Update on The Peanut Experiment
Back in early February I began the Peanut Experiment. Since I am not engaged in a science fair project, my notes and observations have not been detailed. But I do want to share highlights from the experiment. Since it is now almost two months later I feel an update on the experiment is in order.
Update on Peanut Plants
The original plantings included six non-soaked seeds and twelve soaked seeds. The soaked seeds were divided between good and bad quality. I fully expected the soaked seeks to do the best. After all we eat the seeds of the peanut plant and they do have a crunch.
Boy was I wrong! This update shares just how wrong I was. The initial phase of the experiment began February 11. Click here to view the blog post. My February 2020 Wrap-Up shared photos of the first sprouts. At that time it looked like the soaked peanut seeds had the advantage.
Success Rate
However, only one soaked seed ever sprouted. One out of twelve is not a good success rate, just 8 %. But on March 5th a second of the non-soaked seeds popped through the seed starter mixture followed by another on March 8th. By the 21st of March, no other peanuts had sprouted. So, I planted non-soaked seeds in the cells without growth.
As you can see from the photo update, the peanut seed pushes up through the soil surface. The first of these new seeds pushed through the soil a week ago. A few days ago, I gently tugged at the non-sprouted seed. Roots firmly held in place, so I decided to wait a little longer before writing an update.
The wait proved warranted. Three new sprouts have sprung . Two more cells have indications that soil is being pushed up. The surface of the crust is breaking. Each peanut seed is planted at a depth of 1 ½ inches. Thus, basically towards the bottom of the cell. Yet the seeds surface before the green sprout appears. The roots are quite strong. Since peanuts are legumes, this makes sense to me.
Transplant Update in a Month
Peanuts need warm air to thrive and are damaged by even a light frost. So, I will not transplant these peanuts until after Mother’s Day. (We have had snow on the ground to usher in Mother’s Day.) However, once I do pop these into my raised row garden, I will post another update. I am quite excited about possibly transplanting as many as ten peanut plants started by seed into my legume row. Rotating crops is a gardening priority. Soon these peanut seeds will follow the peas and precede the beans into the legime row.