Tennessee Red Peanuts

Grow your own fresh peanuts with Tennessee Red – a productive heirloom variety that produces flavorful, medium-sized peanuts with distinctive red skin. These bush-type plants are perfect for home gardens and offer the unique experience of harvesting fresh peanuts for roasting, boiling, or making homemade peanut butter.

Growing Information

• Days to maturity: 110-120 days from planting
• Planting: Direct sow after last frost when soil temperature reaches 65°F; plant raw, shelled peanuts 1-2 inches deep, 6-8 inches apart
• Spacing: Rows 24-36 inches apart
• Sun: Full sun (6-8 hours daily)
• Zones: 5-10 (warm-season annual, requires 110+ frost-free days)

Harvest & Use

Harvest when leaves begin to yellow in fall, typically before first frost. Dig entire plants carefully to avoid breaking pods. Cure by hanging plants in a warm, dry, well-ventilated area for 2-3 weeks until pods are dry and peanuts rattle inside. Perfect for roasting, boiling (Southern-style boiled peanuts), making peanut butter, or eating raw. The fresh flavor of homegrown peanuts is incomparable to store-bought. Each plant produces 25-50 peanuts.

Care Tips

Peanuts thrive in loose, sandy, well-drained soil with a pH of 5.9-6.3. Water consistently during flowering and pegging (when flowers burrow into soil to form pods), then reduce watering as pods mature. Hill soil around plants when they're 6 inches tall to encourage pod formation. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers which promote foliage over peanut production. Companion plant with corn, squash, or cucumbers for garden diversity.

Why Choose Tennessee Red

This reliable heirloom variety offers excellent flavor, good yields, and adaptability to various climates with sufficient growing season. Whether you're interested in the unique experience of growing peanuts, want fresh roasted peanuts, or plan to make homemade peanut butter, Tennessee Red delivers rewarding results and superior flavor that makes the effort worthwhile.