Nut · Fabaceae
When to plant peanuts
Peanuts flower above ground, then send pegs into the soil where pods develop. Choose a warm-season cultivar and a light, workable bed; a healthy flowering plant cannot make its usual crop if pegs cannot enter the surface.
Start seed indoors
4 weeks before
Counted from your last spring frost.
Plant out
2 weeks after
Counted from your last spring frost.
Sow direct
2 weeks after
Counted from your last spring frost.
Choose a place for estimated dates and local climate checks.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
These offsets are the starting assumptions used by our calendar for peanuts. They do not establish suitability in every climate. Your seed packet, cultivar and local growing advice take priority; in frost-free places the calendar uses monthly temperature patterns instead.
- Start seed indoors 4 weeks before the last frost.
- Plant out 2 weeks after the last frost.
- Sow direct 2 weeks after the last frost.
- Expect 120–150 days to maturity, counted from sowing.
Getting the timing right
Use sun and drained soil with adequate warmth for establishment. Avoid disturbing the pegging area once flowers are followed by pegs. Check the cultivar's full-season requirement before dedicating a bed in a short summer climate.
Frost tolerance
Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.
Classified as tender, with a catalog cold-damage reference of 0°C (32°F)32°F (0°C). Exposure duration, growth stage and acclimatisation change cold tolerance.
Before you plant peanuts
Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.
- Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 18°C (64.4°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
- Check the local overnight forecast before planting out. Delay planting or keep protection ready if frost is forecast, even after the historical last-frost date.
- Harden off plants raised indoors: gradually expose them to outdoor light, wind and temperature before their final move into the bed.
- Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.
Leave loose soil for the pegs that form underground pods
Use sun and drained soil with adequate warmth for establishment. Avoid disturbing the pegging area once flowers are followed by pegs. Check the cultivar's full-season requirement before dedicating a bed in a short summer climate.
Lift a sample to assess pod maturity rather than judging the crop only from foliage. Harvest carefully and dry sound pods under suitable ventilated conditions before storage, discarding mouldy material. Keep the variety and planting date with the sample record.
What to record this season
Did pegs enter the soil easily, and what proportion of pods were mature when lifted? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.
Further reading: NC State Extension: Arachis hypogaea . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.
The reference describes plant identity and cultivation. Its regional calendar months and hardiness observations do not validate the calculated dates for another location.
How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy