I am attempting to grow some wild rice (zizania aquatica) in a small seasonal creek in my backyard. I just got the seed I ordered and have yet to plant it. I have widened and deepened the creek in one area, about 18 feet long. It is deep enough that it should retain water all year long, unless we get a severe drought. Does anyone have suggestions about sowing the seed, or other growing advice? I live in central AL, 7b. Thanks

Actually there are two kinds, the ones we get that are weeds that become invasive and the ones we buy in seed packs that are colored, and those won't reseed, but if you buy the orange ones those will I think reseed. I never bought them because I already get them as reseeds anyway as weed, so there is no need to buy them. The key is the color or maybe the colored ones reseed but come back as orange having crossed breed with the wild ones, that wiped out the colors.

Theresa: I pick moss from my back yard and grow it on a pot for future use in a terrarium, that way I know is free of insects. You can find moss anywhere's humid. I came up with a different idea for growing moss 'outside' a pot. First, cut out a firm round plastic lead, make 2 holes, and put a wire thru it and thru the bottom hole of a clay pot (which now is the top), filled with sphagnum moss inside, with a layer outside (I soaked it overnight)then wrapped it with a plastic net. Added the moss, and another plastic net (the net they use on cherry trees to protect fruit from birds). I also added some small ferns, and to keep it moist I water the inside sphagnum moss and also spray the outside. It sounds difficult, but is very easy. You can put it on a humidity tray (with pebbles and water)Here is a pic of mine, it's been about a year now, (I've been "harvesting" always leaving some to regrow) The plastic at the bottom is to keep the sphagnum moss from coming out and the wire so you can pick the pot up without damaging the moss. Hope this helps! Here's a picture to give you a better idea. Ana :) Here is a link that might be useful: growing moss

Terri, that was a good article. I wish the article had included a picture of the poppies, though. I got some seed marked "Gray-Seeded Poppy" in a bunch of seeds mailed to me as bonus in a seed trade. I have seen posts by people who say it is illegal to grow them so I'm glad to see in the article you provided the link to about "intent". I am one of those gray-haired grandmothers. Here is a picture of the poppies that grew from the seed I was sent: I thought the flowers were quite attractive. The center of the flower reminds me of a little spaceship. When the flower is done, it leaves a pod that looks to me like a little salt shaker on a stem. When the seeds have matured enough, the pod dries and shrinks back from a little scalloped "hat" to reveal holes. If you turn the pod upside down and give it a little shake, the seeds will come out like salt out of a salt shaker. They are, indeed, gray. Like the article said, I would think you could plant poppy seed from your spice rack. In the case of something like marijuana, you can get in trouble for having either the plant or the seed. So since we can buy poppy seed in any store, and I've never heard of anyone raiding somebody's spice rack, I find it a little odd that anybody's raiding someone's flower garden. Again, I suppose it would make a difference if you had an entire FIELD of them, as the article said. --Ilene