How to Grow CRUNCHY Water Chestnuts at Home! 

Where did you get your starter bulbs to grown the water chestnuts?

And how long did it take to grow them?

I live in a heavy mosquito area. Yes, the mosquitos are QUITE LARGE & HEAVY! As well as very numerous. They're SO THICK around here that I can not wear short sleeves or shorts outside during the EXTREMELY HOT Texas Summers!! (humid too!) 108°f (42°C) on a daily basis starting in June & lasting FOR MONTHS!! Ugh. (It never used to be this way...) Yeah, let's ALL go outside and work in the garden WITH LONG SLEEVES & LONG PANTS!!! Not. And, just to keep the little flying buggers away from me altogether, I use a box fan pointed right at me, AT ALL TIMES! It's a hassle, yes. But using a fan means I'm not always swatting at them, & no more are they biting my eyelids & elbows! Yes, I said eyelids. It's not a typo. They really LOVE my EYELIDS!! WHAT'S UP WITH THAT???? Does anyone else have eyelid issues w mosquitos? Or Is it just me?! That's how it always was... UNTIL - I found THE VERY BEST way to ELIMINATE almost all of those biters - (99.99%) using Mosquito Dunks! I only say ALMOST because I'm thinking there are 1 or 2 biters that float in from the neighbor's yard. What can you do?? 🤷🏼‍♀️ I use the mosquito dunks in a bucket of water, as a sort of bait. The biters don't seem to mind the Mosquito Dunks, or rather, the BT in the water. To be clear, the standing water IN the bucket IS THE BAIT. The egg laying mosquitos easily find the standing water, and lay their eggs in it. And because the Mosquito Dunks, which last 30 days, are in the bucket too, the eggs never hatch!! Haaa!!!! It works a TREAT!!! At the 1st of every month, because of evaporation, I add more water to bring it up to 2 gallons. (I randomly chose 2 gallons of water. Less will work too.) And then I add the appropriate number of Mosquito Dunks per water ratio. Just toss those little donuts into the bucket! Easier than pie! And they float, so they're easy to spot if you ever want to come back and check on them during the month. btw- there's no need to add extra Dunks, even though I always want to!! Job DONE. It's JUST that easy!!! How AMAZING is THAT!!! (There are instructions on the package to tell how many Dunks to add for the amount of water in question.) And now, I'm outside working in the garden with a short sleeve t-shirt, and shorts too!! I don't even NEED the fan for eyelid protection! However, I do still need the fan for the intensive heat protection... But that's a whole other bucket of non-viable mosquito eggs... I'm also buying 2 new buckets to give to the neighbor on each side of me. And I'll be starting each of them off with a couple Mosquito Dunks to go in it! Let's hope that takes care of those 2 random biters that I seem to attract like a magnet! 🤞 Here's a few BT tips- P.S. Bacillus thuringiensis = BT ● Google "BT, insects" to find out ALL the information on it. It's always best to be informed of anything you're adding to your garden, don't take MY word for any of it!! BT = AKA - Mosquito Dunks ● Put your mosquito bait bucket in the shade! Sunlight breaks down the effectiveness of BT. ● It's safe for all pets & humans to ingest - but really DON'T do it, just bcuz. But if your pets drink the water, there's no worries. They're fine. ● BT works on a list of several insects, mostly larvae. Caterpillars are a big target. SO - if you have bunches of pollinators, it's best to cover your mosquito bait bucket with a screen that has big enough holes for the mosquitos to get in, but small enough holes to keep the butterflies and moths OUT. (I use a half inch metal screen bcuz my mosquitos ARE Texas sized!) That screen also keeps the thirsty birds out too. ● BT is also great for controlling: ▪︎ fruit flies in the soil, ▪︎ earwigs ▪︎ aphids - just to name a few. Here's a sentence I copied from the internet: "Bt proteins are allowed in organic farming as a insecticide because Bt is a natural, non-pathogenic bacterium that is found naturally in the soil." But seriously, there's more info out there about BT. So - research, research, research! It's best for you to read about it for yourself. It's easy to find the info too. Thanks for making it all the way through my super long message! I just can't help myself - bcuz DETAILS COUNT!! Over & Out ! 👋

I love to see your lessons and passion for growing food. I'm not is the same growing zone but try to adapt to my area. You are a good guy. Thank you for being honest and sharing the love of food growing with the world.

On the webspoon utube I watched he roasted some nuts in a pan and then used a vegetable net( like around store bagged onions) to remove their husks/skins . He put the whole panful into the bag, scrunched close, and rubbed the nuts. All the husks fell through the netting, and the peeled nuts remained in the bag. I wonder if you could roast or if it works if you boil the chestnuts, like dipping tomatoes in boiling water so you can peel off the skins, only maybe use the netting since chestnut are a bit "sturdier"? Just a thought. Also, how long did they need to grow? What are their temperature requirements, high/ low? And WHERE DID YOU purchase your starter chestnuts from? Learn a lot from your show. Just need to adjust some for the desert southwest of the USA. growing zone classification 6a.

you should make a video

​@@Covid-me1xfyes that would be so interesting

IBC rootbeer?

Lots of helpful info thanks. How many do you plant in one IBC? How deep is your substrate?

For my ponds I go down to the local streams and scoop a bucket of water from the side bank. I get several fish eggs and small minnows, sometimes some crayfish. Crawfish.

Wait, did I miss the new dog introduction video?

Yep the Mosquito fish are quite hardy and adapt all grades of fresh water, especially stagnant or muddy water! 👍🏻

Oh cool. Almost like an aquaponics experiment. ☺️

A layer of leca/expanded clay on top of the soil in my pots got rid of them forever for me.

Wow, thanks ❤

Great info., Thanks!

Oh cool I really hate those things!

Heading off to google fungus gnat!

They’re growing on great. The globe artichokes are blooming, they didn’t get real big so I let the bees have them, and the Jerusalem artichokes haven’t started blooming but they’re about 6ft tall. 🌻

purple sweet potatoes!? ya I want some! Where did you acquire them??? I am in Canada.

@@NordeggSonya I got mine from my local Asian food store. I’d saved my sweet potatoes to try to get slips, but they rotted. So I saw the small purple ones and they made at least 20 slips between them. I’ve got sweet potatoes all over. I just made a seafood pizza with sweet potato leaves, peppers, basil and purslane. Also just made hush puppies with the sweet potato leaves.

ooooh must check this out@@Gardeningchristine

I couldn't get used to eating Jerusalem artichokes as they give me terrible painful stomach cramps & flatulence. Maybe I ate too much at once or maybe the gut microbiota needs time to adapt to them?

Yummy

I didn't know about this. Cheers thanks, will do 🙂

@@datwistyman we'll be happy to see you there!

Thanks for the tip!

How about a recipe for that stir fry dish? Sure looked delicious!😊

How often did you water & fertilize with what? Full sun? Further details?😊 thanks

They were in full sun,so I pretty much added water every day,sometimes every 2-3 days......they do not like to really dry out.i would add water to cover the soil about 1-2"(25-50mm),and check to see if it was still moist a bit below the surface of the soil.if it was dry,I would water. I used a many year old potting soil mix with lots of previous amendments,(worm castings,rock phosphate,coco coir,greensand,dolomite,etc.etc. that I had previously used for growing certain flowers.....then just added some regular generic organic garden/tomato fertilizer.

Which hardiness zone is Singapore? I'm in Taiwan and we're also subtropical so it's pretty similar to Mark's growing zone... though the weather here is definitely not the same (much higher humidity and typhoons May to October). I'm thinking we'd be able to grow some of the stuff at the same time Mark does, but probably not everything. Let us know how it goes!! I'm curious as to how the timing works for planting in our region! 😊

@@bearswithglasses I'm not sure about the hardiness zone actually, but we are a tropical climate for sure. Typically our days are 32-35C, and humidity is almost always more than 80%. Our monsoon season is Nov-Jan :) Haha yeah I'll definitely give it a go! It's always so hard to find gardening videos for Asian regions I feel

Thank you Sherry! I got the corms/plants from "Green Harvest" online here in Oz. Cheers :)

Nice one Daz - thanks for the great tip mate! Cheers :)

did you know, ppl nowadays use "interesting" for baad

@@tripleaaakollektiv870 and some people mean what they say

@@tripleaaakollektiv870 literally who the hell do you hang out with that uses Interesting to mean Bad???

You know most of us speak what we mean! No need to put words in our mouth and stir crap up!

@@tripleaaakollektiv870 I’m so sorry for you that you hang with people who are not honest, and apparently are not honest yourself. Maybe find some new friends and take a look in the mirror. When I say interesting, it means interesting - not something dishonest.

That might work for metallic copper. If you use something like copper sulfate it will kill the plants too. Too much copper can be toxic to plants as it inhibits photosynthesis.

So Did you? For me , I say just buy a pack of water chestnuts and give it to her. She probably knows best how It is Grown, just needs time and or a helping hand, such as you :)) p.s. sentimental guy I am , but am I really or are we just growing too stern this days? . anyways hope this wont be an advice and I hope this will be a rather "push" for you.

I do too, yummy 😋 ❤

Try local Asian markets for fresh ones - might still be hard to find though

G'day, plants need nutrients, so fertiliser is necessary, and kitty litter is usually clay-based. The plants may have died due to a lack of nutrients and oxygen. Most water plants still grow best in lighter mediums, so straight clay might not be the best mix. I used volcanic rock or Scoria, which is light and porous, mixed with some potting mix (good quality with added fertiliser). You can still use some clay in the combination, but I wouldn't use only clay. All the best :)

And kitty litter is made to suck out all the liquids, so we use it here, in old paint cans, to dry it up before it can be safely dumped. I suspect the cat litter dried out the plant, like being in a desert, as it does require a lot of water to thrive ... like growing rice.

Try local Asian markets-sometimes can find there😊

Thank you Rebecca! Cheers :)

G'day, I can't recall hearing about paludariums but I Googled them and saw what you mean. Cheers :)

This right here is why I love the RU-vid comment section; so many great insights and ideas. I wonder how difficult it would be to put the screen back under the soil after harvest.

@@FebbieG you dig out the top layer again, reapply the screen, and drop in the mixture again, and plant your new sets of bulbs.

Thank you! Yes, we also grow kaffir lime and lemongrass plus galangal, coriander, ginger, Thai chillies, and lots more. The Asian influence here in Australia is HUGE, and for good reason - the food and recipe ideas are tasty and easy to grow in this part of the world. All the best :)

@@Selfsufficientme

That's good to know. Do you know if they are safe for bees? My birdbath attracts both honey bees and native solitary and bumblebees.

@karladenton5034 it says safe for wildlife but not sure of bees. Probably can research the product/label

@@teenagardner3623 will do. Thanks for the quick response.

Enjoy your trip down under! All the best :)

Feel free to share your idea and progress on his forum Self Sufficient Culture! www.selfsufficientculture.com/

I didn't compare weights but I'm confident that I grew 10 times more than I started with. They do like a warm climate and started dying back early winter here when night temps do get around 50f and lower sometimes. It could be worth trying them in a hothouse. All the best :)

Thanks for the suggestion! I have now ordered some Crosne to try. Cheers :)

Excellent! I started with a few plants about 12 months ago. I'm in UK North West, so approx zone 8. I over-wintered some tubers in a shed, and left some in the soil. I put an upturned plastic tub on top of some of the soil area (because I had a dog that seemed to love to dig them up! She must have been able to smell them? Maybe she would make a good truffle hound? I digress) They all seem to have come up, I can't differentiate between the differently treated plants. Google tells me to harvest in October, leaving some in the ground for next year's plants to grow. I am so excited to uncover them! I first tasted them in a restaurant near to where I live, they grow them in their kitchen garden. Hope they grow well for you and that you enjoy them!