Floating gardens
Dal Lake, Kashmir
The famous floating gardens of Kashmir are actually built up earth works in the shallows of Dal Lake. By raising beds above the water level, these crops enjoy constant irrigation, and produce huge harvests -- although you need a boat to reach them. The farmer is using one of his boat's oars as a shovel.
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Dr D. P. Zutshi writes:
Man-made floating gardens in Kashmir are more than 500 years old. The majority of the people living on these gardens are shia muslims. They are experts in preparing paper machie and wood carved articles. In recent years floating gardens have virtually choked the lake. The material used for laying floating gardens are the rootstocks of emergent water plants common in shallow parts of the lake. The roots are detached from the mud, allowed to come to water surface and covered with layers of sediment and decaying plants before vegetable cultivation is started. Because of natural buoyancy in roots it is east to form a mat like structure, which is the starting base of a floating garden/island. Recently rootstocks of an exotic water lily is used because of its larger size.