Tariq Jaberi inherits his love and innate skill in gardening from his grandmother and mother. “The gardening we do is very traditional,” says Tariq. “One cannot force anything to grow. Everything has to grow naturally, with soil and water, not with chemicals or artificial fertilisers to grow plants that are not meant to survive in your region.”
The not-for-profit farm has eight greenhouses and verdant outdoor patches of mint, bok choy, spring onions, beets, asparagus, pomegranate, cilantro, a variety of peppers and tomatoes, carrots (that are sweet as sugar), kale and cabbage. Once the summer sets in, watermelon, cucumber and other summer produce will take their rightful places in the repertoire.
Tariq says: “We have seen a lot of interest since we recently went public. We have even been requested to start a delivery service, but the aim is to keep it natural and organic in every sense of the way; this is not a business I’m running. Come over to the farm, pick your vegetables straight from the earth and weigh them with the help of our assistants.”
Before the farm was made public, the yields were usually distributed amongst his family and friends. “I do this for the love of cultivation, and as a way to share something with the community. With fatal diseases being common these days, this is my way of serving mankind. I want everyone to know the power of eating natural produce grown in the way Nature deemed it fit – in the soil, without artificial ‘nutrition’. After all, we are what we eat!”
The 35-year old, who runs a flourishing family business not related to farming, has been passionately involved in cultivation of organic fruits and vegetables since his early 20s. He is proud of his horticultural feats, which he claims other gardening enthusiasts have failed at. The indoor plant, ficus, happily grows in his outdoor garden, and beautiful orchids revived from discarded stems bloom pretty thanks to his patience and skill.
His vast residential farmland is home to orange, lemon and lime trees, the fruits of which are available at the farm. Olive, coconut and banana trees, grape vines and date palms are also among the inhabitants of the fertile garden.
Inspired by his mother, Tahera Jaberi, Tariq has competed for and won several awards for the flora from the farms. “I love working with my hands in the soil. I strongly believe that plants have feelings, and they respond to the connection you make with them. Put your hands in the soil, feel the moisture to determine how much to water, talk to your plants and you will see them thriving,” he says, the fervour apparent in his eyes. “I use only organic fertilisers like mulch left over from juicing, eggshells, banana peels and iron filings.”
Tariq also breeds bees that feed on the nectar from the European wildflowers growing close to his mini apiary. The honey obtained was for his family’s consumption, but he has recently partnered with a local expert to expand this aspect of his farm. “A very small percentage of the world’s honey is naturally acquired. The honey from my garden is in its purest form, containing medicinal properties that can actually cure illness, and I would like to share it with people at a reasonable price. The honey is actually food for the bees, so we only extract it twice a year, when there is an excess that we can afford to take from the hive,” he says.
With all the health fads and scares doing the rounds, it’s comforting to know that there is someone who still believes in traditional farming as a way to a healthy lifestyle and is willing to go the extra mile to extol its virtues.
