Delicate yellow flowers form on the plant about 40 days after planting. The flowers pollinate themselves, then the petals fall off as the peanut ovary begins to form. This budding ovary, called a 'peg,' grows away from the plant on a vine and penetrates the soil. The peanuts mature below the ground. Peanuts are harvested 120 to 160 days after planting, usually in September and October.
Harvesting is a rapid process.
The digger has long blades that run four to six inches under the ground loosening the plant and cutting the tap root. Just behind the blade, a shaker lifts the plant from the ground, gently shakes the soil from the peanuts and lays the plant upside-down in windrows to dry in the sun for two to three days. The farmer then drives a combine over the windrows to pick the peanuts from the vines. The peanuts are collected in a hopper and the plants are laid back on the ground. The plants can be baled for cattle feed or mulched into the field.