How to tell it is ready

Because you cannot see the pods, use the days to maturity for your variety as your first guide, typically 100 to 150 days, and watch for the foliage to start yellowing. Dig one test plant and open a few pods: mature peanuts have firm, well-veined shells and a darkened, colored inner shell rather than white. Green peanuts for boiling are picked a couple of weeks earlier while the shells are still soft.

How to harvest

Loosen the soil around the plant with a garden fork or spade, working a few inches out from the stem so you do not spear the pods. Grasp the main stem and pull the entire plant up, then gently shake and brush off the loose soil while keeping the pods attached to the roots.

Timing

Peanuts are a single fall harvest crop rather than a repeat picker, and they should be dug after the plants yellow but before the first hard frost. Harvest on a dry day when the soil is not muddy, which makes lifting and cleaning far easier. Depending on type, expect to dig 100 to 150 days after planting, with Spanish types earlier and large Virginia and runner types later.

After the harvest

Do not wash freshly dug peanuts; instead brush off excess soil and cure them with the pods still on the plant. Hang or lay the whole plants in a warm, dry, airy place out of direct sun for 1 to 2 weeks, then strip the pods and continue drying them for another week or two until the kernels rattle in the shell. Only rinse pods right before cooking.

Tips

Save a few of the best-cured pods as seed for next year, storing them in the shell in a cool, dry spot. Handle the plants gently at harvest so pods stay attached, and check the soil for any pods that broke off during digging.

General guidance for US home gardens. Timing varies by variety and region; check your local frost dates. Page updated Aug 4, 2026.