Peanuts

[reed]

Does anyone grow, breed or know much about peanuts? My dad and I grew some one time, some fifty years ago just for fun.  As I remember they did OK and we did get some to eat. I'm thinking of investing in a few shorter season kinds and making a grex for my area.

I'm guessing they cross pollinate fairly easily.  I bet the seeds don't stay viable very long, is that so?

I'd love to hear about any first hand experience with them.

[Ferdzy]

I've grown them; only a couple of varieties. No crossing in the short time they were grown together that I'm aware of.

By selection, we greatly increased their mould-resistance and productivity. They are still not what I would call a high-return crop for us. We have very good soil for them, but are probably at the northern limit of their tolerance.

Keep the seed peanuts in their shells until planting. We "lost" some and by the time we found them and planted them, they were four years old. They germinated well, but they were in our fairly steadily cool basement for that time.

[ImGrimmer]

Some years ago I got some varieties from the USDA Genebank. Some varieties set seeds. I lost them after 3years.
A second trial with the same varieties mostly failed. I think it depends on the weather. One year it works the next one it struggles.
Last year I got new seeds from annapolis seeds. Their own landrace. It did okay. Hopefully they multiply this season.
Any seeds from ebay or other sellers didn`t set seeds at all.

[William S.]

My mom and I grew them in the 80's once for fun when I was a kid but got no crop. There was a storm and we thought from some washouts that new peanuts were forming. Then at harvest time nothing. I always got to pick something weird to grow each year. It's part of how I got this way.

Have noticed several catalogs in recent years offer them to Northern growers. Sherck seeds, resilient seeds, and snake river seed coop if memory serves but didn't check their 2020 offerings. If so they've done a lot of the trialing work already for varieties that may be resilient.

[spacecase0]

many years ago I was reading this website http://jandlgardens.com/
and he had a peanut that he adapted to cold weather.
I loved the idea and wanted the seeds, but california has a restriction on importing peanuts... (not the same as my issue sending things out of the USA)
anyway, I just recreated the project.
started with raw peanuts I got at an indian grocery store,
took about 4 years to get  production every year
now I get reliable production
and last harvest was the largest yet, and it was from every plant as well.
but each root system was totally different, so there is still lots of variation in them even now.

so, it seems to me that they are capable of doing quite a bit, just that most people have not bothered to do much breeding with them before.

[William S.]

Two of the the three I mentioned don't have seed anymore. Sherck seed though has a four variety composite mix and J and L still has a variety selected for cold tolerance. Good start for a grex.

[reed]

Thanks every body for the input. I was a little hesitant to try peanuts cause I don't have space to grow all my crops every year and just assumed I guess that the seeds did not fare well in storage. Sounds like though they are fine for a few years so it should work.

I also found them in Ashworth's "Seed to Seed" She says they need a big isolation distance so that's good, should be easy to get them mixed up. Also that the greens are edible.  I have plenty long season even for the slower ones but think I'll stick mostly with they 110 day kinds. Was gonna get them from Southern Exposure as they have several kinds. Had never heard of Shreck Seeds, wow, they are in my state and already have them in a mix. Thanks, William.

[Ocimum]

Any idea if Arachis pintoi would be useful in a peanut A. hypogaea breeding project? It grows like a weed in a greenhouse, but I have never dug out any seeds.

[Jerryrva]

I grew 40 to 50 acres commercially in Virginia for the in shell use market for over 30 years. We planted them first week in May and harvested them late September into late October. My last frost free date is usually April 10 and first frost around November 1.

They are self pollinating for the most part. I grew some acres for Certified Seed and had to maintain 10 feet between varieties in case a stray bee got to a flower before it selfed. The variety Champs sold by Southern Exposure was the leading variety 10 years ago for a large seeded Virginia type peanut. Its PVP has expired and you will see some organic growers growing it. Newer commercial varieties that have better disease resistance are under PVP.

You can store seed in the refrigerator for about 2 years. The high oil content keeps their life short.