This was posted in a Facebook growing group, thought some of you might be interested. I haven’t gotten a chance to read much yet.
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That’s quite a resource. Thank you for posting it! D
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There are edible flowers as well. I have tried edible flowers and I did not taste much with one and with another it was an unpleasant taste though. Also there are apricot with an edible pit as well. Plenty of ways to expand edible stuff if you know what other things are edible.
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I have been thinking for years to plant a Tilia americana (basswood/Linden) in my yard. Edible leaves and flowers, plus very popular with bees. Maybe I should just order some seed.
I have only skimmed it, but the one that sounds most intriguing to me is Chinese toon (Toona sinensis). A meaty/savory/garlic taste, and highly nutritious… does anyone have experience with that one or know of a good source for improved varieties?
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I grow toon. You can stop by and try it some time in the spring if you want. The first one I bought (from an edible plant nursery) tasted like moldy onions and I thought maybe I just didn’t know how to properly prepare it, but after buying an ornamental selection called ‘Flamingo’ I realized it was pretty nice with good flavor. You just have to be picky about which clone you grow. I would personally shy away from buying a seedling unless you can taste it first, or grow out a bunch of seedlings and select the best tasting. Fortunately once you get a good one you can clone it cause it is a suckering/colony forming type tree. I’ll have some clones of ‘Flamingo’ ready to go come spring too.
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Great! I’ll keep an eye on your website listing.
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I have a toona but a normal unselected one, it’s growing fast, even if some sources say otherwise.
the leaves are onion like. great tree
hardy, fast-growing and the leaves can be used like vegetables.
It’s a good alternative, depending on your taste, better than vegetables that you harvest from the ground
and if there are leaves, you can harvest them all the time
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I didn’t realize sources were saying toon isn’t fast growing. Like you, I’ve experienced it can grow very quickly as well. Last year was the exception though. Our very long cool spring stunted it a bit. In normal years it can put on multiple feet of growth.
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I found some sources which claimed it could grow slowly or normal in our climate, at least in German. But good you made same fast growing experience
I think it has superior quality than the most vegetables, nutritional, long harvest, more biomass…
It is an assumption, if it is less sulfur in the soil it would have lack of taste
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In my experience dwarf and semi dwarf trees of any kind seem to grow fast. Standard growing speed depends on the plant as seems to reach their max height slower than a dwarf or semi dwarf which can reach nearly its max height around 2 years in my experience. Either way trees seem to grow much faster than most expect assuming they are in a favorable environment. In one year my plum trees are taller than me for example.
Toon trees are not dwarf. They can get quite tall if not pruned for harvest. They actually are also useful for timber.
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I suppose to clarify what I was trying to say is trees grow fast. A fast growing tree will be 20 feet in a few years if left into the ground. Many people don’t realize a slow growing tree will grow a foot or 2 per year. I remember a GreenGardenGuy1 video on trees and on if they wanted a fast growing tree. In the video he explained why you may not want a fast growing tree. He has talked about people’s perceptions on and as well as people’s perceptions on time to produce which I think he had a good take on that.
I’m not advertising, I’m just asking.
what about Moringa as an edible tree?
lots of protein, healthy ingredients…
there is so much advertising that it would be so healthy. does anyone know more?
I also have a toona.
Mine is one of the flamingo types (many are seedlings).
The flavor is good eaten raw. I’ve not tried it cooked (next year, hopefully).
Mine is in a pot and has done well, but it is due to be planted in the ground (6 feet tall)
Scott
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I’m planning to let one trunk of my in ground toon grow into a tree like while keeping all the suckers around it pollarded into a bushy understory that I can harvest from. I’ll never have to worry about over harvesting from the suckers cause the main trunk will keep the roots fed.
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I grew moringa for a few years, about 10 yrs ago. I thought the taste was awful.
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Well, mulberry leaves are edible for humans. Especially the tender ones like this Edible Leaf Mulberry Tree — Just Fruits and Exotics
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This one makes me think… why not harvest one’s own mulberry leaves, rather than depending upon unknown persons in China, India, etc. who are concocting a ‘herbal remedy’ that may or may not contain the substance claimed… or may also contain other potentially damaging substances.
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Good info. This is not the easiest plant to acquire and it makes sense that some varieties are better than others. I heard the redder varieties are the tastiest. I will be checking your website to see if and when these are available to purchase.