How to grow peanut in Charters Towers
Arachis hypogaea
Also called Groundnut, Goober, Goober pea, Monkey nut
Frost in Charters Towers rules out the tropical 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 Charters Towers
Charters Towers, QLD is in the tropical zone. The zone also plants in Mar to May, but Charters Towers's frost dates make those months risky for a frost-tender crop.
Not yet checked against a local guide.
Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.
Frost in Charters Towers
Frost usually arrives in Charters Towers around early July and finishes by late July. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as mid June or as late as late August, 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.