Planting rice in swanp

shadebaby

Six Pointer
Thinking about planting rice in the swamp for next season. Has anyone done it? Good or bad results?

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Hydemarsh

Six Pointer
Thinking about planting rice in the swamp for next season. Has anyone done it? Good or bad results? opot from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk
I tried it two years ago. Ordered wild rice, water celery, and Sago pond weed from Ketner's. Sago did great but took two years to really spread, water celery not too good, and wild rice not at all. I did what I was told in the instructions but it just did not work. Did have a friend that tried commercial rice in a wet area that usually floods in the fall. It worked ok but it required water control.

One thing we tried in a shallow swamp that worked really well was smart weed. we bought seeds and spread them. it really did well and attracted a lot of ducks. However it may have done well without seeds. smart weed is common in central nc swamps. it may have been all the fertilizer we put out that made it grow and produce so many seeds. Drew in a lot of Mallards.
 

shadebaby

Six Pointer
What is the average water depth of the area planted. I'm guessing you planted in the summer when the water was low.

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kahunter

Eight Pointer
Wild rice is a waste of money. If you can control the water, plant a commercial rice variety. It will produce much better results.
I agree with the smartweed. You can save some money and do a slow spring drawdown and see what comes up this year. May not need to seed at all.
Ofcourse this is all dependent on being able to control water
 
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woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
I used to harvest some wild rice back when I was a kid,,,,lots of work,,,,but I was all into "living off the land" back then,,,wife ain't so much for that concept

I used to think it was only a northern thing, but I have learned there is a variety that grows naturally along the east coast states - never seen it personally though (or didn't recognize it if I did)

good luck
 

shurshot

Ten Pointer
Hard to say what will work in your swamp, we really need to know many things. Can you manipulate the water level, is it subject to flooding and/or drought, how deep is it normally, is the water muddy or clear, how much sunlight does it receive, what’s growing in the water, what are the dominant trees in/around it, what type of vegetation is growing throughout it, what type of birds dominate it, is it a feed, rest or roost spot. etc. , etc ...

One thing is pretty certain.Wild rice is extremely hard to grow in our swamps. I don’t recall ever hearing of anyone growing it successfully nor have I ever seen it around here.
 

Hydemarsh

Six Pointer
Works better if you spread it out the 3 or 4 weeks before season.

Had an acquaintance try that this year and it just laid there and rotted. Got to have ducks before bait will work. got to have enough ducks so they are not distracted by the millions of bushels available to them.
 

ridenismo

Six Pointer
Hurricane Matthew flooded the corn fields near me and ran all the corn into the swamp, corn was growing all along the edges. Not well and very few producing ears, but corn was for sure growing in a few spots.
 

Roanoke

Eight Pointer
I have planted a great amount of rice in the past. Like Jap Millet, is not a long lasting food source. North Eastern NC is also too far north for great results. Another good option is Banana Water Liley. PM me and I will send you some pictures of what water lily looks like this time of year and how much fowl it can hold.
 
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shadebaby

Six Pointer
I have planted a great amount of rice in the past. Like Jap Millet, is not a long lasting food source. North Eastern NC is also too far north for great results. Another good option is Banana Water Liley. PM me and I will send you some pictures of what water lily looks like this time of year and how much fowl it can hold.

I think you have to have a certain number of posts to use the pm feature.
 

Hydemarsh

Six Pointer
I have planted a great amount of rice in the past. Like Jap Millet, is not a long lasting food source. North Eastern NC is also too far north for great results. Another good option is Banana Water Liley. PM me and I will send you some pictures of what water lily looks like this time of year and how much fowl it can hold.

It is real simple, just go to Frost Waterfowl trust. Jim Hill has multiple videos on it. It is very expensive and primarily draws ring necks. Requires year round water. Not native but ducks like it, So do beavers and can eat your investment quickly.
If you have year round water you may also want o look at widgeon weed. If you find a local source (spot in the sound, river or pond) just fill some bukets and put it out in your sot. it is what is in the Pea island impounments. draws thousands of ducks.
 

Roanoke

Eight Pointer
Also try Barnyard Grass. DU Biologist told me about this a few years ago. Took me a while to get it right. I was using too much nitrogen the first year. All you have to do is disk your low grounds and it will come back the following year. Great opting if you have a timber area that floods in the winter.
 
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shurshot

Ten Pointer
Below is something I copied from another forum on planting rice. Very good. Info.

“Download a copy of the Rice Handbook from the University of Arkansas Ag Extension website and study up on rice culture. You can grow rice if you learn how it is done commercially and if you have the appropriate place and resources. Rice is a heavy nitrogen user. Just broadcasting it and walking away is not likely to work very well. Growing rice successfully typically requires a lot of inputs (fertilizer, herbicides, water) at the right times, but that doesn't mean that you can't do it without fancy equipment.”
 

shadebaby

Six Pointer
Below is something I copied from another forum on planting rice. Very good. Info.

“Download a copy of the Rice Handbook from the University of Arkansas Ag Extension website and study up on rice culture. You can grow rice if you learn how it is done commercially and if you have the appropriate place and resources. Rice is a heavy nitrogen user. Just broadcasting it and walking away is not likely to work very well. Growing rice successfully typically requires a lot of inputs (fertilizer, herbicides, water) at the right times, but that doesn't mean that you can't do it without fancy equipment.”
Thanks

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