Cultivating on flooded land

Hi everyone,

I am planning on creating a large scale water retention and I wonder if this would give an interesting surface of cultivation during summertime, getting its level lowened by about a meter i would have a surface a couple hectares availaible.

Rich, clean (no weeds) soil ready to plant and harvest during the same season.

I know this has been a very ancient way of cultivating (with the mounsoon)

I would just like to know if anyone on this forum has ever done it or know peoples who does it?!!!

Thanks in advance to all of you,


Nitya

Hi Nitya:

Could you tell us where you are located and what your climate is like? Do you have wet winters and dry summers? Or is it wet all the time?

Are you planning on growing in the soil of the flood plain (after the water has dried up/gone elsewhere) for the summer - or are you wanting something that grows on the water surface?

Chinampas have often been used in areas that are either wet all the time or flood periodically - see more info here: http://permaculturenews.org/2013/05/28/chinampas-2-0-an-elegant-technology-from-the-past-to-save-the-future/

Depending on where you are located/climate, this might also be a good situation to cultivate rice in the way Masanobu Fukuoka planted.

I have pretty cold winters, where the retention will be it can get to minus 25 in a cold winter night, it can keep freezing at the latest May 25 and start again 15-30 september.

This is in the south of the Alps (France), at 1150 meters above sea level.

This is, I think, a very nice climate: it rains a lot (enough) when it rains, and then clear sky.

I would like both: water loving plants and also having an "artificially" dried surface (with Sepp Holzer's Monk) where I could grow plants for the summer.

The problem is: If I get the water level lowened the water plants (the ones that need to grow along the retention) will eventually die. (Even if I still do have a few plants like water lilies that like to be in the water.)

My main focus is having a dry area where I can cultivate, the is the best way to grow aromatic plants, with very little work and good yelds. My income idea being essential oil production.

I have heard about chinampas, and I would like to try them out but thoses are cultures ALONG the retention so this might be the same problem no?!

The rice idea could be a good one but i need to find special varieties, maybe I could even grow quinoa?!!!