Thursday, October 14, 2010

Peanuts and peppers


Last spring I planted peanuts in two different locations. In the first patch, I made ridges to plant them in, and they grew very well. The boys mulched the after the plants got going well. The other patch, however, was decimated by crows. peanuts in the summer kitchenThey picked the seed out of the ground soon after it was planted. Granted, they did leave one or two peanuts that sprouted and grew only to be choked out by the weeds later on.

I dug on row of the peanuts that grew well last week, and the boys dug the other five rows earlier this week. The plants produced well. It was interesting to pull up the plants and find where they had rooted from the vines through the mulch and set on peanuts there as well as at the base of the plants.

We fed the vines to the cows who absolutely love them. The boys spread out the vines from their digging so that they could dry, and I feed some of these to the cows when milking. Both Josie and Tilly are eager to eat this treat at milking time.

After picking the peanuts off of the vines, we spread them out on a couple of window screens to dry outside for a few days. We moved them inside the summer kitchen when we got a little rain. It’s a pretty sight to have screens of peanuts spread out. The peanuts also taste really good. I don’t care for raw peanuts generally, but these are good raw. They’re also good sautéed in a little butter or roasted in the oven.

I also built a frame from which Anne can hang sweet peppers above the wood stove to dry them. I set out a lot of pepper plants in hopes of having a lot to dry. However, the plants didn’t bloom or set on many peppers until September. I’ve had that happen before – really nice plants that don’t produce until the end of the season.

Anne cuts the peppers into rings, runs a string through them, and hangs them up to dry. When they are completely dry, she stores them in jars. They are a nice addition to chili, meatloaf, and other dishes. The children also enjoy just eating them.

9 comments:

Kat

I never heard of boiled peanuts until I moved south. I love them! Have you ever had them?

Kelle at The Never Done Farm

I'm green with envy, we LOVE peanuts :o)

Your drying rack is wonderful! We just hang our peppers and herbs on the front porch to dry, but really like your approach better.

Glad to see your posts again, we've missed them.
Blessings,
Kelle

dp

I've only tried boiled peanuts one time at the urging of a friend. I wasn't impressed. Perhaps they weren't done right.

Are you able to grow peanuts in your neck of the woods, Kelle?

duckidaho

Peanuts aren't reputed to grow in my area although I've never tried. It's good to see you posting again. My garden has been late this year too. I hardly got any tomatoes although I did get some peppers. Still, the good Lord has been good to me.

dp

Hopefully, I will be posting more on this blog. I've spent a lot of time working on our house and have posted frequently about it on my other blog (Cedar Ridge Farm. There are a lot of things to post about here, of course, it's just a matter of time.

Anonymous

Glad to see the success of your peanut harvest. I think we might be able to grow them here (western NC). Where did you get your seed?? Jennifer

dp

Our seed was given to us by a friend in Illinois. I don't know the variety, but they tend to have 3 or 4 peanuts per shell.

Ann from KY

did you give up on the blog? you haven't posted for a long time. hope all is well with you and your family Ann from KY

dp

Anne, I've not given upon my blog. I've just been lazy, I guess. We are all fine here, and I will be back to posting soon.

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