The experiment of growing rice in an urban environment enters its second week. In the class on Sunday our mentor, Farmer K, allayed my concerns about my decision to downcycle a plastic bottle into a pot: in fact, a “pot” without drainage is ideal for growing rice since rice plants prefer very moist soil.
After a few weeks of cool and dry weather in Hong Kong, the temperature has risen to around 25C and 90% humidity. This should be more conducive of growing rice, but my new concerns are that this indoor “rice paddy” could become a mosquito breeding ground and that the rice may suffer when I turn on the Air Conditioning to make the room more comfortable in the evening.
In the morning, around 9:00am there is not much to be seen. Our mentor, Farmer K, noted that the rice was slightly too waterlogged.
In the evening at around 8pm, after only 11 hours, there were shoots clearly visible. A lot of the water either soaked into the soil or evaporated. It’s looking like this experiment may be successful after all.
