Comments on: Growing rice in Canada – some hopeful signs

By: David

David — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:01:00 +0000

well Andrew i think anyone reading this, would be interested, why not post results for all to see. so far it seems not profitabe to do this but, do have interest in trying to grow a few plants here in Toronto for fun and see what happens.
David

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:32:11 +0000

Hi,

I’ll be interested to hear if you’re still reading these.

We undertook a commercial rice cultivation trial in Quebec last summer – and will be further expanding it next summer.

Email me if you’re interested.

Andrew

By: digitalcog

digitalcog — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 20:21:22 +0000

I am trying to grow short grain rice in Ireland this season. I am at 52ºN but the gulf stream stops the summers from being as cold as that would imply. It’s still a long shot though.

I germinated a Japonica variety that I eat that is grown in Italy but it is only progressing very slowly. I have planted them in trays and keep them in a plastic mini-greenhouse like contraption out the back. This stops them from getting too cold at night and really heats them up to where they need to be during the day. I’ll write about the progress/failure over the next few months on my blog.

There does not seem to be many people attempting to grow rice in colder climates as we are, so I look forward to reading about any further efforts you make.

By: jwindh

jwindh — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:27:07 +0000

I’ll definitely keep y’all posted.

Most of my 12 rice plants have now bloomed or are about to bloom. I think they really liked that sunny stretch we had earlier in the month. I expect to get maybe a tablespoon of rice from this whole exercise? Well, if I can make sure they pollinate…

I am working on sourcing some rice seed from Kazakhstan – grown at latitude 48ºN (we’re 49º here) and presumably at some altitude, it should be pretty acclimatized to our cooler growing conditions. Will report all results here, of course.

By: greg blanchette

greg blanchette — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:22:37 +0000

Hey, Jack-o
I’ve been wondering about your rice. I eat a lot of it, all imported of course, and none grown any closer than California, far as i can tell. When climate-induced food changes come along … what’ll be the starch of choice around here? Skunk cabbage root. (The Brits call them “swamp lantern,” much tastier sounding.)

You’re right — food *is* on a lot of peoples’ minds these days, though apparently not our national leaders.

Keep us posted.