How to grow the rice plant?

Rice, the main ingredient in many meals. It can be accompanied with practically everything: meat, fish, vegetables, ... it is even possible that it is good with chopped fruits. But is there a way to get a good amount without having to buy it from the supermarket?

The answer is yes. Do you dare to grow your own rice plant?

Sowing rice

Acquire seeds

The first thing you have to do is get the rice seeds at any garden store. You will see that there are six types, which are:

• Long grain rice: This variety produces light and fluffy beans.
• Medium grain rice- The beans are moist, tender, a little sticky and creamy.
• Short grain rice: once cooked, the grain becomes softer and stickier.
• Sweet rice: or glutinous rice. The grain becomes sticky once cooked.
• Aromatic rice: it is the variety that produces grains with the most flavor and aroma. Basmati, jasmine, red and black rice are included.
• Arborio rice- This variety produces grains that become creamy with a chewy center after cooking.

Prepare the ground

The soil where rice will be grown has to be slightly acidic, with a pH between 5 and 6,5. Knowing this, you can prepare the ground in the following way:

1. Remove wild herbs and stones. You can help yourself with a rototiller if the terrain is very extensive.
2. Add organic compost to the soil, a 2-3cm layer, and mix it with the soil.
3. To have the seeds located and controlled, you can put several tutors that delimit the perimeter of the planting area.
4. Finally, install the irrigation system. You can also read more about flood irrigation which is useful for rice cultivation.

Sow the seeds

Once the ground is ready, sow the seeds along it. They must be at least 10cm apart, otherwise they would grow too close together and could spoil. Furthermore, for them to germinate, it is very important that the soil be constantly moist, even completely flooded (no more than 5 cm of water). This way, they will be able to grow without lacking anything. Don't forget that there are crops that require a lot of water to grow properly, as is the case with rice.

Harvesting the rice

After 3-4 months the rice plants will have reached a height of up to 37,5cm, an ideal time to drain the soil and flood it again. When the rice grain has turned a golden color (about two weeks after the soil has been drained) cut the stems and let them dry for 2-3 weeks in a dry and sunny placeFor more information on similar crops, you can visit rice as a cereal and you may also be interested in crops that require more water.

How to cook it?

If you are wanting to taste your rice, follow this step by step:

1. Put the heads of the stems in the oven for an hour at a temperature of 82ºC.
2. Separate the grains from the husks. It takes a lot, a lot of patience.
3. Now you can cook them and prepare them as you like  .

Would you like to grow rice?

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