Family: Fabaceae
Scientific name: Arachis Hypogaea
Common name: Peanut
Origin: South America

Grow your own peanuts? That’s possible! This annual plant can be easily cultivated on e.g. the windowsill and starts producing peanuts after a couple of months. The yellow flowers bloom only half a day and grow stalks that keep getting longer after pollination (normally by insects; in a room, you can use a brush). At any given time, they are so long that they can reach the ground and bore into it. Peanuts are namely formed underground and grow on the end of these stems. To let the peanuts grow well, you should keep the ground a bit drier, 6 weeks after flowering. You can water the plant occasionally, but only marginally. Then, the peanuts need about one month to grow before you can remove them out of the ground. Bon appetit!
 
Sowing description: Sow seeds in sowing mix at room temperature. Very easy to germinate.

Sowing time: January - May
Difficulty: Easy
Minimum temperature: 12 degrees Celcius

Photo 2: H. Zell