Harvesting peanuts and preparing them for storage
In mid-May, peanuts are planted in open ground, and in mid-October, the peanut crop is ready for harvest. The peanuts are ready to be harvested when the plant tops are dry. This happens by mid-autumn. In order to collect peanuts, you need to dig up its fruits. Unlike potatoes, peanut fruits can be dug in one movement of the shovel. To do this, pry the plant with a shovel, and then pull it out of the soil by the tops. Remnants of soil are removed from the peanut.
Peanut pods form a cream-colored shell. In small-fruited varieties of peanuts, there are four beans in the shell, and in large-fruited varieties, two fruits with a diameter of 4 cm or more.
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Preparing peanuts for storage
After harvesting, peanuts must be washed to remove soil and debris in warm water. The peanuts are then placed in plastic mesh crates to dry. The fruit boxes are placed in a well-ventilated place on a hill so that the air ventilates the fruit from all sides. Then the peanuts are brought into a warm room and placed on the windowsill near the radiator for final drying. The peanuts should spend one to two weeks on the windowsill.
Never place the trays with peanut pods in the oven, otherwise the fruits will bake inside the shell and will not be suitable for planting. If you set a high temperature, then peanuts cannot be eaten, because carcinogens are formed in it.
After drying, the peanuts intended for human consumption are peeled from the shell and placed in the refrigerator. After two days of cooling, the peanuts will be ready to eat fresh and can be fried.
If you want to keep the peanuts for planting next season, shell the peanuts and dry a second time. Then the fruits are placed in cloth bags and stored at room temperature in the closet or kitchen. Before spring planting, groundnuts are soaked. After they are re-saturated with water and germinate, the beans will sprout well.
Prepare your planting stock to get quality peanuts every year. If you harvest your seeds, then keep all the varietal characteristics of the peanut.