How to grow peanut in Canberra
Arachis hypogaea
Also called Groundnut, Goober, Goober pea, Monkey nut
Frost in Canberra rules out the cool zone's usual months for peanut. Ask the growers at your garden what works locally.
Unusually for a legume, the peanut sets its pods below the soil, and those pods hold the edible seeds. Native to South America, the plant hosts bacteria in its root nodules that fix nitrogen, making it useful in crop rotations. The seeds also yield oil and peanut butter.
When to sow in Canberra
Canberra, ACT is in the cool zone. The zone also plants in Sep to Nov, but Canberra's frost dates make those months risky for a frost-tender crop.
Matches local guides.
Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.
Frost in Canberra
Frost usually arrives in Canberra around early April and finishes by early November. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as mid March or as late as late November, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.
From its Bureau of Meteorology station, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.
On a shared plot: suits a plot
Finishes in a season and stays within its space, so it suits most plots.
Growing details
- How to start
- Raise seedlings, then transplant
- Sowing depth
- 2.5cm
- Plant spacing
- 30cm
- Row spacing
- 90cm
- Height
- 40cm
- Germination
- About 14 days
- Time to harvest
- 120 days from sowing
- Frost
- Frost tender
- Sun
- Full sun
- Life cycle
- annual
These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.