How to Grow and Manage Peanut Sprouts

Peanut sprouts are a food that serves both as food and medicine. They can be eaten raw and are especially rich in nutrients. Their energy, protein and crude fat content ranks first among all vegetables, and they are rich in vitamins, minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron and zinc, and the various amino acids and trace elements the human body needs. They have very high prospects for cultivation. Let's take a look together at how to grow peanut sprouts!

Growing Preparation

1. Variety: Choose small-seeded peanut varieties. Use new seeds from 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 strict requirements for temperature and humidity conditions. Generally no light is needed, but fresh, flowing air is required. An idle living room or an old empty 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 should 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, completely undamaged and with a germination rate above 95%.

2. Seed soaking: Soak the selected seeds in clean water for 12-24 hours so they fully absorb water and swell. Then scoop out the seeds, rinse them 2-3 times with clean water, and then proceed to germination.

3. Germination: Germination should be done in seedling trays. Sow the soaked seeds directly into the trays, then stack the trays up for stacked-tray germination. A temperature of 22-25°C is suitable.

4. Sowing: Clean and disinfect the growing container, then place the germinated seeds in the tray. Sow about 500 grams per tray, but they must be placed in a single layer and must not be piled up.

Growing Management

1. Seed culling: 2-3 days after sowing peanuts, when the sprouts are 1 cm long, remove all the seed kernels that have not sprouted.

2. Temperature: The suitable growing temperature for peanut sprouts is 18-25°C. In summer, spray more water to cool them down; in winter, strengthen insulation.

3. Watering: Water 3-4 times daily, preferably with clean well water. Water until the sprouts are all moistened and the substrate is soaked through.

4. Light: During cultivation, the room should be kept dim with no light, otherwise the peanut sprouts will turn green, affecting their appearance and taste.

5. Harvesting: Under normal growing conditions, from sowing to harvest takes 7-8 days in summer and autumn, and 8-10 days in winter and spring.

Sand Culture Production Technique for Peanut Sprouts

Peanut sprouts are crisp, tender, refreshing and nutritious. They are a new type of pollution-free sprout vegetable, suitable for all ages. Using white foam insulated boxes for sand culture production of peanut sprouts is especially suitable for home production, growing your own for your own consumption, economical and nutritious. Below is an introduction to the key techniques of sand culture production of peanut sprouts.

I. Seed Selection

Choose small-seeded peanut varieties such as Tianfu No. 3 and Jihua No. 4, or use black peanut varieties with higher nutritional value. Requirements: plump kernels, uniform in size, undamaged, free of pests and diseases, strong germination vigor, high germination rate, new peanut seeds from the current year.

II. Seed Soaking and Germination

First soak in 50°C warm water for 1 minute, then soak in clean water for 8-10 hours, changing the water twice during this period. Once the seeds are fully swollen with water, rinse them twice with clean water, then put them into a woven bag made of cotton thread or an insulated box to germinate. Sow when the seeds show white sprouts.

III. Making Beds and Sowing

Pour sand into the insulated box to a thickness of more than 30 cm, then level it with a scraper. Evenly scatter the germinated peanut seeds into the bed, sowing densely without leaving gaps. After sowing, cover with 5 cm of fine sand and water thoroughly once. Cover the top with black plastic film or newspaper to block light and retain moisture.

IV. Tray Management

Sand retains moisture well, so generally no watering is needed 2-3 days after sowing. From day 3-5, spray water once with a watering can, always keeping the tray environment dark and moist. During cultivation, the insulated box should be placed in a dark environment to prevent the peanut sprouts from turning green in the light, which affects taste and quality. Spray water in a dark environment and cover the shading material promptly after spraying.

V. Timely Harvesting

When the sprouts grow to 8-10 cm tall, the top sprout petals have not yet opened, and the sprouts are thick, white and tender, they can be harvested. The sprouts can be eaten after being washed clean.

Key Techniques for Growing, Managing and Harvesting Sprouts

Sprouts are often short for sprout vegetables and bean sprouts. Common varieties include soybean sprouts, mung bean sprouts, red bean sprouts, peanut sprouts, pea sprouts and radish sprouts. They are eaten for the plant's young tender organs. Because seed contamination is low during cultivation, growth is fast, environmental conditions are easy to control, and the growth cycle is short, both production efficiency and economic returns are very high. Let's take a look at sprout growing techniques!

Selecting Seeds

Choose new seeds with a germination rate above 95%, high purity and cleanliness, plump grains and no contamination. Chinese toon seeds in particular easily lose germination ability under high temperatures, so even more care should be taken to use new seeds that have not been through the summer (rub off the wings before use). Sprouts grown from such seeds grow fast, are sturdy, form fiber slowly, have low yield, and are tender in quality and pollution-free.

Seed Soaking and Germination

Rinse the selected seeds 2-3 times with clean water at 20-30°C, then soak them in water 2-3 times the volume of the seeds. The time is slightly longer in winter and shorter in summer. Generally, peas 18-24 hours, Chinese toon 12-20 hours, buckwheat 24-36 hours, radish 6-8 hours. After soaking, rub off the mucilage on the seed coat, drain the excess water, put the seeds in a flat-bottomed container, cover with a wet towel, and germinate peas at a constant 18-22°C and Chinese toon at 20-23°C. After 48 hours for peas, buckwheat and Chinese toon, and 24 hours for radish, when the sprouts reach 2-3 mm, they can be sown.

Sowing Technique

Wash the sowing trays and line the bottom with 1-2 layers of white paper (or old newspaper), letting the paper absorb enough water. Evenly scatter the germinated seeds on the wet substrate. Generally, for a tray of 60×25×5 cm, sow 350-400 grams of peas, 150-170 grams of buckwheat, 80-100 grams of radish, or 30-50 grams of Chinese toon per tray. After sowing, stack the trays neatly together and cover well with black plastic film. Do "stacked-tray germination" for peas at 18-13°C, buckwheat and radish at 20-25°C, and Chinese toon at 20-23°C. After 2 days, when the sprouts reach 2-3 cm, the trays can be "put on the shelf" and begin to grow in light at these temperatures.

Sprout Management

1. Light: Buckwheat sprouts and baby radish greens need stronger light, Chinese toon seedlings need medium light, and dragon-whisker peas are more adaptable. Note that during sprout growth, light must not be too strong, otherwise cellulose forms early and quality is affected; too weak or insufficient light easily makes sprouts thin and weak, leading to lodging and rotting.

2. Water: Since sprout vegetables are fresh, tender and juicy, they must be watered frequently, spraying or misting 2-3 times daily, until the substrate in the tray is moist but not dripping heavily. Spray less on cloudy and rainy days or when temperatures are low, and more in high temperatures and dry conditions.

3. Ventilation: Ventilate every day to regulate temperature and humidity.

Timely Harvesting

Sprout vegetables are harvested for their young tender stems and leaves. The tissues are tender and high in water content, and they are mostly sold as whole living trays. The harvest standards are as follows.

1. Dragon-whisker peas: Sprouts are pale yellow-green, 10-12 cm tall, uniform, with the top cotyledons unfolded, tender and not yet fibrous.

2. Chinese toon seedlings: Sprouts are deep green, 8-12 cm tall, uniform, with cotyledons unfolded and plump, the heart leaves not yet out, and a rich fragrance.

3. Buckwheat sprouts: Sprout cotyledons are green, the hypocotyl is red, the sprouts are 12-15 cm tall, uniform, with cotyledons flat and fully plump.

4. Baby radish greens: Sprouts are emerald green, 8-10 cm tall, uniform. Cotyledons are flat and plump.