How do we grow rice in the Ebro Delta?

Many readers have asked us what is the process of growing rice in Montsià about. Today, we are going to tell you our best kept secret, so pay attention! 

Growing rice is not done overnight, quite the opposite, it needs many months of work. It is a meticulous technique that can last a whole year. The start of the rice cycle is in January or maximum during the month of February.

We begin this crop burying the stubble from the previous year mixing it with the mud of croplands (work called "fanguear"). Later we empty the water from the croplands and once they are dry, we plough them to aerate the soil and then we level and fertilize them, leaving it ready for planting. 

Never before the end of April or beginning of May is when we fill the crops with water again and we proceed to sow them. And then we let our rice grow calmly, at their leisure and with great affection until the month of August, That is when the grain begins to ripen. 

During September and mid-October, to finish the cultivation process, we mow and transport it, to dry and prepare it in our silos waiting for the moment when we have to prepare and package it to visit your kitchens. 

What do you think about the Montsià rice growing process?