Peanuts are easy to grow at home. Most gardeners have better success growing the plant indoors early in the season and transplanting the shoots into the outdoor garden once the soil has warmed up. To learn firsthand how to grow beans, keep reading this article.
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Part 1 of 4: Growing Beans Indoors
Step 1. Know the advantages of starting to grow beans indoors
Peanuts have a long growing season and it takes 100 to 130 days without snow to grow well.
- If you live in a colder area of the North, you should start planting about a month before the time of the last expected frost.
- If you live in a warmer area of the South, you can plant beans directly outside after the snow melts, or plant them indoors a few weeks before the snow melts.
Step 2. Choose a good bean seed
You can plant raw beans purchased at the grocery store, but you'll be able to grow beans more easily if you start planting beans purchased at a gardening supply store.
- Note that nuts used as seeds must remain in their shells until just before planting. Otherwise, the beans will dry out quickly and fail to produce.
- Never use roasted peanuts. Baked beans will never bloom.
Step 3. Fill a dry container with damp potting soil
Use a bowl or starter pot that is about 10 cm deep and fill 2/3 full with potting soil.
- If the soil is not yet wet, water it with a watering can now, before you add the pea seeds.
- The safest containers to use are paper or peat pots as you can place shoots, pots, etc. into the soil when transplanting. You can use a plastic bag or pot if that's the only alternative you have.
- Make sure the container is clean before you plant the beans, especially if you are using a plastic container. Wash with warm water and soap, rinse well, and dry with a clean thick cloth.
Step 4. Place some peanut seeds on the surface of the soil and cover
Arrange four nuts, husks removed, spaced apart on the surface of the soil, pressing gently into the soil. Cover with loose, moist soil about 2.5 cm high.
- When removing the shells, make sure you don't remove the thin brown layer that surrounds each seed. If you remove or damage them, the beans may not germinate.
- You can plant nuts without removing the skins first, but they will grow faster if you remove the skins first.
- If the soil isn't damp when you add it, lightly water it with a watering can or spray bottle until it's moist to the touch but not wet.
- When planting seeds directly outside, plant them 5 cm deep, 20 cm apart from each other.
Part 2 of 4: Moving Bean Crops
Step 1. Choose a location that is exposed to sunlight
Pea plants need full sun to grow well.
Sunlight is important for photosynthesis to continue, but full sun is necessary because the area that receives full sun is likely to be the warmest area in your garden. Pea plants grow well in warm soil
Step 2. Wait for the last frost to pass
Beans are quite sensitive to frost, so you should wait two to three weeks until after the expected snow melts before transplanting seedlings grown indoors to an outdoor garden.
- The same guidelines apply if you sow beans directly outdoors. Wait a few weeks after the last frost has passed. Otherwise the bean seeds will not germinate.
- Soil temperature should be a minimum of 18.3 degrees Celsius.
Step 3. Improve soil quality if necessary
The soil in which to plant should be loose and has good drainage. If the soil is too heavy, you can add a few handfuls of sand to the soil to improve its quality and make it less compact. Dig and mix the sand with a small shovel.
- Avoid clay soil types, soils like this are difficult to improve.
- You should use old compost as well, but you should limit the amount of compost you use as it can produce nitrogen. This may be beneficial for many plants, but beans produce their own nitrogen, and adding too much nitrogen can eventually stop the plant from growing.
- You may also need to balance the pH of the soil if it is too acidic. Do this by adding a little agricultural lime to the soil and mix well.
Step 4. Dig deep soil
Dig the soil at least 15.24 cm deep, even if the plant is not that deep.
- Roots need a lot of space to spread. Digging into the planting helps break up any congested areas, which will eventually become looser, and leave enough room for the roots.
- After digging the soil, fill the bottom of each hole with loose soil about 5 cm high. If you don't fill it first, you may be planting the shoots too deep.
Step 5. Plant the seedlings 25 cm apart from each other
The leaves and stems must be above the soil surface, but the roots must be completely below the soil surface.
- Fill the space in the remaining hole with loose soil.
- If using a biodegradable container, place it completely in the soil. If not, squeeze the container gently to untangle the contents. Tilt the container so that the plant, roots, and clumps come out into your hands. Transfer the entire lump to the ground in the garden.
- Avoid leaving sensitive roots exposed without soil.
- If you are planting bean seeds directly outdoors, you can plant 2 to 3 seeds in each spot at the beginning. Later you will need to space the plants, leaving the strongest one in each place.
Step 6. Water the soil well
use a water hose or watering can to moisten the soil until it feels damp when you touch the surface.
It should be noted that the soil should not be soaked wet. If water puddles form at the surface of the soil, you may have watered too much
Part 3 of 4: Daily Care
Step 1. Loosen the soil after a few weeks
Once it has grown to a height of 15.24 cm, you will need to slowly and carefully dig up the base of each plant to loosen the soil.
- Plants will have teeth as they grow, and each tooth will produce flowers. The flowers will wither and bend, but don't pick them.
- These drooping stalks are called "pegs." Your beans will grow from this peg, and the stalk will need to reach underground to produce beans.
- By making the soil loose, you help the peg to go underground more easily.
Step 2. Then pile the soil around the base of the plant
Once the pegs are underground and the plant is about 30.5 cm tall, you can shape the soil into small hills around each buried peg and around the base of the plant.
This will provide warmth and protection for the nuts growing on the ends of the buried pegs
Step 3. Spread a layer of humus
Spread humus from straw or grass clippings 5 cm high over the planting area immediately after making the hills.
- Humus prevents clay grass from growing.
- In addition, humus also keeps the soil warm, moist, and soft.
- Do not use heavy humus such as wood chips. Additional pegs may need to penetrate the soil, and they won't be able to do so when blocked by heavy humus.
Step 4. Water regularly
Use a watering can or a hose with a gentle spray to water the soil with 2.5 cm of water weekly.
Ideally, beans should be watered in very few flushes. This plant grows best when the soil is slightly dry at the surface, but moist about 2.5 cm below the soil surface. This can be checked by sticking your finger into the soil and feeling how deep your finger goes into the soil until you finally feel the moisture
Step 5. Avoid fertilizers with high nitrogen levels
Fertilizer is usually not required for growing beans, but if you choose to use a fertilizer, make sure it doesn't contain a lot of nitrogen.
- Peanuts supply their own nutrition. Adding nitrogen will result in a lush plant with thick foliage and little fruit.
- After the plant blooms, you can start applying a calcium-rich fertilizer. This will help maximize the formation of the beans.
Step 6. Protect your plants with a mesh fence
The biggest threats your pea plants face are squirrels, squirrels, and other small creatures looking for free food. Installing a mesh fence around your plants, is a surefire way to prevent these uninvited guests from disturbing your plants.
Press the fence 5 to 7.6 cm into the soil to protect the beans as they grow underground. Many mice and squirrels will try to dig up the plant once the nuts have started to form, and if the nets don't get to the ground, they may be able to find the nuts
Step 7. Use insecticides only when necessary
Peanut plants are usually not the target of pests in the form of insects. Some insects are annoying occasionally, including moth caterpillars, cucumber beetles, and fleas. Insects usually attack by eating plants.
- Spray the foliage with a pyrethrin-based pesticide for best results.
- If you want to keep using organic pesticides, sprinkle red chilies on the leaves.
Part 4 of 4: Harvesting and Storage
Step 1. Dig up the entire plant with a shovel
You should harvest the beans before the first frost in the fall, as beans at this stage are still sensitive to frost attacks.
- The plant will turn yellow and begin to wilt when it is ready to be harvested.
- Gently dig up the entire plant with a garden rake, lifting it from under the roots. Shake until the soil loosens from the roots.
- A healthy plant will usually produce about 30 to 50 beans.
Step 2. Dry the plant
Hang the plant indoors in a dry location for about a month.
- For the first two to weeks, allow the beans to ripen on the plant as the garden is in a warm, dry place.
- For about two weeks later, pick the nuts and let them dry in a warm, dry place.
Step 3. Bake or store plants as desired
You can enjoy the nuts raw or roasted, or you can save them for later.
- To roast the beans, bake in the oven at 177 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.
- To store nuts, leave them in their shells and place them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
- If you can't store nuts in the refrigerator, they will keep for up to 3 months in a dark, dry place to store.
- Peanuts can also be frozen for a year or more.
