The kids will just love growing their very own peanuts, writes Janice Marriott.
Get children hooked on gardening by helping them grow peanuts.
Peanuts are unusual plants to grow because they bury their own seeds. Kids are fascinated when the yellow flower withers, and the stalk quickly lengthens, bends over, and buries the pod in the soil.
To grow them you have to convince the plant it's in an environment much like its South American home. If you don't have four months of frost-free days ahead of you, use a plastic bag turned upside down over a pot to create an environment the peanut will thrive in.
Peanuts can be grown in containers, but allow plenty of room for the burying of the pods . You want a container at least 50cm wide and 20cm deep.
The plant will grow up to 40cm tall.
Plant it in full sun and in rich soil. The pods ripen 120 to 150 days after the seeds are planted. Harvest your crop when the whole plant dies. Leave the nuts in the sun for three to four days to dry out. Eat them as is, or make peanut butter by whizzing them, and some peanut oil, in the food processor.
