Wild Rice?

[Kevin Hannah]

Anyone every planted wild rice in their ponds? If so how did it turn out and where did you get the seed from, just a local supplier?

A pond I hunt in had wild rice planted in it years ago and the owner wants to re plant it. There is still some (very little) in various locations in the pond.

Any feed back would be great.

Kevin

[yellowlab04]

hey kev, me and chris tryed transplanting rice with 7litre tote bins it took all day and a lot of work most of the rice dyed but some did take it has been 4 years now and we have a small patch of rice but it is getting biger i have beenn told u can harvest rice in a canon with a screen look at how the natives did it there are other plants u can grow to bring ducks in that are alot easyer to plant u can also plant around the pond biologic makes seed for this. good luck

[Huntmaster]

If there was rice there in the past, I think I would find out why it stopped growing first before replanting. maybe the pond is lacking something the rice needs to grow, solve that problem first, then plant, might save you some time and money! Look up wild rice on the net, and see what takes to grow it, then add to the pond! Look at this: http://www.mnwildrice.com/riceinfo.htm

[Huntmaster]

Found this:

Wild rice (which is not a rice, but something much better) grows in the Eastern U.S. and up through Canada. But the larger-seeded varieties are pretty much limited to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and adjacent areas of Canada, Ontario, and Manitoba. So if you live in another area, you could try planting a small plot and see if you might be able to grow it. I’ve grown a lot of things that “experts” said would never grow in my location.

Much of the wild, wild rice, growing in lakes and streams of the northland was once planted by the Ojibway Indians. It is of such value, it’s a shame that more people today don’t follow this practice.

Wild rice is particular about its growing location. It won’t grow in contaminated or stagnated water. It must have clean, moving water without heavy competition from other water plants and reeds. The water must be at least two to four inches deep, but not deeper during the spring or the plant will die as it germinates and the plant begins to grow. Strong, older plants can live in water up to three feet deep. You’ll have better luck growing wild rice if your pond has an inlet and outlet, allowing for gently flowing water, than if the pond has no movement.

Plant your seed either during the fall or spring. The fall is best if you aren’t bothered by many feeding ducks, as they will dig down and eat the seed. Otherwise the spring will do. The seed is scattered in a band about six feet wide, along the necessary depths. The traditional way is to wade in the muck and smush seed in by hand every few feet, as you wade. Do not plant it too deeply, however.

The first sign you’ll see of your wild rice planting is two floating leaves on the water in April or May. From there, it quickly becomes more “grassy” in appearance, rising from the water with a flower head.

No, you can’t plant the wild rice from the supermarket. It has been processed by drying and toasting, which kills the viability of the seed. You must buy wild rice seed or, better yet, harvest some of your own seed from a body of water nearby.

In August and September, the wild rice is ripe and will shatter quite easily. When we lived in Minnesota, we took a canoe down the rivers and along secret lake shores to harvest wild rice. One person sat in the stern and poled slowly through a stand of manomin (wild rice). The other knelt in the center, on a clean tarp covering the bottom of the canoe. By gently bending the armfuls of wild rice over the gunnel, you could flail the grain onto the tarp with a smooth stick.

You might like to give it a try. It is a traditional, very fulfilling way to spend a weekend—and bring home many pounds of wonderful grain to use. It only needs to be dried, toasted gently, and the grain threshed from the chaff.

Yes, wild rice will come up, year after year and it will spread from its own seed. But I’ve never known a patch to become invasive. Good luck with your own patch.

Jackie

[dan]

I read that article in Ontario out of Doors about the guy taht hunted over wild rice in Kapuskasing. It was interesting because I know exactly where that spot is on that River. Its pretty hard to miss actually.

Dan