This Plant Is Easy to Grow — and It Makes a Tasty Snack

An unexpected bright spot of the past year is how much joy we’ve found in nature — especially at home. This was the year we grew scallions in glasses of water, sprouted new greenery from our bok choy and carrot scraps, and maybe even got avocado pits to grow roots. Sometimes these plant projects provided food, but they also gave us the delightful magic show that is watching plants grow. Mother Nature has another trick we bet you haven’t tried: peanut plants.

Peanuts — and peanut butter — are pantry staples. Yet we rarely give the humble peanut plant the attention it deserves. Thankfully, growing your own is super fun and, yes, will reward you with snacks. All you need is a single raw peanut!

1. Pick a location. Peanut plants need at least eight hours of direct sunlight daily and are happy in containers on the patio, windowsill, or countertop. Choose a container at least 18–20 inches wide and 18 inches deep per plant.
2. Fill your container with rich, well-draining soil.
3. Break open a raw peanut shell to expose the seeds. Plant the seeds at least 2 inches deep in the soil.
4. Water once a week, making sure not to overwater.
5. Peanut plants flower aboveground but produce peanuts underground. After about a month, your plant will sprout yellow flowers. Next, you’ll start seeing “pegs,” stem-like shoots that reach down into the soil (where the peanuts will grow).
6. Once you start seeing flowers, mound more soil around the base of the plant to help out those pegs. Once pegs develop, keep the soil consistently moist.
7. Peanuts are ready to harvest after 130–160 days (four to five months). Stop watering about two weeks before harvest.
8. When the foliage begins to turn yellow, carefully check the soil and pull the plant out by hand. Shake off excess soil and allow the entire plant to dry on a tray or uncovered container — with peanuts still attached — for about a week.
9. Cut the peanut pods from the plant using shears and spread in a single layer in a cool, dry place to cure for two to three weeks.
10. Enjoy!

To see how everything actually comes together, we teamed up with Instagram’s favorite greenery guru, Plant Kween, to demonstrate the entire sowing process. Plant Kween offers brilliant plant advice and self-care wisdom from their plant-packed Brooklyn apartment — which now boasts a beautiful peanut plant, too! Watch Apartment Therapy editor Megan Baker go step-by-step with Plant Kween and gain firsthand peanut insight right here:

Caring for plants can be a rewarding experience, and hopefully, these tips will help you enjoy the process even more. Peanuts are easy enough to grow in almost any climate and at any skill level (expert green thumb not required). Plus, they don’t need as much water as other nut plants, so you can feel good about adding one to your home.

Find everything you need to get started by checking out the National Peanut Board, where you can also read up on peanut nutrition and recipes, as well as learn how the organization supports peanut farmers and their communities around the country. Or just visit @peanutshere for all things peanuts!