How to Grow Bambara Groundnuts USA
On this page
- Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea)
- Quick Facts
- Soil & Growing Conditions
- Harvest & Storage
- Bambara groundnut through the season
- Plan your Bambara Groundnuts planting
- What the research guides add
- Bambara groundnut in the USA: climate data
- Growing Bambara Groundnut in another region
- Sources
- Frequently Asked Questions
In the US, bambara groundnuts are ready to harvest 90–180 days after planting.
The short answer
- Ready in
- 90–180 days
- Site
- soil pH 5–6.5
Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea)
Also known as: Bambara Bean · 2 sources cited
Quick Facts
Soil & Growing Conditions
Harvest & Storage
Bambara groundnut through the season
Plan your Bambara Groundnuts planting
When to sow and plant Bambara Groundnuts depends on your own frost dates. Check the USA vegetable planting calendar. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
What the research guides add
The Colorado State chapter on Bambara groundnut gives the clearest rule for a cooler-climate gardener: treat it like a peanut.
- It is an annual legume of African origin, generally cultivated in sub-Saharan Africa and considered the third most important food legume on the continent after groundnut and cowpea. (Colorado State University)
- It grows best in climates suitable for peanuts: bright sunshine, elevated temperatures, at least 4 months free of frost and frequent rains. (Colorado State University)
- When grown like the peanut, it matures between 3 and 6 months from planting depending on climate and cultivar. (Colorado State University)
Bambara groundnut in the USA: climate data
| City | USDA zone | Last spring freeze (32°F) | First fall freeze (32°F) | Freeze-free days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bismarck, ND | 4a | 14 May | 27 Sep | 136 |
| Madison, WI | 5b | 1 May | 10 Oct | 160 |
| Milwaukee, WI | 6a | 19 Apr | 29 Oct | 192 |
| Atlanta, GA | 8a | 15 Mar | 20 Nov | 252 |
| Orlando, FL | 10a | 25 Jan | winter freezes only | 355 |
| San Diego, CA | 11a | none in a median year | none in a median year | 365 |
Dates are the median 32°F freeze dates and freeze-free days from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; zones come from the USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map (ZIP code of each city centre).
Sources for this section
Section researched and checked on 25 October 2026 by the SoilCommander Editorial Team. How we check facts: editorial policy.
Last verified 2026-10-25
Growing Bambara Groundnut in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
Sources
The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa (PROTA), Useful Tropical Plants (tropical.theferns.info)) is in the references of our UK guide to bambara groundnuts; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do bambara groundnuts take to grow?
Typically 90–180 days, depending on cultivar and growing conditions.
What soil pH do bambara groundnuts need?
A pH of about 5–6.5. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.
Plan next season before the problems start
Almost everything on this page resolves to your own frost dates rather than the calendar — the last spring frost moves by roughly two months between zone 3 and zone 10. The USA Garden Planner works from your zone so the timing is already decided before the season starts.
Get the USA Garden Planner →Instant PDF download · Written for US growing conditions
How this guide is put together
The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against USDA hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with Cooperative Extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.
Related guides
More from the same group (peas & beans):
Growing advice for your part of the USA
Timing and conditions change a lot inside one country. These guides cover frost dates and growing seasons region by region.
Where To Go From Here
Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.
Keep going
Plan the next step
Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.