Wild rice source / zizania aquatica

[canadamike]

I just located a canadian source for it, It has to be bought by kilos, this is a company specializing in re-naturalisation . It is 65$ per kilo. Somebody here interested to split a kilo???

[bunkie]

i'm not sure michel. we have a pond we dug with ground water that we use for irrigation, and in the spring there is runoff, a semi-stream that lasts most of the summer, can't guarentee all summer and fall. it's boggy and wet, lots of cattails, and reading about this wild rice it says they don't like shade. i wonder if the dampness would be enough, or that they prefer water, 10 cm at the least i think it said.

what was your plan to grow it michel?

lools like there's none in the western US growing...

plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ZIAQ

Cultivation details

www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Zizania+aquatica

Easily grown in water up to 60cm deep, it tolerates water up to 1 metre deep though it prefers growing in water 10 - 20cm deep[136]. It dislikes stagnant water[20].

A very ornamental plant[1], it grows, flowers and fruits well in the lake and lily pond at Kew[136]. Plants can self-sow in Britain, but the seed tends to germinate too late to mature a fresh crop of seed in this country, so the plant gradually dies out[136]. It would possibly maintain itself in areas such as the Isle of Wight, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk[136]. It is a very hardy plant, the seed survives being frozen in ice[136]. Plants grown at a 30cm square spacing can produce 20 or more flowering shoots[136].

Often collected from the wild, this plant is now being cultivated commercially for its edible seed[183]. It is considered a gourmet's delicacy and is sold in many parts of the world, usually in health food shops and usually at a very high price[136].

Plants require protection from wild fowl otherwise they will devour the young growth[136]. Plants are occasionally sown by lakes and rivers in Europe to attract wild fowl[50].

Propagation
Seed - it must not be allowed to dry out or it will quickly lose its viability, usually within 4 weeks[136]. Store collected seed in jars of water in a cool place such as the salad compartment of a fridge. Sow the seed in spring. Immerse the pots so that they are covered by about 5cm of water. It is best to sow 2 seeds per 7cm pot in a greenhouse in order to get early germination and a better chance of a crop[136]. Pot on as required and plant out about 30cm square in May, by which time the plants should be 20 - 30cm tall[136]. Larger quantities can be sown in shallow boxes and plunged into the pond etc in May.

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