Rice?

[Susan]

Anybody trying to grow rice? Or know of anybody who is?

I'm trying to find some dryland rice to grow here in Arizona...I know it exists, but outside of Asia I don't know where. I've only found one place online that even sells rice in seed form here in the US.

[Jon Strode]

Susan,

Try the link below.It may have what you are looking for.

Jon


http://www.greenconserve.com/seed_catalog.html

[Susan]

I don't think that will work, they have a catalog but it's for Indian farmers. Thanks, though. That's the problem I've been running into all along -- rice simply isn't grown here as a small crop like corn or beans.

I guess I'll just keep looking. Or maybe I'll have to grow some varieties of millet to make do. We simply eat too many Middle Eastern and Indian dishes as our cooking preference to do without either rice or millet.

[Edson]

Small Scale Grain Raising cites a December 1975 article from Organic Gardening and Farming magazine (and quotes extensively from it). I don't know if the technique described would apply to your case though. It has another section on wild rice (which is a different plant altogether). It doesn't list any seed sources. Not sure if that helps much...

[amygwh]

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange is offering two varieties of rice this year. I've no idea how it will do in Arizona, but I've grown rice from SESE in my front yard in a little twelve-square-foot rectangle. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the hulls off. There's still a full cup of unhulled rice in my fridge left from this experiment. Maybe you will have better luck!

-Amy, NW of Atlanta
(hope the hyperlink works!)

[Susan]

Thanks, they do have several varieties that might be worth trying. And Edson I just bought the new edition of that book but I already loaned it out to some friends who farm -- it might be a while before I can check the bibliography ;) I told them I needed the book back by the middle of October or so, I'll be trying some winter wheat in one or two of my beds.