How to Grow Wild Rice in a Drainage Ditch

When planning a garden, it is easy to overlook seemingly undesirable locations such as drainage fields and ditches. However, these water-logged, often neglected areas provide an ideal environment for cultivating water-loving crops such as wild rice. Wild rice grows naturally in the temperate wetlands of North America and is sometimes cultivated as a food crop for its nutty, sweet seeds. The plants rely on a brief chilling period and constant moisture to thrive, so planting them in a drainage ditch in autumn is an ideal and highly effective means of growing a healthy, productive crop of wild rice.

Rotary tiller
Soil roller
Garden hose

Instructions

- 1
  Prepare the drainage ditch for planting before the first rain in autumn. Remove weeds and other vegetative from around the edges of the ditch. Run a rotary tiller set to cultivate at a depth of 10 inches along the bottom of the ditch. Wait until after a moderate rain shower to plant the wild rice seed.
- 2
  Broadcast the wild rice seeds by hand along the bottom of the drainage ditch. Try to distribute the seeds evenly with between five and 10 seeds per square foot.
- 3
  Run a soil roller over the bottom of the drainage ditch to press the wild rice seeds into the soil, or press them into the soil using your hands and feet if a soil roller is unavailable.
- 4
  Spread a 1- to 3-inch-thick layer of garden soil on top of the wild rice seeds. Tamp the soil down with the soil roller or by using your hands and feet.
- 5
  Run a garden hose on low volume into the drainage ditch until it is filled 4 to 6 inches deep with water. If rain is scant during the winter, run water into the drainage ditch to keep the volume above 4 inches deep at all times.
- 6
  Watch for germination the following spring once temperatures top 65 degrees F for one to two weeks. Thin the wild rice seedlings so that four remain per square foot.
- 7
  Weed between the wild rice seedlings as often as possible to keep competition from weeds and other unwanted vegetation at bay. Do not use herbicides on or around the wild rice plants since they are very sensitive.
- 8
  Cease adding water to the drainage ditch around the beginning of July. Allow the drainage ditch to dry out for a week or two in anticipation of harvesting.
- 9
  Harvest the wild rice by placing the seedheads inside a plastic bag. Hold the bag closed then bend the stalks so the seed heads are upside-down. Shake the seed heads to dislodge the wild rice.
- 10
  Till the wild rice plants into the soil of the drainage ditch using the rotary tiller. Work the plants under the soil to a depth of 8 to 10 inches. Let the vegetation thoroughly decompose before sowing another crop of wild rice in the same section of the drainage ditch.

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