2. Plow your field. Enlisting the services of a tractor will cost about 25 Canadian dollars per acre, while a bull ox is slightly less.
3. Use sticks and rope to delineate rows about 15cm apart.
4. Take a larger stick and 'dibble' by making small holes at 15cm intervals. Although you have the option of 'broadcasting' your seed by throwing it and using a tractor to mix it into the soil, this approach is less effective. Seeds are not always covered uniformly, are more susceptible to attack by birds. Dibbling and planting in rows also allows for more efficient use of chemical fertilizer as it can be placed in holes directly adjacent to the rice, ensuring maximum absorption.
5. Place roughly 5 grains of rice in each hole. This is a good time to enlist the assistance of some extra labour.
6. Cover the holes by stomping on them with your feet. It helps to have a good large group of people.
7. Planting is complete. Take a rest before returning to the village.
8. After 2 or 3 weeks, apply two bags of NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium) 15-15-15 fertilizer by dibbling holes next to the rice stocks. One bag of Sulphate of Ammonia fertilizer should be applied as a top dressing (broadcast) after about a month.
9. Watch your rice grow!
8 comments:
all this talk of rice is making me hungry
If you cut the grass and spread it around the bare earth as a mulch/compost it will retain more moisture as well as fertilize naturally and you wont need to buy anything at all. Research permaculture a system which encourages using local resouces and not buying or applying any pesticides fertilizers.
Good point, part of the NERICA rice report I'm writing is focusing on soil fertility alternatives. While applying organic wastes to the soil can enhance fertility, often agricultural wastes have competing uses (ie stems being used to weave mats, make roofs). Have you ever tried covering three acres with grass? I think you'd need at least three acres of grass, which in most areas just isn't available as increasing populations have put pressure on the availability of land. This is actually where much of the existing soil fertility problems stem from, in the past there was enough land to leave it to fallow for 10 years, now farmers can only afford to fallow for 1 or 2 at most. Still, a more sustainable option to chemical fertilizer is certainly needed. Unfortuntalty I don't think it's as simple as telling farmers 'you should apply grass clippings'.
Oh snap 2nd commenter you just got served.
I thought rice could only be grown in wet conditions. I was told it had to be covered with 2-4 inches of water for several months, such as growing it in a bucket where the water could be retained. How is this rice growing in what looks like very dry soil?
It is an upland variety of rice which requires less water. Most farmers told me it does the best in land that is sort of between lowland and highland though.
If you're interested in NERICA rice try reading this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Rice_for_Africa
Hey sam, nice crop you had there, Just wondering, about how much rice did you end up harvesting? And what did you end up using the rice stalks for?
I looked as those stalks and saw some wonderful compost waiting to happen.
I'm sorry to say I wasn't around long enough to find out how the rice turned out. I can't tell you whether the farmers composted, only that I observed other farmers in the District composting.
Post a Comment