Growing Peanuts: Hydroponics vs Soil
Quick Facts:
- Peanuts are technically legumes, not nuts
- One peanut plant yields between 25 and 50 peanuts
- Peanut plants grow up to 36 inches (91 cm) tall and 18 inches (45 cm) in diameter
Planting requirements:
- Peanuts are a surprisingly versatile crop. Traditionally they have grown well in the hot and humid American South, but other varieties can be grown as far north as Canada.
- Getting started with growing peanuts is simple: just plant and water some raw, uncooked peanuts and they should sprout within a few days. They can then be transplanted into a new medium if needed.
- Most of the time peanuts are grown in loose soil but recent attempts at hydroponic planting have yielded promising results.
- When growing hydroponically make sure to allow for maximum drainage. The most common growth mediums are:
- Combination of Coco coir + Perlite
- Vermiculite
- Clay pebbles
- Gravel
- Ensure peanuts are planted no closer together than 10 inches (25 cm) or they will crowd each other out for sunlight.
- Avoid nitrogen-rich fertilizers as peanuts create their own nitrogen.
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Ideal growth medium |
Soil-based: Loose soil Hydroponics: Mixture of Coco coir and Perlite |
|
Ideal temperature |
86-93°F (30-34°C) |
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Ideal pH |
5.5-6.5 |
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Ideal sunlight |
>10 hours |
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Type of sunlight required |
Direct sun |
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Watering frequency |
Soil-based: 2-4x per week (when soil begins drying out) Hydroponics: Any frequency |
Harvesting requirements
- The growing season for peanuts is long. Most varieties of peanuts take up to 140 days until they are ready for harvest.
- The four most common varieties of peanuts are ‘Runner’, ‘Virginia’, ‘Spanish’, and ‘Valencia’. Each has different sizes, colors, and tastes.
- ‘Early Spanish’ peanuts are a variation that matures early - sometimes in as quickly as 100 days.
- Peanuts should be harvested when the leaves turn yellow and the inner shells have gold-marked veins.
- After harvesting, peanuts should be dried out for around a month before they will be ready to consume.
|
Time to Maturity |
130 days |
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Crop yield (per plant) |
.42 cups (25-50 peanuts) |
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Total caloric yield (per plant) |
544 calories |
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Protein yield (per plant) |
24.7g |
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Healthy fat yield (per plant) |
47.2g |
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People fed (per plant) |
2.1 people |
Evaluation of Peanuts as a Martian crop
- Overall a single plant will yield somewhere between 25 and 50 peanuts. There are roughly 90 peanuts in 1 cup.
- Peanuts are very healthy. They are high in calories and relatively dense in protein. They are also packed with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
- Peanuts can be consumed in many different ways. Most commonly they are eaten raw, roasted, or ground into peanut butter.
- Peanuts can be stored in an airtight container for up to a year without spoiling.
- To harvest enough peanuts to feed a Mars colony, assume 1 plant will be consumed per day per person.
- For a Mars colony of size n with a peanut plant maturation time of days d, the total number of plants needed is estimated at n*d. This is assuming the colony plants a number of plants equal to n each day. After d days, n plants per day could be harvested and n new plants should be replanted in the existing modules after harvesting.
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Suggested ration |
¼ cup per day, per person |
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Caloric breakdown (out of 1500 cal) |
324 calories - 21.6% |
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Protein breakdown (out of 50g protein) |
14.7g - 29.4% |
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Healthy fat breakdown (out of 45g fats) |
28.1g - 62.4% |
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Plants required* (100 person colony) |
13,000 (100 people * 130 days) |
* This is a conservative estimate. In optimal growing conditions a single plant should feed at least 2.1 colonists per day. These more conservative numbers would allow the colony to store 50% of harvested peanuts to use as a food supply in case of emergency.
Did you know: Mars has 2 moons? Discovered in 1877, they are named Phobos and Deimos. In Latin, Phobos means “Fear” and Deimos means “Panic”.