These Peanuts Grew When I Least Expected Them To

Back in our province in La Union, I used to watch our relatives plant peanuts beside our house (we're just beside the fields, literally!). My grandma loves planting! They’d harvest them by hand and dry them in the sun, a sight that always reminded me of simple living but I never thought much of it back then.

Here in the city, though, things are different. We don’t have open fields beside our house. Just a few pots, reused containers, and a small balcony to grow plants. We already had tomatoes, calamansi, and bitter gourd thriving in containers on our tiny balcony.

At home, we love buying peanuts from the market and boil them. It's perfect for lazy afternoon snacks. So one day, I got curious (the same curiosity that led me to make homemade taho and made it a business 😁) and thought why not try planting them myself? I just wanted to see if I could do it in a small space.

We still have three extra containers lying around so we gave peanuts a shot. We didn't prepare that much though. I just put the peanuts in the soil and waited to see what would happen.

It took about 3–4 months for the plants to grow. I couldn't remember exactly because I wasn't expecting much. I wasn't sure they would grow. After my poor calendula wilted on me, I had prepared myself for another disappointment.

_{my withered calendula plant}

Then one afternoon, my sister noticed something odd in our balcony. She was looking for her snail, Shelly, when a peanut shell peeking out of the soil said its hello 😂 We got excited and ran outside. Some leaves were already dry so we thought it might be the time for harvest.

First container. We only planted two peanuts here. My dad pulled the plant carefully and surprise! Real peanuts! I couldn’t stop taking pictures because I couldn't believe it. I want to remember the moment because something I planted actually grew.

That moment, I felt guilty for doubting the plants I had planted. I mean, they were doing their best under the soil and there I was, already thinking they wouldn't make it 😭 If I were the peanut in that container, I’d probably grow strong just to prove who doubted me wrong.

Second container. We used an old water container for this one. It looked empty though. No signs of peanuts on top so I didn’t expect much. But when my dad pulled the plant, there were more peanuts hiding in the soil! I was so happy. That moment reminded me that just because you can't see something doesn't mean it's not growing. Some things take time and stay hidden until they're ready.

Third container. This gave us the biggest harvest! A few peanuts were already visible on the surface. When we pulled it, we found a lot more! It was such a happy moment. I didn't expect much from a small container.

_{the third container}

And while we were busy harvesting peanuts, my sister's snail, Shelly, appeared near the snake plant. She was curious too. She likes peanut leaves, by the way.

_{Shelly, the snail in our mini garden}

Looking at all the peanuts we harvested made us sooo happy. It might be simple but it's something special for me. It reminded me that even in a limited space, good things can still grow. It may take time but it's always worth it.

We'll definitely plant peanuts again. Our family loves it as a snack and now we love planting and harvesting it too.

Thanks for reading! Until next time!