Planting to Harvest

Peanuts are a staple crop here in the deep south but do you know how they are grown? Unlike most plants, the flowers and leaves grow above ground and the peanut itself grows below ground.

From planting to harvest, the entire growing cycle takes about 4 to 5 months. After the last frost, farmers begin tilling the land ensuring a rich and well-prepared seedbed. After the soil is ready, farmers plant peanut kernels in the ground and begin preparing for the harvest.

About 145 days after planting, once the plants have matured, farmers begin the harvest process. When conditions are right, the farmer will drive a digger up and down the rows pulling up the plant, shaking off the soil, rotating the plant and laying it back down with the peanuts facing up. Leaving them to cure and dry over the next two to three days ensuring they are dry enough to be picked.

Once the field is dry, a combine separates the peanuts from the vines, the peanuts are placed into a hopper on top of the machine putting the vines back into the field. The newly combines peanuts are places into peanut wagons so they can be warmed and cured through the wagon and taken to the market.