OLDS — Local resident Harold Hunter believes he grew a peanut plant in his yard this year.
But it may not be after all.
Hunter showed the plant, ensconced in a pot, to fellow residents and employees at the Albertan on Aug. 23.
He and others speculated that a bird dropped the peanut in the ground in the fall or this spring. He started looking after it a couple of months ago.
“I thought, ‘I’ll stick it in the ground and see what happens – and it grew,’” he said.
Robert Spencer, a horticulture instructor at Olds College who teaches classes in the college’s greenhouse facilities, was a bit surprised to learn of Hunter’s discovery.
"It’s a first for me. I’ve never heard anything like that," he said during an interview.
“I wouldn’t expect it. Most peanuts are produced in fairly warm – like very warm – climates,” he said citing the southern U.S.; especially Georgia, as one such area.
Later in the day, Hunter brought the plant to Spencer.
During an earlier interview, Spencer could envision germinating and growing the plant to a certain extent in the Canadian climate, but he was skeptical that it would produce actual peanuts, which develop under the plant.
However, he stressed he’s not well versed in the growing of peanuts.
“I’ve grown up on the Prairies and I sort of just ignore plants that don’t have a hope in heck of going anywhere,” he said with a laugh “and so I’ll have to read up a little bit on how it's grown, but …
“To actually produce peanuts seems extremely unlikely, just because I think it needs an extended growing season.”
According to the American National Peanut Board’s website, from the time they’re planted in the spring, peanuts require 140 to 150 frost-free days before they can be harvested.
“I’m not shocked that one could sprout up. I mean, birds bury peanuts all the time,” Spencer said.
“I’ve watched blue jays do it almost constantly through the season and then they’ll come back to them. Sometimes they get them, sometimes they don’t.”
Spencer could imagine a peanut plant surviving in Olds and area if it was in a sheltered location. He also said this year’s hot summer and the moisture that preceded it would likely help make the plant viable.
Hunter later confirmed the plant was grown in a sheltered part of his yard.
