Discussion forum for environmentally-friendly alternatives to replace synthetic chemicals and fertilizers.
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#1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: zone 5
Posts: 821
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Hello.
I'm in the burbs of Chicago, (zone 5B-ground currently frozen with a thaw maybe this week). I am a notorious zone pusher and this year have purchased this and this to try. http://www.southernexposure.com/caro...8-g-p-841.html http://www.southernexposure.com/red-...ton-p-880.html I'm into organic, edible landscaping and do not plant things in distinct rows. Rather plants are intermingled for both aesthetics and for get benefits off one another. With this in mind, what do I need to know about growing peanuts and cotton? Stacy |
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#2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Homestead,Everglades City Fl.
Posts: 2,497
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Grew both as a novelty.Peanuts are like potatoes and come from the ground,they do need some room.Cotton is fun untill you have to pick out the seeds,be careful of the thorns.
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KURT |
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#3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: zone 5
Posts: 821
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#4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: S.E. Wisconsin Zone 5b
Posts: 1,831
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Stacy, We grew peanut on my parents farm in the 1960's. Zone 5A about 40 or 50 miles north of you. I think they were Virginian.
Dutch |
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#5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: zone 5
Posts: 821
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#6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: S.E. Wisconsin Zone 5b
Posts: 1,831
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Tracy,
We grew though peanuts in soil on a low laying flat that was created by two hills slopping together and a rock wall made from years of pulling rocks from the fields to slow the erosion of soil before the rain water ran into a ditch along the road. We used to grow strawberries there but as more and more people moved out to country, people started to stop and help themselves to the strawberries, the plants and runners. Worse of all they left a big mess that allowed the rain to cut big gullies. The peanuts solved the problem. We planted them in hills in the spring. They sent out runners that kept the silty soil together during the early summer rains and the nuts were underground where no one could see them. Dutch |
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#7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 985
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Last year I ordered Black Peanuts from Sandhill Preservation. I germinated them and planted them in large pots, probably 16-18" in diameter. They probably didn't produce as much as they would have in the ground, but they did set pegs that drilled into the soil. I think we got about 25-30 peanuts per plant. It was more of a conversation piece for the deck.
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#8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 586
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I grew cotton one year in zone 4a. They were quite productive, although the warm season ended before the bolls had dried. I pulled the plants and hung them in my garage to let them fully dry out.
Making an economical go of cropping cotton here would probably require a few more steps to be worked out, but for small-scale hobby use, it is readily done. I thought about making a small-scale cotton gin to pull out the seeds, and then see if I could spin the resulting fiber. I expect I'll take up this project again when I have sufficient gardening space. Last edited by Darren Abbey; March 26, 2013 at 01:19 AM. |
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#9 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: zone 5
Posts: 821
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Stacy |
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#10 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: zone 5
Posts: 821
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Stacy |
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#11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 586
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I direct-seeded in the garden at about the same time as tomatoes went in. With a longer season and an early start, you should do just fine (assuming you've got plenty of sun).
The seed I had was from a commercial variety that only grew to a couple feet tall. I recall picking up from a ditch somewhere on a walk out in cotton country while visiting family. The short height probably helped the plant get through its life cycle in the time it had. Last edited by Darren Abbey; March 26, 2013 at 11:12 PM. |
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