Type	Vegetable
Family	Fabaceae
Light	Full sun
Soil pH	5.8–6.5
Frost	does not tolerate frost
Soil for sowing	from 18 °C
Germination	7 days
Seedlings ready	30 days
Sowing to harvest	120 days
Where it grows	Greenhouse, Open ground

When to plant

Sow for seedlings about 5 weeks before planting out.

Plant out in open ground about a week after your last spring frost, once the soil is warm.

In an unheated greenhouse everything moves about three weeks earlier.

The first harvest comes about 120 days after the shoots appear.

Frost dates · When to plant

Care

Greenhouse

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Seedlings	every 3 days	—	—
Growth	every 7 days	—	—
Flowering	every 4 days	—	—
Fruiting	every 4 days	—	—
Harvest	—	—	—

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Growth	every 7 days	—	—
Flowering	every 4 days	—	—
Fruiting	every 4 days	—	—
Harvest	—	—	—

Growing notes

Light

Full sun, at least 6 hours of direct light a day; peanuts do not grow in shade.

Soil

Loose, light, well-drained sandy loam that the pegs can push into; avoid heavy, poorly drained clay. pH 5.8–6.5. Do not plant after beans or peas — peanuts have fewer diseases after corn.

Care

Sow when the soil has warmed to 18 °C, 2.5–5 cm deep (a little deeper in sandy soil) and 15–20 cm apart. Where summers are short, sow in individual peat pots about 6 weeks before the last frost and plant out without disturbing the roots. Coat the seed with a peanut rhizobium inoculant — then no nitrogen is needed. Never put fertiliser in the seed furrow; if a soil test shows low calcium, work gypsum into the soil, as a lack of calcium leaves pods empty. When plants are about 30 cm tall, earth them up by 15 cm and mulch, and stop hoeing near them once the pegs enter the soil. Give 25–50 mm of water a week, above all while pegs and pods form, and stop watering 10–14 days before lifting. Lift when the leaves turn yellow, dry the whole plants for 1–2 weeks, then the pods for 2–3 weeks more. Peanuts can cause severe allergic reactions, and mouldy nuts may contain aflatoxins — throw them away.

Pests and diseases of Peanut

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.