Moringa for beginners

[Corzhens]

When I started gardening, my husband taught me how to plant moringa. We call it malunggay here. The fruit is long like string beans but thicker. It is eaten as a vegetable. The leaves are used as ingredient in soup dishes particularly for chicken. With the planting, I was given a foot long stem that I planted about 3 inches deep in the ground. I thought it was a joke by my husband. But after 2 or 3 weeks maybe, I saw some bulges which were small leaves. Although it takes time for the leaves to be profitable (about 6 months), it is so easy to grow.

An alternative planting material is the seed of moringa. I think it grows faster than the cutting.

 

[Beverly]

Moringa is an incredible and nutrient packed tree, not to mention beautiful. It takes a lot of space though. The tree grows very fast and tall. When grown commercially, the farmers keep the trees trimmed to between 6-10 ft (~2-3m) so that all parts of the tree are easy to harvest. Everything is edible. It has a formidable root system though and shouldn't be too close to a structure (i.e. a house) and/or any sort of underground pipes, etc. A quick search of the internet will reveal just how nutrient packed this tree is. You will be amazed. It is planted in places susceptible to famine in order to reduce risk, and also in places where food diets are generally poor in nutrients. I grew a Moringa oleifera from seed in a large container for a few years and enjoyed going out in the morning and munching some fresh leaves. The leaves have a very nice flavor with a hint of radish (really nice as tea or in salads, soups, stews, just about everything. Vitamin supplements of Moringa can be found in natural food stores. It is also a smart tree to grow commercially, but i was first attracted to this tree because it is so beautiful. Thanks for starting this thread @Corzhens because this is an important tree for the future and people will want to know about it.