Organic farms in Mexico City?

Organic farm-to-table is making inroads into Mexico City. We spent some time in Xochimilco, an area of the city that was a lake in bygone times. The Aztecs created artificial islands, called chinampas, for farming with the rich mud of the lake bottom. The lake and most of the chinampas, as I understand it, are gone, and most of the remaining canals are used for recreation, but for this day we met with a man named Ricardo who is working to support organic farming there and supply the crops directly to restaurants and people in the city.

Ricardo awaits us on our little boat, Princesita:



These cheerful rafts, propelled by long poles pushed into the mud of the canals, put you in good mood right away. They generally take tourists, Mexicans as much as foreigners, out for a few hours with an onboard meal.














You can even pick up a band from one of the roving band-boats that can come alongside; as the music progresses, more and more musicians come over onto your boat from theirs:



We went ashore at one of the farms Ricardo works with:





The farmer showed how they collect mud from the lake bottom:





They sew seeds in plugs in the freshly amended soil, then transplant to their fields:







The soil is so fertile and the climate so good that they can grow a huge variety and harvest some crops as much as seven times a year. All this inside a city of 9 million people.



Harlan had a bit of fun with his fish-eye lens, too: