A Springtime Tradition

In what has become a tradition over the past several years, Benjamin and I plant a row of peanuts in the garden.  Peanuts are not a crop that I had ever planted until just a few years ago.  It turns out that they are relatively easy to grow.  I haven't achieved spectacular yields, but we have been successful in having enough to roast and make peanut butter with, and that's always exciting.

In past years, I planted Shronce's Black Peanuts.  This year I'm trying a Tennessee Red Valencia Peanut that I got from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

I opened up the artsy seed envelope and poured out the peanuts in my hand.  It looks to be about 13 peanuts.  I could eat all these in mere minutes, but these peanuts aren't for eating.  They are for planting.  The previous afternoon I had worked up the soil so that when I got home from work, I could milk Luna and plant peanuts before it got dark.

Before you plant them, you need to shell the peanuts.  I went and got Benjamin to assist.  We sat in the garden and quickly shelled them.  The amount of actual peanuts we get to plant in minimal compared to the big envelope of peanuts, but oh well, I actually have peanuts in the pantry from last year's crop that we haven't made peanut butter with yet.  I'll supplement with those seed peanuts if these aren't enough to plant the entire row.

The planting guide calls for planting them 1 inch deep and 8 inches apart from one another.  I started digging the holes and Benjamin planting a peanut into each hole and then filled the holes in with dirt.  We ran out with about 1/4 of the row left and I planted some of last year's peanuts to finish out the row.  Jane, our soon-to-be mother goat, supervised the work.

It didn't take long for two of the three triplet goats to come poke their heads through the garden fence and eat the green grass just inside the garden fence.

In this case, the grass truly IS greener on the other side of the fence.