Planted in early spring, they are kept well watered allowing the stems to grow strong before being flooded. This flooding is then maintained for the whole growing season of 7 frost free months, with the water being drained off about a month prior to harvesting to expose corms and assist with the harvest. During autumn the rhizome starts to form the chestnuts, which can then be harvested from this time onwards through winter.
Just this month we had members of our sales and technical teams on a visit to plantations and factories in China, where they were able to watch the local harvesting process of water chestnuts.