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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

I have been reading more on rice growing and have made the following 
notes from various sources:

Rice needs a minimum temp of 50-55 degrees to germinate and grow. 
During active growth, temps need to be near 75
Rice needs a minimum of 4" of water, depth of water can be 3' or more 
with some varieties.
While grown as an annual in the US in places as far north as 
Massachusetts, it can perennialize in some locations where temperature 
and humidity and the growing season is right.
The root system allows the plant to feed from the soil surface.  The 
roots are not deep.
Rice can be more than 4 ft tall
Harvesting at the right time is very important, too early and the 
kernels are hard and tough when cooked; too late and the grains of rice 
will fall apart when cooked.
Long grains are hardest to mill, need longer growing season
Medium length grains are easier to mill and need shorter season
Short grain rices are commonly known as 'sticky' rice
Rice is cut to harvest, then threshed to remove the kernel from the 
stalk.  Then the rice kernels are dried.
Rice with just the hull removed is brown rice.
For white rice, remove bran layer (polish it off), but that is the most 
nutritious part
The stalks of the rice can be woven into sandals or mats or used as fuel 
or thatch..they can also be pressed to obtain the oils from the stalk.
There are floating varieties of rice that grow to over 16 feet.
The grass 'flowers' at approximately 45 days, then ripens for an 
additional month.
Fish probably should be added to the equation to thwart mosquito breeding.
Deer will browse rice, of course, so it should be protected inside a 
fence.  Also protect rice from poultry like guineas and chickens.  In a 
traditional paddy, these would not be huge issues, but on a small scale, 
prevention is important.

Bev

--
“Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to 
hate. Hate leads to suffering.”        Yoda