You can grow your own rice without having to flood your garden.
Growing rice in a home garden can be tricky, due to the water requirements -- rice often needs to have several inches of water covering its soil. The reason this requirement can be problematic in a home garden is that the excessive water that nourishes the rice can kill your other plants. The good news is that you can easily overcome this issue by using a child's plastic wading pool in which to grow the rice. Just be sure the pool has no holes in the bottom, because you want the soil to retain all of the water you give it. Prepare to plant your rice in late spring or early summer, when the temperature remains consistently hot for 90 to 120 days. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Place 1 cup of unprocessed rice in a plastic bucket or container. Make sure the rice is unprocessed or it will not germinate.
2. Add enough water to completely cover the rice and let it soak for 24 to 36 hours.
3. Drain the water out of the container and spread the rice on a towel to dry for 24 hours.
4. Fill a child's plastic wading pool with 5 to 6 inches of potting soil. Make sure the pool is in an area of your yard that receives 8 hours of direct sunlight per day.
5. Put on a pair of work gloves and spread a layer of compost on top of the soil. Work the compost into the soil with your hands.
6. Add enough water to the pool so that the water level is about 4 inches above the surface of the soil.
7. Sprinkle your rice into the water as evenly as you can and let it settle naturally onto the surface of the soil.
8. Keep the water level 4 to 5 inches above the soil surface at all times.
9. Harvest the rice when the tops, or heads, bend over and turn brown. This normally takes between 90 and 120 days. Drain the pool either with a pump or by punching holes in the bottom. Allow the rice plants to dry out for two weeks after you drain the pool before harvesting.
Tags: your rice, child plastic, child plastic wading, enough water, holes bottom, home garden