I was collecting buckeyes yesterday.

The seeds are encased in a pod which is thick-walled green outer covering--this usually drops to ground and either plaits open on the fall, or rots open or critters chew them open to release the seeds. YOu can take any dropped pod and smoosh it on the ground under your sneakered foot and split it open. Inside, depending upon size of the pod, you could have between one and four buckeye seeds. They are brown, shiny, about an inch across and have a dreamy round marking, hence the name buckeye, because they look like deer eyeballs.

The seeds need to be sown promptly because if they dry out they will not sprout. Sow the seeds at least two inches deep in a container of moistened soil. Cover the contanier with small gage wire or window screening. This will allow in moisture and light but keep out hungry critters, like squirrels and raccoons, that would view those buckeyes as a meal.

Place the container outside, stash it in a more shaded location to lesson soil evaporation. Once a week or so, up until your permanent hard freezes, check for moisture and give the container a drink if needed. Let the container remain outside during the winter where the seed can freeze and thaw repeated and naturally as seeds sown by Mother Nature would.

In early to mid Spring, the seed should begin to germinate. You can thin them when they are a few inches tall and place them in a holding bed until they are the desired height you like for transplanting--perhaps a year in the bed is all they need as they can grow fast enough with spaced feedings of 10-10-10.

hello nathan and trudi; I would approach this differenty....can you determine,nathan, what species of Aesculus you are working with for a start?(reference:Schumacher site for example-http://www.treeshrubseeds.com/defalt.htm).
The use of nylon mesh fabrics should be further integrated with the characterictics of your media selection;, the volume of the media within its container (and container design); your germination/growing environments based upon last year's read...(hopefully you are using a minimum/maximum thermometer where you stratify)....and:(i.e).the precipitation levels in your area during this critical time of its germination correlated with the routine of your daily life.... imo

...in other related realms, my approach has been modified now from when I had access to a Myron meter and water/soil analysis aiding in fertilizer selections:(ie): low phospherous ect...it is all written about........ But one might get a sense of water pH and alkalinity from one's local water utility company. I (for example) prefer to have pH adjusted starting media with dolomite (Calcium/Magnesium ratio for a initial standard)).. no other nutrient charge...Therefore, my irrigation frequency is watched....and I use Saran wrap for draping small modular seed container set-ups....a fungicide is at hand if required, but not for use within my home...