“The peanut is a warm-weather perennial vegetable that requires 120 to 130 frost-free days to reach harvest. Sow peanuts in the garden 3 to 4 weeks after the average last frost date in spring, when the soil has warmed to at least 65°F. To get a head start on the season start peanuts indoor 5 to 8 weeks before transplanting seedlings outdoors.
The peanut is a tender perennial usually grown as an annual, a member of the legume family. The peanut plant grows from 6 to 30 inches tall, depending on the type; some are upright and erect in habit, others are more spreading.
Plants form two sets of opposite leaves on each stem and yellow, sweet-pea-like, self-pollinating flowers. The flowers occur on elongated, pea-like stems just above the soil and after pollination they dip and push into the ground 1 to 3 inches to develop underground seed ends called pegs or peduncles; these are the seed pods we call peanuts.
There are four basic types of peanuts…”
