Peanuts...Get Your Peanuts!

Doug and Papa completed their peanut harvest this week and I could see a little of the stress melt away (a very welcome expression to say the least!). 

Living in the South, who doesn't absolutely love peanuts?  It's a favorite pastime in the Summer to savor those delicious perfectly salted boiled peanuts!  Look closer to see where else these nuts come to good use.


Here are some pictures from this year's harvest and some not-so-techno terms from a Farmer's Wife! 





Here the mature peanuts are being dug (a more technical term is "inverting"), where blades dig into the soil and essentially flip the peanuts over.  Once this phase is complete those pretty green vines have to dry out before the combine can process. (See Below)  Advanced technology now allows growers the ability to use GPS systems to aid in planting and a more efficient harvest - hence the late night hours.

Here is a close-up of the peanuts almost ready for harvest!

Farm machinery has come such a long way.  The peanut combine to me is like a huge vacuum cleaner.  If you look closely it's pulling in the peanuts - blowing them into the basket - and blowing the vines out the back of the machine.  How cool is that!  Those vines are nutrient rich and help preserve the soil for future crops.

Once the peanuts are picked they are loaded on trailers and hauled to the processing plant (ours go to North Carolina).

Did you know???

• The average child will eat 1500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before he/she graduates high school.  (unless they have peanut allergies!)
• Two peanut farmers have been elected President of the USA - Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter.
• Peanuts flower above the ground and then migrate underground to reach maturity.
• There are enough peanuts in one acre to make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.
• The peanut is NOT a nut, but a legume related to beans and lentils.
• Most USA peanut farms are family-owned and operated.
• Four of the top 10 candy bars made in the USA contain peanuts or peanut butter.

So spread the WORD: Peanut Butter is the leading use of peanuts in the USA and November is Peanut Butter Lovers Month - Are you a Peanut Butter or Peanut Lover - We sure are!!

*Note: Peanut facts above are from the National Peanut Board - for more fun peanut facts visit them at http://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/.*