What are the cultivation methods for peanut sprouts?
Peanut sprouts are a food that serves both as a remedy and a dish. They can not only be eaten raw, but are also especially rich in nutrients. Their content of energy, protein and crude fat ranks first among all kinds of vegetables, and they are rich in vitamins, minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron and zinc, as well as various amino acids and trace elements needed by the human body, giving them high prospects for cultivation. Now let us take a look at the cultivation methods for peanut sprouts!
Cultivation Preparation
1. Variety: Choose small-seeded peanut varieties. Use new seeds produced in the current year that are plump, uniform in size, undamaged, with strong germination vigor and a high germination rate.
2. Site: Peanut sprout production has relatively strict requirements for temperature and humidity conditions. It generally does not need light, but requires fresh and smooth air. An idle living room or an old vacant room can be used.
3. Container: Foam boxes of various specifications can be used. Generally, choose a box 60 cm long, 40 cm wide and 25 cm high. The bottom of the box is required to be flat and have drainage and ventilation holes.
Sowing Methods
1. Seed selection: Use new seeds from the current year, preferably small-seeded white-skinned peanut varieties. Choose seeds that are plump, uniform in size, intact and undamaged, with a germination rate above 95%.
2. Seed soaking: Soak the selected seeds in clean water for 12 to 24 hours so that the seeds fully absorb water and swell. Then remove the seeds, rinse them with clean water 2 to 3 times, and then proceed to germination.
3. Germination: Germination should be carried out in seedling trays. Sow the soaked seeds directly in the seedling trays, then stack the trays for stacked-tray germination. The temperature should preferably be 22 to 25°C.
4. Sowing: Clean and disinfect the cultivation container, then place the germinated seeds in the tray. Sow about 500 grams per seedling tray, but they must be placed in a single layer and must not be piled up.
Cultivation Management
1. Seed culling: 2 to 3 days after peanut sowing, when the seed sprouts have grown to 1 cm, remove all the seed kernels that have not sprouted.
2. Temperature: The suitable temperature for peanut sprout growth is 18 to 25°C. In summer, spray more water to cool down, and in winter, strengthen insulation.
3. Watering: Water 3 to 4 times daily, preferably with clean well water. The amount of water should be enough to wet all the sprouts and soak the substrate thoroughly.
4. Light: During cultivation, the room should be kept dim and no light should be allowed, otherwise the peanut sprouts will turn green, affecting appearance and taste.
5. Harvest: Under normal cultivation conditions, from sowing to harvest takes 7 to 8 days in summer and autumn, and 8 to 10 days in winter and spring.