Moringa trees

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"Moringa has incredibly nutritious qualities—it has 3.5 times the calcium of milk and 4 times the vitamin C of oranges," says David Wolfe, author of Superfoods. All you have to do is open the bag and let the good nutrients roll.

What's in it

A recent analysis of the leaves found that moringa contains more vitamin A than carrots, more iron than spinach, and more potassium than bananas. It also packs as much protein as milk or eggs.

How to consume it

If you can get your hands on the fresh leaves (not a grocery-store staple yet, as they mostly grow in southern Florida and California), expect a lemony, peppery spinach taste. Add to a salad mix or sauté.
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... This versatile tree can be grown year round in any tropical climate, and successfully grown as an annual, in temperate zones.

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Keep in mind that Moringa trees can grow over 20 feet tall, their first year. The average growth is about 15 feet, however, in optimum conditions, they can grow much taller.

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Moringas do not like heavy, clay-like soil or vermiculite. They will grow in poor soil, sandy soil, and depleted soil, but they do not like their roots getting wet. Bear this in mind, and if necessary, purchase sand to add to the potting soil mixture, or use whatever soil is available in your area, and add coconut coir, peat moss, perlite, or sand to loosen it. This gives the roots of the Moringa tree room to go deep, and drain well. Moringa has a tap root, which means a single root that goes straight down like a carrot. It has small feeder roots but does not have branching roots. Plant where the tap root has lots of room to go down. If planting in a container, find the deepest one you can. Moringa can be grow as a solitary tree, in rows, or as a hedge.
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PMBug said:

Saw this on Yahoo News:

http://shopping.yahoo.com/news/the-next-superfood-is-here-and-it-s-called-moringa-225902026.html

A super salad green that grows on a tree? It grows in Florida you say?



http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-a-Moringa-Tree

Hmm... Other than the fact that needs protection from freezes, this sounds like something I would definitely love to have growing in my back yard (even if it's in a large container).

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ancona said:

Hmmmm......

Sounds perfect for my yard. I have never heard of this plant/tree, and I do in fact live in Florida...

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PMBug said:

I like trees.

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PMBug said:

Well, I've got a few seeds on order from Amazon. Figured it was worth $4 to experiment.

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PMBug said:

lol. I don't plan on any Olympic training with this project - I have a dolly and I know how to use it. Besides, I don't plan on letting the tree get more than 6' tall. I'll keep trimming it back as necessary.

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Aubuy said:

Training the Olympic Athlete; by Kearney;

The lore of ancient Greece recalls an Olympic athlete who was determined to become the strongest person in the world. Every day Milon of Croton would pick up a calf, raise it above his head and carry it around a stable. As the calf grew, so did Milon¿s strength, until eventually he was able to lift the full-grown cow.

Maybe this could work with a container?

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PMBug said:

lol. I don't plan on any Olympic training with this project - I have a dolly and I know how to use it. Besides, I don't plan on letting the tree get more than 6' tall. I'll keep trimming it back as necessary.

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PMBug said:

Well I'm just a bit further south than you, but it makes a big difference. We usually get 1-2 "soft freezes" every winter - where it get just gets to freezing or a couple degrees below it for a night or two. We get a hard freeze once every few years. We've got several tropicals (plumerias and such) growing in pots and we just store them in our insulated garage as necessary during the winter. Seems to be working so far.

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PMBug said:

The seedling that sprouted grew about 6 inches tall before being eaten to a bare stick by something. We'll try again with a couple of seeds in the Spring and take care to protect it from hungry critters / bugs next time.

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