I've wanted to try growing water chestnuts for some time, and failing to locate a source for plant material that wasn't astronomically priced, I purchased a pound of raw water chestnuts online for about $10. These I pressed into one of my standard 1801(18 pots, 3.5" each, connected together in a tray) deep nursery trays filled with good soilless media (1 pint each). I poured sifted soil from my sand/silt ground over the top to cover everything up and keep any of it from floating out into the water.
After thoroughly drenching it, I submerged it into a shallow tank of water and placed rocks on the pot intersections to keep it from floating up. And then I left it alone for a few weeks. When green growth appeared all over the tray I moved it into a big stock tank where it has gotten pretty tall.
Maybe 3/4 of the corms sprouted, and the rest rotted away, but I've got a bunch of plants now. They are not only thoroughly rooted, but ready to take over the world around them.
I was going to plant them into the bottom of the small stock tank, but now I'm wondering if I should just give them the 8' kiddy pool that I usually use for marginals. I think I have too many of them now.
