Tips on growing peanuts please

I've mentioned a couple of times that I'm learning how to grow my own peanuts. I thought I would ask for tips on growing these in it's own thread and see if any of you all have any tips on successful peanut growing for the home gardener. Do any of you grow peanuts?

No problem in the south. They do have a long season but otherwise are as easy to grow as beans. It is a bushy plant so they a spacing about 12 inches, but other than that just pretend they are bush beans. There are four major types to choose from. Spanish are the easiest to grow. These are small flavorful peanuts that are used primarily in candies and other sweet products. Valencia is next easiest but least grown. Grown mostly in the south west and favored for organic products. You are probably aware of the peanut butter problem in New Mexico. Virginia are large peanuts used as cocktail peanuts, and other roasted, boiled free standing peanuts. Runner peanuts are the backbone of the peanut butter industry and are the main crop in Georgia. Both Virginia and Runner types require an extra long growing season and don't do well outside the south.

We had a peanut patch rented to a neighbor- in Okla.just north of red river. Bottomland sandy loam. Legumes fix nitrogen but need it in the soil to fix it. Red Spanish were best flavor back then. Love them fresh dug! I dont remember what bugs were bothersome to them though.

I grew some Virginia peanuts in containers a few years back just to see if I could. I planted ten containers (15 gallon) and probably had 2-3 plants in each. They got crowded but did pretty well. 1-2 plants probably would have been better. They kept popping up pegs and filled the entire surface of the containers. I was more than surprised the amount of peanuts I got out of each container*. It was fun, but I probably wouldn't grow them again, unless I had room to spare.....which I usually don't.

I just mixed some gypsum with the soil and occasionally fertilized with a 5-5-5. Nothing special.

As far as pests, Army worms loved them, especially when they were small*. But BT took care of that problem in a week or 2.

In-ground and container growing is very different though. So I'm not sure if anything I have typed has helped :) I remember reading they like gypsum(sulfur and calcium) and a below neutral pH, around 6(my soil was 6.5).

Thank you all. You HAVE helped. Something was eating them last year but I never did figure out what. So I'll get some new BT today (used up the last bottle last year). I have sandy loam soil, fairly neutral so I think I good to go there. Maybe just some balanced fertilizer. Or some bone meal. Or maybe both?

Farmerdill, do you hill peanuts? I forgot to do that last year and I think I should have.

This year I'm growing Texas Red and White and Shronce's Deep Black. Not sure which varieties those are, but half the fun is finding out!

No, I don't, but I do plant them on a list.

This year I plan to plant a few for the heck of it. I'm not even sure what variety, since I picked up the legumes at a seed swap, but I am 99% sure these are Virginia peanuts.

When I was a kid, I remember we planted peanuts one year (...stop me if I've told this story...) and at the end of the year, my Dad growled in frustration, "Well THESE didn't do anything!" right as he pulled up the plants. :)

Surprise!

LOL! Thanks for the good morning giggle.

I don't grow peanuts but have tried before just remember that you are planting the favorite food of both gophers and Voles..Just sayin