Alright folks, buckle up because this week’s experiment was a doozy. Got fascinated by how the ancient Incas farmed in those crazy mountains, so I decided to try and replicate their top three techniques right in my own backyard. Yeah, seriously! My goal? See if this old-school stuff could actually work today.
Step 1: Wrestling with Terracing
First things first, the Incas are famous for those incredible stone step terraces. My backyard has a decent slope, seemed perfect. So, I grabbed some spare landscaping stones I had lying around and my trusty shovel. Started digging into the slope to flatten out a level platform.
It was way harder than it looked! Trying to get a flat surface while the dirt kept wanting to slide down… nightmare. Didn’t have giant stone blocks like them, so my terraces are more like reinforced dirt steps with smaller stones acting as retaining walls.
Key actions:
Marked my intended terrace steps using sticks and string.
Dug into the slope for the first ‘flat’ bit.
Positioned stones along the downhill edge to hold the soil.
Backfilled with soil and compost mix to create my planting area.
Repeated this process moving uphill until I had three steps.
Ended up sweating buckets, but I had my mini-anden system! Planted some beans on the top terrace, potatoes in the middle, and herbs on the lowest, sunniest one. Fingers crossed.
Step 2: Chasing Water with Canals
Next up, mimicking their genius water management. My area gets occasional heavy rain, then nothing. Incas built canals to move water exactly where needed, even over distances. Decided to build a simple ditch network from my downspout to the terraces.
Laid out a path for the main canal using a garden hose as a guide. Then grabbed the shovel again (my back was feeling it now!). Dug a shallow ditch leading from the downspout base towards my terraces.
Key actions:
Traced the canal path using the hose.
Dug the main canal ditch (maybe 4 inches deep?).
Created smaller ditches branching off the main one to each terrace.
Compacted the dirt in the ditches and tried to create a gentle slope downhill so water would flow.
Then we waited for rain. When it finally came? Oh man! Watching the water trickle down my crude ditch, hit the branches, and actually spread out near the terrace bases? Pure magic. It wasn’t a roaring river, but it worked. Managed to catch quite a bit of that rainwater where I needed it.
Step 3: Trying Out the Mysterious Waru Waru
This one sounded the wildest. Basically, they dug raised planting beds surrounded by water channels. Supposed to create its own little microclimate, keeping roots warm but moist. My spot? The flattish area at the bottom of the slope.
Marked out two rectangles side-by-side, each about 4 feet long. Started digging out the dirt from the areas that would become the channels and piling it onto the areas that would become the raised beds.
Key actions:
Marked out my planned beds and channels.
Dug down about a foot deep for the channels.
Piled that dug-out soil onto the raised bed areas.
Shaped the raised beds, making them flat on top.
Connected one end of the channel network back to my main water canal.
It was messy work. The soil kept collapsing into the channels. Planted squash on the raised beds. Then had to wait for the next rain to see if the channels would fill and stay filled. When they did, it held the water surprisingly well! Touched the soil on the raised beds a few days later – way warmer than the surrounding soil, and still pretty damp underneath.
So, Did It Actually Work?
Honest truth? This wasn’t an overnight miracle garden. Some stuff worked better than others:
- The terracing held! Beans on top struggled a bit (too windy maybe?), but potatoes in the middle looked strong. Herbs on the bottom flourished.
- The canal system was solid gold during heavy rain. Saved me heaps of watering time initially. But during dry periods? Still needed the hose sometimes.
- The waru waru beds kept moisture like champs. That warm microclimate thing felt legit. Squash took off better there than in my regular garden bed.
Overall? I’m stunned! These techniques developed centuries ago by folks without fancy machines or chemicals actually held up in my suburban backyard test. They forced me to work with my land – the slope, the rainwater patterns – instead of fighting it.
It wasn’t easy, I’m no Inca farmer, and my results might not be perfect. But replicating even just the core actions taught me so much about smart land use. Definitely adding these ancient tricks to my gardening toolbox!
