How to Grow Peanuts

However, peanuts do not look like most regular nuts - and there is a good reason for that. This is because peanuts are fairly unique in the nut world, as they grow underground and - unlike most other nut varieties - are not produced by large trees.
Peanuts are a native to South America and are believed to have first been cultivated as a farmed crop in the valleys of Peru. To be fair though, peanuts are not what we would consider to be a true nut, but are in fact legumes - the pea family. This then really does make it a pea nut!

What is a peanut?

The peanut is a small annual herbaceous plant that grows to 30-40 cm tall. It produces a typical peaflower flower which is usually yellow with reddish veining.

Weirdly, once pollinated the flower stalk will begin to bend until the fertilized ovary touches the ground. However, the stalk continues to grow and pushes the ovary underground! The ovary continues to develop into a legume pod which matures into what we commonly call a peanut. Each pod can be between 1-3 inches long and containing as many as 4 ‘seeds’.

How to grow peanuts:

While you can have some good success by planting peanuts bought at the grocery store -  raw ones, not roasted, you will do far better by purchasing proper seed peanuts from a good plant retailer. Purchased peanut seed should still be in their shells, but you will have to shell them immediately before planting or they may dry out to  a point where they will not germinate.

Given their long growing season, you may want to get your peanut plants started early indoors. Use paper or peat pots as can reduce root shock when it comes to transplanting. You will need pots that are 3-4 inches in diameter so if you cant find biodegradable pots at this size them use plastic instead.

Start your seeds 3 or 4 weeks before you expect your last frost date. Using a good quality compost such as John Innes 'Seed and Potting' , plant 2 or 3 seeds in each pot, and  covered them with 2 inches of compost soil. Keep them well watered, but don’t have the compost waterlogged as this will damage the juvenile root system.

Once the peanut seeds begin to germinate, remove the weakest leaving just one strong peanut plant per pot. Your peanuts or seedlings should be planted outside into their final position once there is no more threat of frost.

Planting peanuts outside:

Dig your soil down at least 6 inches to loose in it up for the growing peanut roots. You may need to add a little extra lime to the soil to balance the pH, but this should only be done once a soil test has confirmed that this is necessary.

As it grows, your peanut plant will produce runners, and each one will eventually grow a peanut at the end underground. These runners start out as the above-ground flowers. So once you see the plant’s flower starting to wilt and bend down, do not pick them off. That’s where the next generation of peanuts will be produced. Those downward growing stems are commonly known as “pegs”

When you see your plants starting to grow their pegs, lightly dig around the plants in order to loosen up the soil. The peg needs to grow down underground so you don’t want it blocked by stones or compacted soil.

Once your plant has set down its pegs, do not cultivate or weed to roughly around the plant or you could accidentally pull up or break off a runner. Mulching can help keep the weeds down, but do not add mulch until the pegs have moved down into the soil.

You will want to water your plants frequently, but avoid giving them too much water at once. Fertilizing is fine though not really necessary. Use a low-nitrogen formula or you will end up with very bushy plants and no peanuts. When the plants begin to flower, a treatment with a calcium-rich fertilizer can help with nut formation.

Growing peanuts in containers: 

Peanuts can be grown to harvest in containers, but you need to allow for extra surface space for the pegs to be put down by the plant. Your peanuts should be in pots no smaller than 20 inches across and at least a foot deep. You can only have one plant per pot.

Keep your plants well-watered but take care not to let the roots get waterlogged. It is important that your containers are well drained.

Read More

How to Use Comfrey as an Organic Fertilizer

For any grower who desires to grow their vegetation by using tight natural concepts, modern fertilisers can often be a bit of a staying point. However, help is at hand from the local Western natural herb Comfrey – otherwise known as ‘Knitbone’ as it was once used as a conventional solution to help cure brittle bone fragments.

Comfrey has a normally strong based and comprehensive main system which functions as a powerful accumulator by getting a variety of nutritional value from strong within the ground. These nutritional value normally acquire within its fast growing results in - up to 4-5 lbs per plant when cut. Because comfrey results in lack " floating " fibrous cells they can easily crack down coming back their nutritional value to the ground surface making them more easily accessible to designed vegetation. In addition there is little risk of nitrogen being ‘locked up’ during breaking down when comfrey is dug into the ground as the as well as to nitrogen rate of the results in is lower than that of a well-rotted wealthy compost. Comfrey is also full of blood potassium - an essential plant vitamin needed for plant, seeds and fruit development. In fact comfrey results in contain 2-3 times more blood potassium than most farmyard manures.

There are various ways in which comfrey can be used as a manure, the most common are as follows:

Comfrey can be used as a wealthy compost activator - Add comfrey to a wealthy compost pile to add nitrogen. Its rapid breaking down will also help to heat the wealthy compost pile. However, comfrey should not be added in big amounts as it will easily crack down into a black sludgy fluid that will need to be healthy with more " floating " fibrous, as well as wealthy content.

Comfrey fluid manure – This can be created by either decaying results in down in rain water for 4–5 weeks to generate a prepared to use 'comfrey tea’, or by putting dry results in under a weight in a package with an opening in the platform. When the results in break down, a dense black comfrey focus can be gathered. This must be watered down at a rate of 15:1 before use.

Comfrey as a compost or top putting on a costume – By implementing a 2 " wide part of comfrey results in around your preferred plant, it will gradually crack down and launch a variety of plant nutritional value. It is especially useful for plants that need extra blood potassium, such as fruiting vegetation, but there is also proof that it can improve spud plants too. Comfrey can be permitted wilt a little bit before application but however you use, avoid using blooming arises as these can take main.

Comfrey planting wealthy compost – This was initially designed to be used together with peat moss, but ecological attention has led to a leaf-mold based alternative being implemented instead. Two year old, well corroded foliage pattern should be used, as this perfectly takes up the nutrient-rich fluid launched as the comfrey decays. Using a black plastic material bag, different 3-4 inches wide levels of foliage pattern followed by 3-4 inches wide of sliced comfrey results in. Add a little dolomitic limestone to a little bit increase the pH level. Keep for between 2–5 months based on the season, but make sure that you check that it does not dry out or become too wet. The combination will be prepared when the comfrey results in have rotten and are no longer noticeable. This mix can be used as a muli-purpose planting wealthy compost, although it will be too wealthy for new plants.

Read More

What Is The World's Most Poisonous Snake?

1. The most venomous snake on land:

The Most Venomous Snake toward land is that the 'fierce Snake', Otherwise referred to as The 'inland Taipan'. The unimaginable inland  Oxyuranus scutellatus Has the foremost nephrotoxic Venom Of Any Land Snake within the World. the utmost Yield Recorded For One Bite Is 110mg, Enough To Kill concerning a hundred Humans, Or 250,000 Mice! With associate degree Ld/50 Of zero.03mg/kg, it's ten Times As Venomous because the Crotalus scutulatus, And fifty Times over The Common elapid snake. luckily, The inland  Oxyuranus scutellatus Snake isn't significantly Aggressive And is never Encountered By Humans within the Wild. No Fatalities Have Ever Been Recorded, tho' It may probably Kill associate degree Adult Human inside forty five Minutes.

2. The Most Venomous Snake In The Water

This Carries 2 Titles, the primary Is That it's the foremost Venomous Snake within the Water, The Second Is That it's the foremost Venomous Snake within the World. it's referred to as The 'belcher's ocean Snake' And a couple of Milligrams is robust Enough To Kill one thousand People! fortuitously, but 1/4 Of Bites can Contain Venom, and that they ar comparatively Docile.
Fisherman ar sometimes The Victims of those Bites, As They Encounter The Species once they Pull Nets From The Ocean. The Belcher's serpent are often Found Throughout Waters Off South East Asia And Northern Australia.

Read More

What do peacocks eat?

The pheasant emerges from dense forest within the early morning to feed at its favorite spot, and can shortly subsequently moves off to search out water. Wild pheasant forever live close to a convenient water supply. The peacock can eat virtually something, however it always feeds on grain, seeds, fruit and insects. However, the peacock isn't loth to supplementing its diet with the odd little snake or mouse.

As evenfall approaches, the peacock can come to identical spa for a final drink before moving off to roost within the trees for the night. wherever do peacocks live? Peacocks sleep in little teams in mountainous forest areas. They pay their days on the bottom, finding shade in impenetrable thickets, returning at evenfall to the trees wherever they roost for the night.

As they climb the trees within the late afternoon their screeching decision are often detected. Incidentally, Indians believe the decision of the pheasant means there'll be rain! They additionally believe that the iridescent 'eyes' on the peacocks tail have hypnotic qualities. Being sociable and far loved  by individuals in its native environs, pheasant will typically be found around human settlements. In its really wild state, the fabulous body covering amazingly acts nearly as good

Peafowl have very regular habits. They keep to identical roost and inclose identical place day once day. The peacock can even have a specially chosen place for displaying. Preyed upon by tiger and leopards, the pheasant typically acts as AN early warning system for alternative game animals. It tends to note huge cats long before the other creatures do, and raises the alarm with a loud hoot.

Read More