Rice Hulls on the Farm at Seeds of Life
A Farmer’s Dilemma: Imagine This…
Congratulations! You are now a farmer who specializes in growing plants for landscaping companies and homeowners’ yards.
Your business model is no different than any other: you want your cost of labor and supplies to be less than the price of your products so that you turn a profit each season, and it’s up to you to find the most efficient way to accomplish that.
The catch is, you genuinely love plants. You’re a big ol’ tree hugger who cares a lot about the Earth, preserving your state’s natural ecosystems, and practicing ethical, sustainable farming. Operating within your set of moral principles is non-negotiable.
So, what do you do?
1. You create infrastructure for water recycling.
You’ve already invested in a water reclaiming and irrigation system that minimizes nutrient runoff and capitalizes on reclaimed water. Expensive up front? Sure, but the long term savings for your wallet and your local environment are priceless.
2. You leverage the tiny heroes and maximize your byproducts.
You’ve also started implementing the use of microbial fertilizers and beneficial fungi as soil enhancers to strengthen the nutrient network in your groves. You barely need to fertilize because you use the leaf drop from your trees to create natural mulches and compost fertilizers.
Oh, and that leaf drop mulch? It also cuts down on the amount of watering you need to do during the hot months by preventing evaporation. Talk about a 1-2 punch!
3. You switch to conscientious use of fertilizers and always do the math.
When you do use a chemical fertilizer, you stick to slow release fertilizers, which are far better for the environment. Once again, it’s the more expensive solution up front, but you use far less fertilizer over time. It’s a significant savings for you and the planet.
You also make sure to stay on top of your math, so you’re not using any more chemical fertilizer than is absolutely necessary (you hire a small team of scientists to help you recalculate according to your soil’s needs every year).
And that water reclaiming system? It ensures that any excess fertilizer that gets swept away by rain ends up working its way back to your groves.
4. You let nature handle your pest control.
Pesticide chemicals at the agricultural level are nondiscriminatory chemicals that behave almost like antibiotics: when you take an antibiotic, it kills all the bacteria in your system, including the good stuff. Chemical pesticides take out the good bugs and the bad bugs, they’re expensive, they’re a temporary solution to a long term problem, and they leech their chemical runoff into the environment. No, thank you.
Instead, you release a population of ladybugs into your groves. Ladybugs are the natural predators to most of the pest species in your local fauna, so they work as both pollinators and built-in pest control! They naturally replace their own population. Once again, you’ve found the answer that meets your business and environmental needs!
Any other pest issues that the ladybugs miss, you handle with neem oil – a natural, nonchemical and ecofriendly pest solution that’s really effective at eliminating stubborn pests.
What’s left?
WaterSoil healthFertilizerMulchPest control- Weed control
Ahhhh, right.
Weed Control
Most solutions to weed control start and end with chemical solutions, called herbicides. Much like pesticides, herbicides do not discriminate against which plants they wipe out, and the runoff presents its own issue. You need a better solution.
The mulch you use does a good job at taking care of your established, mature plants. These trees and plants are big and hearty, and the mulch itself is bulky, too. It works by choking out any existing weeds, robbing them of precious sunlight and circulation. The mulch prevents future weeds from taking root, because they cannot access the soil beneath in order to establish roots and access the water and nutrients contained within.
But what about your young plants? The ones still in your nursery?
You don’t want to douse those in chemicals; they’re young and can’t take on that level of stress. You need a small, nonbulky mulching material that’s cost effective and naturally sustainable. The answer is rice hulls.
Rice Hulls for Weed Control
Seeds of Life visionary, Matt Roth, is the farmer-in-chief and resident plant nerd on our groves, and he’s always looking for more environmentally conscious solutions to agricultural ailments. When he heard about rice hulls, he thought it was too good to be true!
One Person’s Trash, Another’s Treasure
Rice hulls are the byproduct of rice farming. Grains of rice grow encased in these hulls, which are mechanically removed during the refinement process. The hulls are useless to the refineries, so they can be purchased extremely cheaply for pennies per container. When used as a mulch, they offer dense yet lightweight coverage.
Agriculturists have learned that rice hulls are optimal for nursery plants, which are grown in containers and are most susceptible to weedy complications. By applying a 1-2 inch layer of rice hulls to the topsoil of these young plants, they prevent weeds from taking hold.
Like all mulch, this method also reduces the amount of evaporation that takes place over time. The hulls will also naturally decompose over time, resulting in a nutrient deposit for the plant.
Can you, a homeowner, use rice hulls?
Yes, absolutely!
They’re best applied in raised beds and potted plants. The hulls take a year or two to fully break down, so you’ll be set up for long term success.
There is one consideration: birds and squirrels. Your friendly neighborhood fauna may decide that your rice hull fertilizer looks a lot like a tasty snack. Matt warns that they’ll come in droves at first, but over time, they’ll realize that’s not the food source they think it is.
If you’re concerned about birds, we suggest using this method of weed control on screened-in porches or sparingly on your outdoor potted plants. The animals are unlikely to do any harm by your leafy friends, but the adjustment period can be a little stark.
Happy gardening!