How to Grow CRUNCHY Water Chestnuts at Home!

In this video, I show you how to grow yummy CRUNCHY water chestnuts at home in a container.

For Australian freeze dryer purchase info, use the link above and contact Harvest Right directly.

Self Sufficient Me is based on our small 3-acre property/homestead in SE Queensland, Australia, about 45kms north of Brisbane - the climate is subtropical (similar to Florida). I started Self Sufficient Me in 2011 as a blog website project where I document and write about backyard food growing, self-sufficiency, and urban farming in general. I love sharing my foodie and DIY adventures online, so come along with me and let's get into it! Cheers, Mark :)

*Disclaimer: Some links to products in this description and comments sections are affiliated, meaning I receive a small commission if you follow these links and then purchase an item. I will always declare in a video if the video is sponsored, and since starting my channel in 2011, I am yet to do a sponsored video.

#gardening #chestnut #water

[Selfsufficientme]

G'day Everyone, I hope you are all getting into it! Honestly, water chestnuts are a HUGE hit with the family here at our home - these tasty little crunchy water veggies add that extra X factor to homemade Asian food. Thanks for your support! Cheers :)

[sandramorton]

"That's a little knife in Australia", always a tad of humor and the pup falling over. Thank you for the morning laugh.

[shinybulbasaur]

Hi Mark as someone who grow this year by year you do need quite a big pond for it i use IBCs and 1 1000L IBC is enough for around 10 to 15kg of harvest year by year, secondly they thrive on fish poop so any fish inside the pond will do wonders, but same as you i am in Queensland Greenbank so fish might attract predators in open IBCs so i keep them under a netted structure, they do require fairly clean filtered water otherwise they will give you a bad stomach (when eaten raw) as they will absorb toxins from the water, they require water all year round and never let them dry out, you have to harvest it like lotus roots, lastly you harvest a bit too late, it is normally done in autumn and a fresh chestnut should be sweet and crisp way more crisp than the canned ones. And dont worry most canned chestnut is from warmer areas of Asia, China barley have enough to sustain its own population.

[nancybyrd]

You new family member is ADORABLE!! He's a big ball of fur and looks like he's enjoying every minute bouncing around with you in your beautiful farm garden!

Water chestnuts! Who knew!?

[Gardeningchristine]

I’ve tried growing Jerusalem artichoke, globe artichoke, taro, and purple sweet potatoes 🍠 because of your encouragement

[theghostofoutpost]

you could get small mosquito fish in there. they would probably thrive and also fertilize the plants. wouldn't be a bad experiment to try honestly.

[Handles_AreStupid]

Hey mark, if you want a non-water version that is similar to the plant featured here, you should look into "chufa" also called "tiger nut" or "earth almond". It's a type of bunching sedge grass that has a similar tasting "nut" that grows underground. It's a touch smaller, but the nuts aren't as hard to find and you can harvest them from the root ball and still plant the clumps back into the ground afterwards. They survive year round in Ireland, which is a touch colder than your location. Could be a good off-season cropper to keep in the ground for a while longer than the water chestnuts to spread your harvest a tad. You should also look into south american dishes and drinks that use chufa.

Pros:
They don't need as much water. They are slightly drought tolerant. They love the heat. They can survive aussie winters. You can replant clumps after lifting the nuts from the root ball. No mosquitos.

Cons:
They produce late in the season. They can be a tad invasive if you let them out of your sight for too long.

[davesterchele]

Those mosquito dunks (BTi) also control fungus gnats. If you have indoor plants with fungus gnats, grind up one of your dunks and work it into the first inch of soil. 2-3 weeks later they are gone. Works like a charm.

[genemaughan]

I've never seen anyone growing Water chestnuts before, you have a wonderful garden.

[kathrynbillinghurst]

That’s the cutest puppy 🐶 ever!
We love chestnuts 🌰 in our stir fries and curries!! 😋👍🏻
That CRUNCH is awesome!

[justkerry]

Love water chestnuts! Easy to peel, slice the top and bottom, then use a vegie peeler.

[theshadowofgod]

Gonna have to show this to my mother, she water chestnuts.

[johnlord]

Maybe inbetween the rocks and compost underlayer and the upper layer and nuts ... you put in a metal mesh, like a bucket shape, and then be able to pull out the upper layer and shake down the rocks and compost, and leaving the corms inside the mesh.

[honey-bee-farmstead]

This is super exciting, I love diversity in my foods so this opens up the imagination

[MyAussieGardenKitchen]

G'day Mark.
From my experience as a chef (many moons ago) and cooking at home since, cutting the top and bottom off with a sharp knife and then going around the side in a circle with a veggie peeler has been the easiest way for water chestnuts and less waste. 👍 Scraping with the edge of a butter knife of teaspoon works too, but the peeler is a cleaner finish in most cases.
That's for the common Asian water chestnuts and not the Indian and Pakistani variety, which are different.
Loved this video Mark and it's not something I have ever tried to grow or honestly knew how. Fascinating and inspiring as always. We use then tinned ones and I'll have to use your video as a guide if I have a go myself. Much appreciated Mark.

All the best.
Daz.

[oreopaksun]

Your furry garden supervisor is trying to steal the show! Your stir fry looks totally pro! Thanks for another interesting food plant idea.

[ElementalGeneral]

You're such an inspiration Mark!♥

[dani]

I must have manifested this video, because I’ve been searching for a vid about growing these the past few days and haven’t found any that helpful or enjoyable. Great content as always

[dariolullia]

Hallo and thanks for the qualità content.
To keep mosquitoes away it is also possible to put copper in the water. This prevents the opening of the eggs and the formation of larvae

[stephaniegee]

I'd never really thought about how water chestnuts are grown and harvested. That was cool! Thanks!!