While reading my new awesome Permaculture Magazine I was struck by an article that spoke of an ancient Incan way of agriculture. This is called Raised Field Agriculture. People would dig up canals and pile the dirt to create raised beds. These canals help the plants by providing water most, if not all, of the year. This also creates a micro climate because of heat retention from the waterways, thereby protecting the plants from frost. If that is not enough to get you thinking of renting some heavy machinery… it’s reported that fish could have been raised there, creating a kind of aquaculture that at the same time replenishes the soil with some needed Nitrogen. Did I forget to mention canoeing?

For LOTS more on the subject, shoot on over to Clark L. Erickson’s page. Also About.com has some good info.