Little August peanut

(Arachis hypogaea)

The earliest peanut I have grown or heard of. White-skinned seeds are small, about half the size of regular peanuts, but powerfully flavourful. A bit of sleuthing turns up a fascinating pedigree. I received seed from John Sherck of Bristol, Indiana. He received seed from Nat Bradford. David S. Shields, Carolina Distinguished Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of South Carolina, is an enthusiastic researcher and promoter of traditional Southern cuisine. On his Substack, Foodlore & More, I read:

On November 17 [2022] I collected germ plasm from the seed freezer of Carold Wicker of Prosperity SC. This 83-year old gardener can no longer plant because of progressive loss of vision and the viability of his seed was therefore in peril. Farmer and seed saver Nat Bradford was present as we reviewed the contents of a freezer full of seed. Wicker collected seeds for beans, watermelons, okra, collards, corn, and field peas. There were many exceedingly rare items in the mix, including the extinct Early Frame Pea, the Lane Heading Collard, the Suber Watermelon, and the peanuts listed below. All of the seeds will be added to Clemson University’s Heirloom Seed Collection, under the auspices of the SC Crop Improvement Association. There they will join the Bradshaw Collection of Heirlooms…

Wicker 25 Little August Peanut. Arachis hypogaea v Little August. A unique peanut maintained by the Richardson family with the size and seed configuration of the Carolina African, yet with a more compact growth habit. It was a quick flowering, and quick pegging plant. If you planted on August 1 you will always have a peanut crop before frost in November.

Of course in Ontario that growing schedule doesn’t work. I plant at the very end of May and harvest the day after frost kills the plants in the fall. 25 seeds/packet.