Roots for Equity Kitchen Garden
In January 2016, Roots for Equity started a kitchen Garden in its office. The purpose behind the effort was to understand agroecology and the benefits of organic food. In the beginning 32 clay pots and four cement pots have been used which were placed on the roof of the office.
The organic seeds from Multan, Haripur and an ordinary market of Karachi were used to plant various vegetables in the pots according to the seasons. These varieties include , Okra, mustard, gourd, pumpkin, bitter gourd, spinach, coriander, mint, green and red pepper, potatoes tomatoes, Jaman (local fruit), drumstick, lemon, carrot, beans of different kinds like cluster, green fava, yard long and poi (local mustard clans).
As a result we got a good collection of various kinds of vegetable seeds and become independent to grow different vegetables on our own.
Barbati Sabzi (Long Beans – Lubiya)
Karela (Bitter melon)
Karela (Bitter melon) Seeds
Growing mint (podina)!
Growing tori for seeds. Seeds obtained from farmers in Khairpur.
Tori Seeds ready for re plantation obtained from Roof Garden
Sabut lal mirch (red chillies)
Potatoes! Seeds were obtained from the market in Karachi and grown under traditional methods to obtain a crop.
Traditionally produced pototoes and palak: from the garden to the kitchen!
Occra (bhindi) seeds from Peshawar, KPK.
Hari mirch (green pepper) seeds from from Karachi market. They were dried to obtain seeds, and then sown to get seeds for the next season.
Sarsoon seeds from Ghotiki and Multan being grown. This is the third year that the seed has been used in the roof garden. The traditional methods being used in the roof garden are attracting small insects, especially bees! To our delight the bees are choti makhi – which is becoming so rare now due to chemical farming methods.
Gajar (carrots) and Wheat seed growing side by side! Other seeds growing include sarson, baigan (brinjal), mirchi and podina.
Dried sarsoon (mustard) seeds! When the plant dries out completely seeds will be collected for the next season.
Mustard (Sarsson) seeds ready to re plantation obtained from roof garden February 2018