Planting
Rice is selected for growing after winter. Farmers do this by pouring rice seeds in a bucket of salted water. Only the densest ones that sink to the bottom are kept. The selected rice seeds are then soaked in cool water for about 10 days, followed by a soaking in warm water for 2-3 days. This is done to soften them up and to encourage them to start sprouting. Once the seeds have started to sprout, they are ready for their first planting. Farmers nowadays usually choose a green house to start the seedlings out because they are very fragile and tender. By the middle of may, the rice seedlings are ready for transplanting into the water fields that the farmers worked so hard on while the seedlings were germinating in the green house. Some farmers plant the rice seedlings by hand while other farmers use the help of a small, mechanical machine that carefully plants the rice seedlings into the moist soil. After all the rice has been planted, the water in the field is raised to protect the seedlings from a storm.
In early summer, when the seedlings start to mature, the water is reduced. The farmers dig small trenches between the rice rows to allow the rice to adjust to the water changes easier and quicker.
Some farmers raise ducks, and employ them in the rice paddies to help them work. This can make farming the rice paddies a lot easier because ducks pull out harmful weeds, soften the soil with their feet, and fertilize the soil. After the rice plants branch out, the water is totally drained out for 1 week. This is done because the rice plants need the soil to stay fresh and oxygenated. Draining the soil also allows harmful chemicals and gasses to exscape. When the water is replenished, the rice plants begin to grow �ears.� This is where the rice grains will form. To help the rice grains grow plump; a lot of water is needed during this part of the season. In late July or early August, the rice plants� flowers start to bloom. The top flowers bloom one week ahead of the bottom flowers. The actual flower only blooms for 2 hours! While the flowers are blooming, the rice is pollinated; this allows the grain to grow. Ten days after the flowers have bloomed; the �ears� begin to get droopy and heavy.
Three weeks after the flowers have bloomed, the water is drained from the paddy fields, and the rice is allowed to get brown and crisp. When it reaches the perfect moisture and color, again, some farmers harvest it by hand and others use mechanical machines called thrashers to harvest the rice. The thrashers harvest rice by cutting the plant from the stalk, removing the grain, and then bagging it. If the rice harvesters wanted their rice to be sold, it would be sent to a place called a �country elevator.� The country elevator is where the drying process is completed, and the rice is stored.
