Rice Sowing Begins in New Zealand

Rice sowing Begins in New Zealand

Kia ZERO Movement

2025.10.31

Finally! the gardening season in NZ

Spring has finally arrived in Whanganui, New Zealand.
October is a busy time in New Zealand gardens — it’s Labour Weekend, when frost risk finally drops and everyone starts planting outdoors.

While most people are busy planting their tomatoes and herbs, I’ve started something a little different — growing rice here in New Zealand!

For a long time, I dreamed of joining the rice-growing community in Japan, because cultivating rice is part of our culture.
However, I always thought it would be impossible to import rice seeds into New Zealand.

After much research through social media, I was lucky enough to find and receive some precious Yukihikari rice seeds from Nelson — originally from Professor Yoshimasa Sakurai’s lifestyle block in Kaiwaka.
Unfortunately, he passed away in 2024.

That’s why these seeds are so special to me.
Since almost no one grows rice here, they truly feel like a treasure.

My goal is simple — to keep this beautiful tradition alive and, one day, create a small rice-growing community right here in Whanganui.

Starting the Journey

Rice planting season in New Zealand runs from late September to early October, so I’ve been eagerly waiting for this season come.

First, I soaked the seeds in salt water (and discarded the floaters), then changed the water daily until they started to sprout.

To simplify the process, I later switched to placing the seeds on damp kitchen paper — less work, same result! When the little sprouts appeared, I planted 3–5 seeds per pot and placed them in the greenhouse to keep them warm.

Unexpected Visitors…

Since then, I’ve covered the pots with a transparent lid to keep those curious critters out.

Despite the mouse incident, about half of the seedlings have survived and are now around 5 cm tall. Once they reach 20 cm, I’ll transplant them into buckets, grouping four to five plants together

Gardening Season is Her

Here in Wanganui, the days are still cool and windy, but the afternoons are warming up. “Yukihikari” is a northern Japanese variety, so its cool-weather tolerance makes it well-suited to our conditions.

My first goal is to preserve these seeds and make sure this variety doesn’t disappear.

Who knows — perhaps one day, we’ll even use our own rice to make homemade koji or sake here in New Zealand.