Just peanuts

[ncboman]

Thought I'd start a thread here so we can monitor peanut growth thru the summer in the field behind my house.

Now this isn't the absolute best land for peanuts but it's pretty darn good. Feel free to post comments or questions.

Starting with the sprouting pics taken the evening of May 29th;





I think these were planted Saturday afternoon, May 20, but I'm not positive. I'll ask the farmer.

anyway, a few day later;





pics above were taken the evening of June 3rd.

We've been getting showers most days of late and the above pics were taken after the first real soaking rain we had. They should establish pretty well now and more rain forcast the next two days. Peanuts on stiffer land around the county may get hurt by all the water but on this sandy land, the peanuts will love it.

Looks like the farmer timed his planting perfectly.

[txm]

NC
Do the farmers irrigate the peanuts?
We have several areas that grow peanuts commercially and all have to irrigate get them to live and produce.
This makes it impractical to grow them for wildlife food.
Water in general is the limiting factor on what we can grow for the creatures.
When we add the shorter life span when deer feed on them regularly, we just can’t see growing them for the deer.
Our deer in peanut areas produce at best average antler development.
The fields sure offer some of the best waterfowl hunting that you will ever see.

[ncboman]

The large farming operations irrigate just about everything but the field we are monitoring is farmed by one of the few remaining small time farmers who uses no irrigation at all.

Not really needed here for peanuts unless a dry year, which isn't likely on the coastal plain.

I meant to save seed peanuts from last year but got sidetracked. This fall I plan on obtaining plenty for next year's food plot.

Farmers use to leave peanut fields idle after harvest and wildlife used them all winter. Nowdays farmers turn the field and plant rye soon after harvesting the peanuts and bailing the peanut hay. It's not the same.

[txm]

The post harvest has changed in this area also.
It is harvest, bale and to suppress disease they then burn the residue.
When the weather doesn’t allow the burning the geese and ducks come in and clean the fields.

[ncboman]

Only fields that get burned here are wheat stubble. It's probably better on sandy land to turn it in to hold moisture than to burn. Not enough left to burn anyway once the bailing is done.

We have endless flocks of blackbirds migrating in the fall and they decend on the peanut fields in an endless procession for a couple of weeks in Nov.

Later in winter, even with rye coming up, foxes and coons work the fields lookin for a morsel or a mouse. The geese seem more interested in eating grass than peanuts around here, maybe because peanuts are slim pickins after the blackbirds.

Rained this morning and again tonight. I did manage to get a small job done in between.

[txm]

What is rain?

[ncboman]

6 11 06

[ncboman]

Do deer like peanuts?

This afternoon, 6 12 06;

[freedomrules3]

looks like them peanuts are getting good eating size to me . they grow pretty quick too it appears. had a farmer grow cotton up here in stockton last year, it was the first time i ever saw t grown around here. never saw peanuts grown up here to my knowledge either. i'm sure both could be grown here but corn must pay better.

[ncboman]

Peanuts make much much more money per acre than corn. Peanut acreage is restricted by allotments. I don't know why it isn't grown on the shore. The sandy land there looks perfect for them.

[ncboman]

about time for an update.







my rabbits love em too. ;D