How to grow the rice plant?

Rice, the main ingredient in many meals. It can be accompanied with practically anything: meat, fish, vegetables,… it may even be good with chopped fruit. But is there a way to get a good amount without having to buy it at the supermarket?

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

Index

  • 1 Planting of rice
    • 1.1 Acquire seeds
    • 1.2 Prepare the ground
    • 1.3 Sow the seeds
    • 1.4 Rice harvest
    • 1.5 How to cook it?

planting of rice

camaroli rice grains

buy 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, fluffy grains.
  • Medium Grain Rice – The grains are moist, tender, a bit 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 more flavor and aroma. Basmati, jasmine, red, and black rice are included.
  • Arborio Rice – This variety produces grains that turn creamy with chewy centers after cooking.

prepare the ground

The soil where rice is to be grown must 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 grasses and stones. You can help yourself with a motocultor if the land is very extensive.
  2. Add organic compost to the soil, a layer of 2-3cm, and mix it with the soil.
  3. To have the seeds located and controlled, you can put several stakes that delimit the perimeter of the planting area.
  4. Finally, install the irrigation system.

sow the seeds

Once the ground is ready, sow the seeds throughout it. They must be separated by at least 10cm , since otherwise they would grow very close together and could spoil. In addition, for them to germinate it is very important that the soil is permanently moist, even completely flooded (no more than 5cm of water). Thus, they will be able to grow without missing anything.

rice harvest

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 grain of rice 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 place .

How to cook it?

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

  1. Put the heads of the stems in the oven for one hour at a temperature of 82ºC.
  2. Separate the beans from the husks. It requires a lot, a lot of patience.
  3. Now you can cook them and prepare them as you like 🙂 .
Rice plantation
How to grow the rice plant?

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