Going to give rice a try

[ChanellG]

No, it's not a vegetable, but I didn't think it belonged in the miscellaneous "other" section. I read something online recently about growing rice in containers and even that you could do it indoors in an aquarium (with lights). Since all you have to do to get started is put some dirt in a container, add water, and throw in a handful of grains I figured I would give it a try just as an experiment to see if I would want to try growing my own rice on a large enough scale to have enough for regular eating.

Anyone have any wisdom to share for growing rice?

 

[lovinglife]

I have often thought about it myself. For me I would have to start mine indoors and plant plugs outside, but in the movement to be more self-sustaining, would like to give it a try.

 

[maddie]

I have only seen rice grown in huge fields here. These paddy fields are saturated with water. You may have to consider that and some varieties are a couple of feet in height while others may be one to one and half feet won't that be kind of big for an aquarium? I am just thinking loud. I am really not very sure about growing rice though.

 

[lovinglife]

I have a couple areas here that have sprinker leaks that stay boggy all year, thought that would be a good place to put some rice, also I have a hose running pretty much all day in one place or another from our main line sprinkler system. Not sure if I will try it or not next year, but if someone reminds me of it I probably will.....

 

[ChanellG]

From what I have read, to grow rice in containers (even a bucket) you need six inches of soil depth and a few inches of water. As the plants grow, you keep adding water up to a predetermined stopping point. Here's a video from a bucket rice farm. It just shows him harvesting, but it's pretty amazing what was done with 20 buckets in 5 months.

 

[lovinglife]

hmm I may need to do the bucket method and finish in my greenhouse.

 

[ChanellG]

That is kind of what I am thinking, but instead I will start it indoors in mid to late winter and then move it outside once things warm up. In addition to water, it seems rice needs lots of sun. It starts getting oppressively hot by July so I would want to be able to harvest by then and not have to worry about the winds that can come with hurricane season.

 

[Victor Leigh]

Where I live, rice is the staple food. Here we grow wet rice. This means that the growing cycle begins with the seeds being sprouted in the nursery. Then the seedlings are transplanted to the main field. In the main field, the padi grows under flooded conditions until it is full-grown. Then the water is drained and the rice ripens.

I am not sure how you are going to simulate these conditions in a container.

 

[ChanellG]

Where I live, rice is the staple food. Here we grow wet rice. This means that the growing cycle begins with the seeds being sprouted in the nursery. Then the seedlings are transplanted to the main field. In the main field, the padi grows under flooded conditions until it is full-grown. Then the water is drained and the rice ripens.

I am not sure how you are going to simulate these conditions in a container.

Just as the rice paddies have to be flooded to grow the rice after planting, it is apparently the same with containers. If you look at the video above, the farmer grew rice in 2 buckets over a period of 5 months.

Perhaps this will illustrate for you how it is done:
http://mrssurvival.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32349

 

[taskeinc]

Is it just me, or does the music not really go with the video? Anyway, that's neither here nor there. It would have been nice to have dialog with the video, telling viewers what he's actually doing. It was interesting though, but for me, that's too much work when I can buy a bag of brown or white rice for a little over a buck. I think if you have florescent lighting, coupled with lots of sun, you might be able to grow rice indoors.

 

[jubbly]

Is this economically viable? Surely rice is one of those things that is so cheap that you are better off buying it in the supermarket.

 

[claudine]

This is so interesting! I'm not sure why but I always thought that growing rice is a big challenge. Now I want to give it a try. It would be great to grow rice in containers. First of all, I love eating what I've grown on my own. Also, the plant itself looks really nice.

 

[ChanellG]

This is so interesting! I'm not sure why but I always thought that growing rice is a big challenge. Now I want to give it a try. It would be great to grow rice in containers. First of all, I love eating what I've grown on my own. Also, the plant itself looks really nice.

Claudine, I feel the same way. Who knew it could really be so simple to grow rice? From what I read, not all grains will sprout, but I had some brown basmati purchased from the bulk bins at Whole Foods so I decided to see if it would germiniate as a test. Growing stuff is cool, no matter what it is, but growing your own food is particularly gratifying.

Part of the experiment will be to see how much rice is produced from just one plant. (Though I am sprouting at least a dozen grains) I may keep one or two plants in a big glass vase on the windowsill to see how well that works out as well. It's going to be a fun science experiment!

 

[claudine]

You make it sound so interesting that I feel tempted to try too even though right now I don't have enough of free space for a new plant! I'm sure rice in a big glass vase will look beautiful - and so original. Please remember to keep us posted .

 

[ChanellG]

I will Claudine! I need to find a vase that can hold six inches of dirt, plus as many inches of water that won't tip over when the rice gets to its full height.