ISSUE 71, PEANUTS, Part 5: Finding 3 Heirloom Peanuts
Finding 3 Heirloom Peanuts
On November 17 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 23 Stuckey White Peanut. Arachis hypogaea v. Stuckey White. In 1865 the importation of Spanish Red and White peanuts from Valencia gave rise to the Tennessee Red and Tennessee White peanuts, the former with its 3 or 4 seeds in a pod, the later with its fine grain. The Stuckey White Peanut is substantially larger than the Tennessee White, but not as large as the Virginia, the variety Thomas Rowland secured from Bolivia sometime between 1860 and 1865. It forms two seeds in a shell. Runner.
Wicker 24 Mut Richardson Red Peanut. Arachis hypogaea v. Richardson Red. This red peanut which Carold Wicker identifies as antebellum is larger than both the Tennessee Red and the Carolina African Runner Peanut, but smaller than the Virginia. Two seeds in a pod. Runner.
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.