Chinampas

Hello. My name is Chinampa. I am a special kind of garden that floats on the water. A long, long time ago, the Aztec people lived in a big city on a lake. The city was called Tenochtitlan. It was so busy and full of families. But they were running out of space to grow yummy food for everyone to eat.

So, the clever Aztec farmers made me. It felt like a cozy hug. They wove big baskets from tall, green reeds to make a giant, flat raft for me to float on. Then, they scooped up rich, squishy mud from the bottom of the lake. They piled the dark, wet mud right on top of my raft. It was like getting a warm blanket. To keep me from floating away on the water, they planted strong willow trees at my corners. The tree roots grew down, down, deep into the lakebed to hold me still. I became a little island made of earth, perfect for planting tiny seeds. This all started happening way back in the 1100s.

I had a very important job. I grew lots and lots of food. I grew tall corn with sweet yellow kernels. I grew green beans that climbed up high. I even grew red tomatoes and pretty flowers. My job was to grow food all year round. Because of me and my many chinampa friends, everyone in the big city had plenty of yummy food to eat. Today, some of us are still here in Mexico. We show everyone a super smart way to grow food using the gifts of nature.