How to Grow Peanuts

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. Peanut (Arachis hypogaea)
  2. At a Glance
  3. Quick Facts
  4. Soil & Growing Conditions
  5. Growth Stages
  6. Harvest & Storage
  7. Diseases
  8. Pests
  9. Plan your Peanuts planting
  10. Growing Peanut in another region
  11. Sources
  12. Frequently Asked Questions

Peanuts are ready to harvest 90–150 days after planting.

The short answer

Ready in
90–150 days
Site
soil pH 5.8–6.5
Biggest risk
Peanut late leaf spot

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea)

A peanut plant with small yellow flowers growing in sandy soil — “Groundnuts farm” by Ibn Dagara is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Also known as: monkey nut, groundnut · 9 sources cited · Verified

At a Glance

Rows of peanut plants growing in a field — “Peanut plant” by Callmemimi430 is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
“Peanut plant” by Callmemimi430 is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Arachis hypogaea Peanut Peanut late leaf spot Peanut Sclerotinia blig… Tobacco thrips Lesser cornstalk borer DISEASES PESTS

Quick Facts

A peanut plant with small yellow flowers growing in sandy soil — “Groundnuts farm” by Ibn Dagara is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Groundnuts farm” by Ibn Dagara is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Factor Value
Soil pH 5.8 - 6.5
Germination temp 20°C
Optimal growing temp 22-32°C
Time to harvest 90-150 days
Drainage Light, well-drained, sandy loam
Lifecycle annual
Edible parts seeds (underground pods)

Soil & Growing Conditions

A dense canopy of peanut plants on a farm — “Groundnut on the farm” by Anniwinner is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Groundnut on the farm” by Anniwinner is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Soil pH range

5.8 6.5

Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.

Growth Stages

A peanut plant with small yellow flowers growing in sandy soil — “Groundnuts farm” by Ibn Dagara is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Groundnuts farm” by Ibn Dagara is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
  1. Sowing and germination (BBCH 0)
  2. Planting out and establishment (BBCH 1): Move on under glass, or outdoors into a warmed mound in early summer, spaced about 30cm each way or 25cm apart in rows 35cm apart; full sun and a sheltered spot (RHS, GrowVeg).
  3. Flowering and pegging (BBCH 6): Small yellow flowers veined with orange appear mid- to late summer; after pollination the flower stem elongates and pushes the ovary underground, where the pod develops (RHS).
  4. Pod fill and harvest (BBCH 8): Needs at least 120 days of hot weather to crop well. Yellowing foliage signals harvest: lift the whole plant and leave it to dry on the soil surface with pods attached for several days (GrowVeg).

Harvest & Storage

Peanut pods in shell, cracked open, shelled and peeled kernels — “Peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) - in shell, shell cracked open, shelled, peeled” by Ivar Leidus is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) - in shell, shell cracked open, shelled, peeled” by Ivar Leidus is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to pick: Clemson: green/boiling peanuts "typically mature from 90 to 110 days after planting"; dry/roasting peanuts "130 to 150 days after planting". For boiling peanuts, "pods that are not filled by the kernel are too young; pods with a dark internal hull color are overmature". For roasting peanuts, ready "when at least 65 percent of the pods have turned dark inside the hull and the seed coats are pink to copper-red in color".

Storage

Dried pods store long-term; green/boiling type used fresh

Diseases

Close-up of peanut foliage with paired oval leaflets — “Groundnut leaf” by Beeyah15 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Groundnut leaf” by Beeyah15 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Peanut late leaf spot

Nothopassalora personata

Tropical Plant Pathology (Springer, peer-reviewed): major foliar disease, yield loss 40-50% in severely affected/defoliated plants.

Peanut Sclerotinia blight

Sclerotinia minor

Oklahoma State Extension: "The fungus Sclerotinia minor primarily causes Sclerotinia blight of peanuts."

Pests

Close-up of peanut foliage with paired oval leaflets — “Groundnut leaf” by Beeyah15 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Groundnut leaf” by Beeyah15 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tobacco thrips

Frankliniella fusca

Tobacco thrips (Frankliniella fusca) is the primary vector of Tomato Spotted Wilt Orthotospovirus in Southeastern US peanuts, also causing direct feeding injury.

Lesser cornstalk borer

Elasmopalpus lignosellus

UGA Extension: in the US south-east the lesser cornstalk borer chews on the pods, contaminating the crop with aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus. It thrives in hot, dry conditions on sandy soils and does poorly wherever…

Plan your Peanuts planting

Timing for Peanuts follows soil temperature and frost, not the calendar date. The Global vegetable planting calendar explains the method. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

Growing Peanut in another region

Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

Sources

  3. Peer-reviewed

  4. Peer-reviewed

These 4 sources are specific to this region. The full list of 9 sources behind this guide (Clemson Cooperative Extension, FAO EcoCrop, GBIF and others) is in the references of our UK guide to peanuts; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do peanuts take to grow?

Typically 90–150 days, depending on cultivar and growing conditions.

What soil pH do peanuts need?

A pH of about 5.8–6.5. 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.

What problems affect peanuts?

Our data links 2 diseases and 2 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

This page gives you the thresholds; the planner turns them into your own calendar. It works from what you can observe and measure in your garden rather than from dates written for somebody else’s latitude.

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SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

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 international horticultural research and extension sources. 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.

Vegetable Growing Guides

Crops With the Same Problems

Last verified 2026-09-02

Related guides

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