Explained for children: Where do peanuts grow?
Your child loves peanuts? Then it has probably already asked you where the delicious snacks grow at all. So that you don’t owe your sparrow an answer, we’ll explain the popular peanut to you here – including a few surprising facts.
Where do peanuts grow? If your child asks you this question, it has to be a little more precise. Does it want to know where peanuts grow or which country they come from?
Luckily, our little ones can be quite the chatterboxes who are never at a loss for another question. If your child is one of these, they will want to know everything in detail. That’s why we give you answers to both questions here.
Where do peanuts grow?
Since this is about the nut, the following should be clarified in advance: peanuts are not nuts at all! Instead, the peanut is a legume. This genus also includes beans and peas.
But now back to the actual question: the name of the delicious snack alone gives information about where peanuts grow. Namely under the ground. So there is neither a peanut tree nor a peanut bush.
This will surely lead your child to the next question, which is: How do peanuts grow? First, the peanut plant naturally grows above ground. There she waits to be fertilized by butterflies. When this happens, something very unusual for plants happens: the fertilized stalks do not curve towards the sun, but down into the earth. The peanut ripens there for a total of 150 days before it can be harvested.
Where do peanuts come from?
Even if the peanuts grow underground, they like a hot, tropical climate – they prefer temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees. The peanut originally comes from South America, where the natives called it “tlacacáhuatl” (translated: “cocoa bean of the earth”).
Incidentally, the peanut has come a long way. Since it does not have particularly high demands on the soil quality, it can grow almost anywhere where the temperatures are right. That is why it was and is also cultivated in Africa, China, India and the Philippines, among other places. Peanuts are particularly popular in Asian countries – they are used, for example, to make delicious peanut oil.
Can we grow peanuts in Germany?
Since our German climate is anything but tropical or subtropical, we unfortunately cannot grow peanuts on our fields. Fortunately, however, there are greenhouses in which the peanuts feel just as comfortable as in South America.
We can then plant the bright yellow peanut plants in pots. If it is pollinated and the stalks begin to move towards the ground, it can happen that they miss their target and do not hit the ground. Then just help.