Peanut

Place peanuts in the front or middle of a sunny vegetable bed, where their 1 1/2-foot height will not shade lower crops nearby. Reserve a broad, uninterrupted patch of loose, sandy, well-drained soil; the plants need room for flower stems to enter the ground and form pods. Set the patch beside a path or bed edge so plants can be lifted at harvest without reaching across neighboring rows. Corn, summer squash, and cucumber can be included elsewhere in the same planned growing area.^[1]

Space peanut plants 12 inches apart, center to center. Although each plant can spread about 18 inches wide, this closer grid suits a planted block and lets the foliage knit together over the soil. Keep the outer row at least 12 inches back from paths, bed walls, or permanent edging so a fork can be worked around the plants when it is time to lift the crop.

Use a full-sun bed with light, sandy, well-drained soil. Loose soil matters beyond drainage: it allows the developing pegs and pods to move into the ground and makes the crop far easier to dig. Provide moderate, regular moisture through the season, especially while plants are establishing, without turning the planting strip into a persistently wet area.^[1][2]

Allow roughly 120 days from planting to maturity and hold the space for the entire warm season rather than planning a quick succession crop behind it. Plant after the soil has warmed; outdoor germination is best delayed until soil reaches at least 65°F. Harvest occurs in early to midfall, when the entire plant is lifted to recover the below-ground pods.^[1][2]