Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

How many of you are growing water chestnuts in your systems? Do you grow them directly in the media, or have you found they need to be submerged more in water. I put some in my system in about November 2008. While they have not gone great guns, tops got hit fairly badly by grasshoppers and they also died back in winter (which I'd suspect is normal) they have done okay. I have them in a container into which the inflow for one of the beds goes and then overflows into the bed. It used to be my very rudimentary in bed swirl filter (which I guess if kinda still is). They are submerged in waterto a depth of probably 5 plus cm.

we have them in one of the sand beds, had a small harvest last year

I've got them in a couple of places. The most water filled drum is now further under water and I don't think they like it. The other gb is going okay.

We grew some in pots in the yabby beds, not highly successful for us.

I think the way I have them is the way to go. Gravel is too harsh I think - though I did use a bit to weigh them down, not enough to effect them much. They go gang busters outside of AP in a wter filled bath or other container filled with muck (like well composted moo poo and this is the reason for me putting them into my in bed swirl filter. Because of only having the one fish in my system, I don't get a great deal of solids in there these days, but the plant is starting to kick along a bit. I tried eating one from the few that I was given by somebody (ate it at the time) and I have to admit I was very disappointed. Tasted like mud - but I expect that was because it was essentially grown in mug. Hopefully mine will be a bit better (taste like fish shit ).

Will try and remember to take a pick tomorrow to demonstrate how I have mine growing.

There was an article in Grass Roots last year that talked about growing them. While it didn't talk about AP it did provide a few tips that you could take into account. Unfortunatly I dont have the mag with me to write what the tips were, you'll have to look it up.

I have just read that article! If I get a chance before Wednesday when it has to go back to the library, I will make some notes for here

They were going okay until the unsupervised children pulled on the stems and left them floating in the water. The pots are now empty. grrr

I was thinking about trying some on a floating raft in the fish tank..? Anyone tried this at all?
T

Dunno how they would go in a floating raft, they need to grow out and set their corms, perhaps they can do it underwater..

I had some but they all died and I suspect it was because I had them too deep.

Good bits of info here;
http://permaculture.org.au/2008/11/29/water-chestnuts/

Little bit of info from our WA Ag Dept;
http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_assets/.../hort/.../f12899.pdf

HAHAHAHA thanks guys this isn't looking too good for me then .... I have 25 corms so I guess i will have to try them all over my system to see where they grow the best..... Trial and error.... sometimes i think i have tooooo many errors hehehehehe

I had the other problem with them,they just went ferel.the leaves grew up to two and half metres long and dropped seeds in all the grow beds around them which all germinated in the spring.They were growing in blue metal.

We expect to harvest our Water Chestnuts early in July. They were planted directly into Expanded Clay Media - Flood and Drain via Syphon.

I have the instructions provided by CERES in Brunswick when I purchased them...