I just changed my photo to a field with "turned" peanuts in the foreground and peanut plants in the background. Peanuts are harvested in the fall, so you won't see it in the summer. You'll drive past a lot of fields with low green plants that may be peanuts and may be soybeans.

Re plantation tours, there are few options. There's an historic one on the coast near Savannah and the coastal islands. If you want a good idea of what a real plantation was like, go visit Andalusia in Millledgeville. It's also the home of Flannery O'Connor. There are big, fancy plantation homes in Louisiana, outside of New Orleans because the river offered easy transportation from home to home for socializing. Most "plantations" in Georgia (and most of the south) were large working farms. The fancy houses were city houses in Atlanta, Savannah (and Charleston in SC). The #1 sign of wealth in the rural south was enough disposable income to paint the house. Working plantations in the south were farms. The big fancy houses were city houses where the families went to socialize during the season.

http://andalusiafarm.org/

Thank you that great information! I had looked at visiting Jarrell, like you mention the plantations weren't always these grand house that we invisage, Andalusia farm looks lovely, I think we are going to be spoiled for choice!

Great news on the cotton fields, I've just googled an image (so we know what to look for) they have a kind of eerie look to them. Also very excited for peach ice cream!! June cannot come soon enough! Currently 37f here ❄️

If you are driving from Atlanta, I would recommend driving south and stopping to eat a real southern lunch at Yoder's outside of Montezuma GA.

http://www.southerncomfortfood.com/Yoders_Deitsch_Haus.htm

If you continue your drive toward White Oak Pastures and to Peace Valley Market, you will be driving through huge fields of peanuts, cotton and soybeans. Maybe some corn some of the time.

South Georgia is known for its plantations, but these are mostly hunting plantation. Huge working farms, with the land professionally managed for quail hunting mostly. The most famous of all was probably Woodruff's (of Coke fame) Ichauway Plantation -

http://www.lanascooking.com/ichauway-plantation/

Now it's a research center, but as you make that drive you'll see the crops you are interested in but also driving through today's version of plantation country.

I live not far from Andalusia and most of Georgia's plantations were just working farms, although some had big pretty houses. Most did not. Here's one that is now open for special events and has returned to its roots with farming, albeit organic farming.

http://burgeclub.com/

Sherman also camped there on his March to the Sea and the plantation owner's diary is one of the most famous primary sources from the Civil War -

http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/burge/menu.html

Be sure to visit the gorgeous town of Madison - full of antebellum homes, along with a really nice tea room (and other restaurants)

http://www.madisontearoom.com/index.php

Not far from Madison = the Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle = excellent southern cooking via buffet

http://www.bluewillowinn.com/

Jarrell plantation is a working plantation and so is Hofwyl Broadfield along coast near Darrien is another working plantation.

In the fall you can pick apples at Mercier orchards in Blue Ridge.

Near Gainesville there is Jaemore where you can pick peaches in the summer.

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