# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Gardening >  Can I grow peanuts in a Michigan garden?

## sofasurfer

I just read that peanuts will grow in Michigan if started early. Also that peanuts are rarely difficult to grow. Anyone here grown them in northern climates? Any comments welcome.

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## Rick

You should be able to grow them with a bit of luck on the weather. They generally take around 120 days that are frost free but there are varieties in the 100 day range. You should be able to find a variety for zone 5. If you happen to live in zone 6 all the better. Give your county extension service a call. They should be able to tell you which varieties will work best, when and how to plant them and what soil is best. Fresh goobers are not anything like processed nuts. Some folks don't like them fresh. I had an uncle that grew them in S. Illinois and he would usually have to chase me out of the patch.

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## edr730

I've grown them back during the blizzard years of the 70's. Had about 60 ft in rows. Did well, had lots of peanuts, but I never got them out of the ground to harvest. Had too much other stuff growing. I might have been preparing for the ice age that NASA was predicting at the time....don't recall.

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## matsurikafarra

Yes! Unlike most plants, the peanut plant flowers above the ground, but fruits below ground. I guess it takes 4 to 5 months to harvest the peanut , will it depends in the types and variety.

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## ClayPick

The peanut stops growing once frost gets the leaves. That's the tricky part. Annapolis Seeds have been selecting and running trials for a number of years and are getting ready to sell seed for a cold climate.

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## Batch

I'm with Rick, fresh peanuts out of the ground are very good. I like them raw if they are a week or two before harvest. These peanuts that are taken early also make the best boiled peanuts. You get green peanuts in the store vs ones that are boiled right after picking and those fresh picked peanuts are far better.

True green peanuts have like 35-45% of their moisture. While a peanut that is turned and allowed to dry in the sun in the field has like a 10% moisture content. So, true green peanuts will spoil much faster than a dried peanut.

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## Batch

Oh, if you like boiled peanuts, see if you can find some Hardy Farms boiled peanuts. For store bought peanuts they are pretty good. 

If your in Georgia look them up. They have like 50 stands in Georgia that have fresh boiled peanuts.

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