Download ACEQUIA CULTURE AND TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURE IN NEW

ACEQUIA CULTURE AND TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURE IN NEW MEXICO
Ancient Pueblo Gardens
The growing of plants and traditional agricultural techniques have been a part of
Pueblo culture since ancient times. Pueblo people learned to cultivate corn in
many different environments throughout New Mexico and the Southwest. These
different strains of corn were a result of the collective understanding of Pueblo
farmers and gardeners of the local ecology in which they lived for generations.
Corn was, and still is today, a blessed sacrament and a symbol of life that
represents the Pueblo relationship with the land. Corn, and other staple crops
such as squash, beans, and other native plants have come to represent the sacred
relationship that Pueblo culture has with the earth. Corn dances are still
performed in modern Pueblos today and continue the cycle of spiritual ecology of
place that is passed on from one generation to the next. This “passing on”
strengthens the concept of sustainability in traditional Pueblo agriculture and
creates a balance of harmony for individual and community Pueblo agriculture
and gardening.
WAFFLE GARDENS
The Pueblo ancestors developed many different gardening techniques to grow
vegetables in the high arid, plateaus of the Southwest. One of the most ingenious
and practical methods was the waffle garden. This method of planting is still in
use today and is easily adapted to small areas with limited water supplies. It
begins by building individual growing holes which are called waffles because the
garden plots look like a modern day waffle. Plants such as corn, beans, and
squash were the staple foods of the time. By planting in such a small space this
method utilizes the precious small amounts of rainfall that come to the dry, arid
Southwest. Also, the shade of the leaves of each plant provides a natural mulch
that keeps the plants cool, free of weeds, and maintains moist soil for longer
periods of time. A different type of vegetable can be planted in each of the
waffles, providing a variety of produce in a small space. Another advantage of the
waffle garden is the ease of building up the soil. Manure, compost, and top soil
can easily be added to each individual cell, even as the plant matures. Over time
gardeners can develop a large network of waffle gardens that can be adopted for
different crops and conditions. This writer has learned that waffle gardens are
ideal for tomatoes, chile, tomatillos, kale, string beans, many varieties of corn,
herbs, and other modern day crops that are available today. This form of
gardening is also ideal for people with small spaces and urban gardens and the
waffle garden is especially productive where water is scarce. Waffle gardens are a
good solution for modern urban water conservation.
Another type of waffle garden used in Nuevo Mexico is the almacigo (plant
nursery). This method of gardening is similar to the waffle garden and was used
before the greenhouse was invented. The almacigo is also of cell construction, a
little larger than the traditional waffle and deeper ( dug about 18 inches below
the ground). It should be dug on the south side of a house, building, or hillside
known as a resolana (sheltered or sunny side of a place). Traditional gardeners
would plant their seeds in the almacigo, no later than March 19, to protect the
immature plants from spring winds, frost, drought, unexpected heat waves, and
all the variables of a New Mexico spring. In this way the plants were protected
and thrived until the last frost in May when they could be transplanted into the
garden. Depending upon the amount of space available the plants could also be
left in the almacigo until harvest time. Using creative gardening techniques this
method of planting is very energy efficient, inexpensive, and productive.
WEED GARDENS
The Pueblo ancestors were masters at identifying and using wild plants in their
gardens. Wild, semi-cultivated, domesticated plants, and other ancient gardening
practices are a few of the contributions they have made to the ancient world of
agriculture. Botanical studies reveal that ancient Pueblo farmers deliberately
introduced wild, annual plants into their garden plots. They encouraged these
plants to grow in their vegetable gardens by loosening the soil around the plant,
pulling up or chopping unwanted weeds, and allowing the wild plant to share the
sunlight, water, and nutrients in the garden. Known as biological weeds in the
scientific world these plants may have been introduced into Pueblo gardens from
thousands of miles away or they may be local native species. Well established
over the centuries, in Pueblo gardens, many of these plants thrive today in the
wild and can still be grown, cultivated, and harvested today by creative modern
gardeners.
Several of these wild plants are from the tomato family, including the wolfberry.
The wolfberry is a hardy plant that grows up to six feet tall, with intricate
branches, and pallid, green leaves. The flowers are creamy green funnels that
bloom from May to June. From the flowers come orange-red berries that ripen in
July and resemble tomatoes. The wolfberry is a member of a large and diverse
family of plants that includes sacred datura, common potato, tobacco, tomatillo,
belladonna, petunia, and eggplant, many of these can also be found in Pueblo
weed gardens. This species of plants contain alkaloids in varying amounts and
are known to cause a numbing effect when ingested. Wolfberry leaves were used
to soothe toothaches, the roots were used to keep worms from eating corn, and
different parts of the plant served as an analgesic in ancient times. Wolfberry also
has good nutritional value. The sweet berries were cooked with white clay to
create “potato clay” a hardy, cream of potato mix that filled the stomach in times
of low food supplies. The fruit was also dried and used in various Pueblo soup
recipes, much like tomatoes are used today.
Other wild plants that could be found thriving in Pueblo weed gardens include:
sunflowers, purslane, amaranth, tansy mustard, three-leaf sumac, wild
buckwheat, and Rocky Mountain beeplant. Hundreds of wild plants have been
identified by modern-day botanists that were harvested by the Pueblo ancestors
in their weed gardens or by gathering. Some of the uses for these plants are for
food, beverage, smoking, medicine, construction, fuel, implements, ceremonial,
basket-making, textiles, matting, dye, paint, tanning, and soap.
TERRACE GARDENS
Farming in the foothills is another innovative gardening technique mastered by
the Pueblo ancestors. Pueblo farmers treated the land like a huge sponge
throughout the year. They realized that they had to capture and conserve any
water that came during the summer’s brief monsoon periods of rain. They also
knew that they had to prevent runoff from stealing valuable water from their
gardens. They accomplished these goals by building stone-lined squares, forming
fertile garden grids and using a variety of gardening techniques to retain moisture
on sloped hills. Mix gravel- mulched plots, short terraces, cobble step terraces,
stone-lined ditches, diversion dams in arroyos, and constructed pits and mesa top
planting areas were some of the ways that they planted productive gardens in the
dry, arid foothills of New Mexico. They used the four sources of moisture
available to them to make their gardens thrive. These water sources were direct
precipitation, intermittent runoff, groundwater, and flowing water such as rivers,
springs, and seep water.
CHINAMPAS
Chinampa agriculture is of Aztec origin from the valley of Mexico, but planting
techniques are very adaptable to New Mexico landscapes, especially in cienegas
and shallow wetlands. This method of gardening is one of the most intensive
forms of irrigation by indigenous cultures in the Americas and they are highly
productive garden plots that produce good harvests year after year. To build a
chinampa, which in the Nahuatl language means square made of canes or stakes,
requires some preparation of the garden site. Posts are driven into the shallow
wetlands or cienega and vines and branches are interwoven within the enclosure.
Rich, fertile soil is then placed on top to create the garden bed. Willow cuttings
are planted around the border of the garden bed to secure the enclosure with a
strong root system which eventually provides a fence if the willows are allowed to
grow. This method also provides a garden plot with a deep foundation filled with
organic soil. Canals for irrigation and walkways border the rectangular site which
varies in size, but usually averages around 300 feet by 30 feet, to make it
manageable. The surrounding wetlands also protects crops form early and late
frost. In the spring seeds are planted in small seed beds and then they are
transplanted in the chinampa. Crops such as maiz, beans, cotton and chile flourish
in chinampa gardens. At the end of the growing season, following the harvest,
the plants are dug back into the soil with rotten leaves and animal fertilizers. In
the spring the soil is ready for another planting with minimal preparation.
Maiz
In the Beginning,
The Creator asked Man,
Which Comes First?
Land, Man, or Corn?
There was no reply from the Mouth of Man,
Only silence prevailed.
In the Fourth World the Creator explained to
Man all the varieties of Corn in the World.
Choose the Corn you will take with you on
The Road to Life.
Man made his choice.
One Man took the long one.
One Man took the fat one.
One Man took the largest one.
Only the small, shortest elote remained.
A wise Woman took this one.
This was the ear of Corn the Creator gave
to Man in the First World.
It would never die.
Small ears of Corn on short, stunted stalks,
planted in sandy fields and rocky lomas,
with little or no water and little Rain to nourish
the plant.
This was the gift of the Creator.
This message was never forgotten.
Corn glorious plant of the gods,
Staple of Life.
Sustenance of the Soul.
How did you come to be in the ancient land of the Fathers?
Chicos, maiz blanco concho, blue corn, maiz dulce, maiz pinnini,
Khu’u, khu’u khan, sahke weh, tse’ekho, p’ay,
How do you live in this dry land?
Tell me your secrets Father.