Growing Rice

[WIkalanchoe]

I love rice and would love to grow some. I've found several different websites about growing rice in containers and think I can make it work. So I've ordered some rice seed through a local supplier to give it a try.
Anyone here ever grow rice? Know what to expect? Or have any tips?

 

[Rosalind]

Chinese co-worker says, his family grew rice in paddies in China, and they never started the plants from seed--the People's Republic provides their plants. Presumably you start them in a pot until they are small plant-size (like a long grass blade) and then plonk them down in a soggy spot. Takes lots of water, so may be appropriate for a rain garden type of thing? He says, in China they plant the seedlings in shallow-ish standing mud, then wait a few weeks, then flood the paddies with water. The paddies stay flooded for a few months, and in that time they let baby carp swim through the rice plants. The carp eat snails and things and grow quite big. He says, you can use goldfish or catfish or something, too. Then at the end of the season, when the rice is ready to harvest, they drain the paddies and harvest the fish at the same time.

Indian co-worker agrees that this is a good way to do it, especially if you happen to be an impoverished rural resident of a Third World country.