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Rice Water for Plants: Benefits and How to Make Rice Water for Plants

When preparing rice, the water used in cooking tends to be just thrown away. Did you know that this is wasteful and that you can use that water for many things, including caring for your plants? The benefits of rice water for plants are no myth, as well as being an exceptional way to make better use of both water and food, helping to bring a little more sustainability and green thinking to your way of life.

If you want to learn how to make rice water for plants (from rice water (Oryza sativa L.).), don’t go away and join us in this article where we talk about the benefits and how to prepare rice water.

Is Rice Water Good for Plants?

Is Rice Water Good for Plants? Nobody wants to risk damaging their plants with a product that may not be beneficial, and many rumors and myths that run popularly in the gardening world, many of them erroneous and even dangerous for the crop, make it very normal and healthy to distrust those miracle solutions that everyone seems to preach.

However, in this case, we can say without fear that rice water for plants is no unfounded rumor: its benefits are more than proven and have no downside. Watering your plants with rice water is an excellent way to fertilize them and give them an extra supply of nutrients, taking advantage of a product that you were going to throw away.

Benefits Of Rice Water for Plants

The benefits of rice water for plants are multiple.

  • Rice water for plants is a liquid very rich in nutrients, which results in a first-rate fertilizer for crops. Rice water is rich in proteins, fiber, amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and potassium, as well as many vitamins, all of which are very beneficial for plant development.
  • By using rice water, you provide rice starch for plants. Starch is a sugar that plants synthesize through photosynthesis and store for when they need nutrients, so giving the plant an extra supply of it will make things much easier.
  • Similarly, the carbohydrates that starch contains are valuable food for beneficial bacteria in the soil, which help break down the organic matter in the soil into elements that plant roots can assimilate.
  • Keeping the plant strong and the bacterial population healthy also promotes an environment that is much more resistant to pests, which are less likely to take hold in the crop.

As you will observe, using rice water on plants has many benefits.

benefits rice water for plants Is Rice Water Good for Plants?
Is Rice Water Good for Plants? Rice water has benefits for plants, as it provides them with many nutrients necessary for their growth.

How To Make Rice Water for Plants

How To Make Rice Water for Plants. There are several ways to use rice water to irrigate plants and strengthen them, although in all cases there is a very important point that should not be overlooked: do not add salt to the water to boil the rice if you are going to use rice water for your plants. Salt is a very harmful element for most crops, which added to the irrigation water, would not only nullify the beneficial properties of the rice water but would also seriously damage the health of your plants and the soil. You should add the salt afterward, directly to your cooked rice to eat it.

Follow these steps to make rice water for plants:

  1. Boil the rice, but without salt or added oil or spices, and remove it when it is cooked to your liking, keeping the water aside.
  2. The important thing is to get a very well-filtered rice water free of impurities. You should strain it with a fine cloth strainer or sieve once the rice is boiled so that you can use it for your plants.
  3. Keep in mind, you should let the rice water cool down to room temperature, as hot water could damage the plants.
  4. Likewise, if you let it stand too long it will lose all its beneficial properties, so it is not suitable for storage, you should use it the same day you boil the rice.
  5. One of the ways to use rice water is to spray it on your plants in the form of irrigation. For this, you must filter it well so that it does not clog the sprayer. Dilute two parts rice water to one part water, add it to the sprayer, and you can spray the plants with it, both from above and on the underside of their leaves and the soil surface, preferably early or late in the day, away from strong sunlight.
  6. Another way to use rice water for plants is by the method of bottom watering or soak irrigation, which prevents plants that do not tolerate moisture in their aerial part from suffering. Place the pot in a larger container, to which you have added enough rice water so that it is a few centimeters above the level of the drainage holes in the pot. In this way, the water will penetrate underneath, being absorbed by the roots and soil. After about 20 minutes, remove the pot, allow the excess water to drain out, and return it to its usual location.

We hope this article will be useful for you to have healthy plants. We recommend our article about how to grow rice at home.

how to make rice water for plants  Is Rice Water Good for Plants?
How to Make Rice Water for Plants. Preparing rice water for plants is very simple and this will bring many benefits to plant growth.

About Henry Morgan

Henry Morgan is an agronomist horticulture founder of The Garden Style Company and The Garden Style Website. He previously worked for Mondelēz International as an Agronomist Engineer specializing in agricultural products management in highly populated areas. In 2000, Henry started working with farmer-producers in agricultural businesses selling wholesale fresh produce and retail plants in Van Buren, Arkansas. Nowadays, Henry lives in California, where he offers expert consulting services for organic vegetable gardening. As a science writer working with his wife, Julia, Henry shares his passion for gardening and farming, trying to reach and teach as many folks as possible.

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