i grow them as annuals. Too cold in this side of town apparently.
my mom grows them in phx outdoors with no problems.
btw, curious which fast-growing leafy vegie you know might be moringa’s peer
and yes, it is a tree, and it is eaten as a leafy vegetable.
Oh the drumstick tree! Brings back fond memories of my childhood!
Many, if you wish to compare independent lab tests vs. advertiser’s results (which have all been copied from each other).
Further, there is no one healthiest vegetable, fruit, etc. Most all of them have something useful to offer, and all are missing one or more components offered by another.
Pictures?
yeah, it is not ok to post claims from *.com .
so here’s a *.gov report
“No other plant, whose nutritional profile compares favorably with that of M. oleifera, appears able to match its combination of overall utility, micro- and macronutrient composition, rapid growth habit, high yield leaf production, and survival in harsh climates. This strongly suggests that M. oleifera is a unique pan-tropical dietary plant.”
sure! but you’ll have to wait till summer
Sure! In supplement to what? Burger King?? The data you are quoting is from gross sales, not specific uses. And certainly the “natural foods marketing” has produced increased consumption of this crop.
From the source you quoted:
“Despite the fact that no rigorous clinical trial has tested its efficacy for treating under-nutrition”
gross sales?! not really sure what you’re talking about.
of course, it will not be effective in under-nutrition. It is a leaf, it is simply better than most other leaves as food.
Although the site you referenced is a U.S. government site, it was listed there as a reference to a non-governmental, non-peer-reviewed article and thus the results are questionable and likely to be promoting a crop local to the invenstigators:
then post something that is a peer of moringa, and something not questionable, since you say there are many
Here’s what you might be missing:
Roots rotting when too wet. Glug…glug…glug. This last Spring a local flood 100% submerged for a full week several of the 5 gallon black pots with 2+ year old Moringas growing quite well in them. Each tree lost all submerged leaves and twigs. About 3 weeks later all but one of the 2" thick X 1 foot tall trunk stubs started to bust out with tiny side shoots to replace the dead leaves/twigs. Happy. To cultivate them as 1’ stub trunks sporting multiple side branches that grow upward and grow multiple leafing branches/twigs works better than just 1 very tall, slim weak pole with a few leaf structures at the top. Although I did clip tall trunks off, wax the ends of 18" long sections, and pot them during Summer, most may have used stored energy to sprout out a set of leaves…but only a few made a set of roots with the limited stored fuel. They ranged from 5/8" thick to 1" thick. Starting new plants from cut trunk sections probably works better with tropical climates and thicker cuttings. The trunks are a fibrous material much lighter than sugar cane and without the tough, glossy covering on the cane, so they can start rotting instead of rooting very quickly. Once the cuttings get partially buried, the clock is running…and the soil fungi/bacteria are ready to eat them up.
wasn’t disagreeing with that, which is pretty moot, else we’d all be herbivores
i still would love to see the many independent and non-questionable studies you claim…
Commercial production here consists of high tunnels with two to four “rain gutters” filled with perlite or similar. Agressive root systems are removed and replaced with new seedlings. Harvests occur monthly.
@ross , did you ever try growing Moringa? I’ve got some seeds sprouting now and was thinking of just growing them as an annual to see if I liked the leaves, but curious if knocking them back to 6 inches or so at the end of the season and covering with mulch for winter might actually be worth it. I’m a bit warmer in 7A (which was more like 8B this year).
If you really want Moringa, it’s worth a try.
It is totally worth it as long as your climate supports growing the tree.
I never thought about nutritional value. But, growing up back India everyone with a yard had a tree or two harvesting fruits (drum sticks) and leaves. I tried growing it last year it grew to be a 8ft tree but not enough heat to harvest sufficient leaves. We just buy them from Indian stores grown probably somewhere in California, Texas, or Arizona.
nutrition is its most pertinent and easily verifiable of its touted qualities. While i still have doubts about all medicinal claims(which resulted in a great number of detractors and naysayers of this species)as a leafy green food source, it is truly topnotch and can’t be disputed.
among leafy vegetables–still haven’t found any other that tops it, especially the protein that it offers in both quality and quantity(has all essential amino acids)
featured at UCdavis youtube channel
100% … “drumstick” “curry” was a staple dish we used to eat growing up. My grandmother had a massive drumstick tree in the front of her house and the pods were so plentiful that there was basically always a large set at the right thickness/ripeness to harvest and cook.
In 2022, in Z10, I grew a tree from seed and didn’t scarify the seed or anything. It took about 3-4 months for the plant to emerge and then it grew to about 8ft in another 5 months. Then it lost all its leaves and flowers in the cold and rainy and long winter we had at the end of 2022 into the start of 2023. In the summer in 2023, I got a good harvest of pods and made my grandma’s curry recipe for the first time with pods harvested from my own garden. It was great.
About a month ago, I “kneed” the tree to about 1.5 to 2ft tall and have planted the portions I cut off right into the ground. We will see if they root and what happens to the tree. I did this based on a bunch of reading of other moringa growers and also because the tree wants to be massive and I just want it to stay small and produce some good harvests of pods. I haven’t eaten the leaves much yet. Will try this year.
Edit: I realized I didn’t mention this when I wrote the response above. All of this was in pots. The tree is currently in a 20gal pot that’s placed onto the mud directly.
nice, they should do well enough in SoCal you can grow them like an annual. Mine grew 8ft tall in a 12g pot and flowered but not long enough season to harvest leaves.