Rice Cultivation

June 19th, 2002 Photo Update


Fifteen days have passed since the last update. It will be interesting to see how it's gone during the past two weeks! I've been very busy with work-a-day office stuff, so I have had very little time to devote to the garden. This two week jump ahead is nearly as sudden, for me, as it is for you!

I was very impressed by the greening and the considerable growth.



I'll pick up where we left off. The turnip plant has finished flowering and is now producing seed pods. And look at the mugwort! I placed a lawn chair in front, to give you an idea of the scale. I am, indeed, blessed with this precious herb, for life. If I relocate, all I need do is dig a couple of shovel fulls of root and take it with me.

In 1997, Kathy and I were walking from our hotel to the market, in Belgium. We noticed several patches of mugwort growing in various places, along the way. No one had planted it. After so many centuries of cultivation, it was a free agent.



June 4, 2002

June 19, 2002

The "poor little tykes" are growing up! What once looked like a dirt barrel with a few yellow sprouts, is quickly turning into a green fountain. The roots have taken hold in the drenched soil. And, now, only total neglect would keep these plants from making seeds!

I repeat, rice is a grass and a very hardy grass, at that! I took it to its limits through germination in the restricted environs of a house. The unseasonably cold weather forced the rice from being planted until the last possible moment and, still, it came back!

If even a tiny bit if this plant's vitality and life force is passed along to us, by eating it, then what can we not accomplish?

Look also to the wheat, the maize, the vast fields of grain that support our lives and our livestock. These quiet blades of grass can change the course of civilization and the course of our ultimate destiny. They already have, countless times, over countless centuries. And they will continue to do so. Quietly, with the slow, patient energy that bobs, like driftwood, on waves of rising and falling empires.


The direct planted (non-paddy) rice is also doing very well. Though it is thinner and shorter than the paddy grown, it promises to produce a fine yield. I hope to see it with drooping heads, waving in the breeze, come Autumn. Proof that rice requires little cultivation or worry!

Summer has arrived. And with it, many adventures and promises! At times, I find that I must travel far from home. I won't always be there for my garden and, I am certain, the yield will be less for my absence. It is a symbiotic relationship. It is also a relationship that I cherish.

The wind through the branches sounds like ocean waves along the beach and, I swear, there are more interesting and fun things to do, than on any beach, on any world. But, I must go. I will leave my green allies to fend for themselves, with a little help from my friends.

When I find the time (in this busy world) I will check back in with you, my friends, and let you know how the garden is growing. Meanwhile, I hope you are enjoying your own gardens (be they gardens of grandchildren, gardens of working friends, or gardens of delight).

But be assured. The majority of the work has been accomplished! The seeds have germinated and the seedlings have been transplanted into a fertile environment. Now, they will grow. A little observation, a little cultivation and then, one final effort. The joyous work of the harvest!

Look for additional updates in the fall.



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