Growing a crop of rice

First you need to find rice that will germinate - try using unpolished, organic and/or wild rice. You do this by sprinkling 30 – 40 grains of rice onto a piece of kitchen paper placed in a small tub or saucer. Soak the kitchen paper with water and place it on a warm window sill or in an airing cupboard. Any healthy rice seed will start to sprout a tiny root after 4 – 6 days.

Now prepare your rice paddy field. Cut the top off a 1.5 litre plastic bottle. Place some kitchen paper in the base of the bottle and moisten it with some water. Carefully select 10 – 15 sprouting rice grains and place them onto the moist kitchen paper. Sellotape the top back onto the bottle; this will help to keep the paddy field hot and damp. As the rice grows you can add more and more water until it reaches a maximum depth of 1 cm.

When the rice plants grow to the top of the bottle remove the lid. Keep the bottle on a sunny windowsill and water well. Stop watering completely when you see the first flower head appear. If you are lucky, the rice plants will produce a crop of rice seeds before the plants dry out completely.

Good luck!