Floating Gardens
Aug. 30th, 2024 04:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithMexico's floating gardens are ancient wonders of sustainable farming
"My ancestors were doing this before even the [Spanish] Conquistadors arrived in Mexico [in 1519]," says Paiz, while crouching down to pick up a handful of powdery soil from the "chinampa," or "floating garden," on which we are both standing.
These highly productive man-made island-farms, which can be found floating on lakes across the south of Mexico's capital, date back to the time of the Aztecs or perhaps even earlier — and now proponents say that these ancient engineering wonders could provide an important, sustainable food source as the city faces historic drought.
It's kind of a hybrid between soil farming and hydroponics, because the chinampas are made of earth and plants, but they float on water, allowing crops to gather nutrients from both. It's a brilliant technology.
"My ancestors were doing this before even the [Spanish] Conquistadors arrived in Mexico [in 1519]," says Paiz, while crouching down to pick up a handful of powdery soil from the "chinampa," or "floating garden," on which we are both standing.
These highly productive man-made island-farms, which can be found floating on lakes across the south of Mexico's capital, date back to the time of the Aztecs or perhaps even earlier — and now proponents say that these ancient engineering wonders could provide an important, sustainable food source as the city faces historic drought.
It's kind of a hybrid between soil farming and hydroponics, because the chinampas are made of earth and plants, but they float on water, allowing crops to gather nutrients from both. It's a brilliant technology.
