Peanuts.
According to most peanut growing tips, hardiness zones 8 through 12 are the more ideal zones to grow peanuts.
But why do I have such a distinct memory of digging up peanuts in the garden with my grandmother on Long Island, NY in the 1960s?
Last winter (2012/2013), being the sucker that I am during the cold weather months, I wound up buying peanuts in the shell, not just for the birds, but yes, for the squirrels as well. With the peanut feeder, it kept them occupied for a while and they and
the blue jays then left the bird feeders alone.
As I started to prepare planting areas in the back garden, I inadvertently dug this up
in May 2013...
Evidence those squirrels were busy planting the peanuts throughout the yard and garden.
As the summer progressed, I found peanut plants sprouting up throughout the back garden. In flower beds, tucked in between rocks and paths, under bushes, in the dense zoysia lawn, under the bird bath... just planted all over! (At one point when I realized the squirrels never really ate those peanuts I put out that winter and simply had buried them all over the place, I had to be ruthless and pull up a lot of peanut seedlings or they were mowed over.)
And thus, my big peanut experiment began.
I figured, Let them grow!
In July they began to flower...
In November, I found evidence of a squirrel harvest...
And realized if I didn't do my own harvest, my peanut growing experiment results would never be known since it was a sure thing those farmer squirrels would get a return on their work.
I began pulling up the plants and voilà!
Some of the peanuts were really quite sizable!
But since alas, I really am only in zone 7b, this was the harvest for the season.
All in all, not too bad since I didn't plant them in the sunniest spot, or in areas where they could really flourish and spread. And aside from being careful not to step on them, I didn't really put much care into them other than watering them with the rest of the garden plants. I just let them grow wherever the squirrels buried them, some spots were in the shade or too close to other plants where they got crowded, some sprouted later than others. I don't think any were really ideally planted in the best spot. Those farmer squirrels need to learn a bit more about farming.
My peanut experiment does confirm my memory of pulling up the plants with my grandmother, something my older siblings told me over the years was absolutely impossible.
I remember it being warm, the two of us kneeling down with the sun on our backs.
I even remember the spot in the yard! And I recall - and can still feel and hear- the peanuts falling to the bottom of the A&P Eight O' Clock coffee can I held out towards her as she shook off sand and dirt from the newly dug up peanuts and dropped them in.
ps - most likely those peanuts made their way into this something that my maternal grandmother always made with peanuts... and while I like peanuts, never liked them in this dish!