Moringa, the Tree of Life: Grow it in your yard
If you've read the newspaper, watched TV or surfed the internet lately, chances are, you've probably come across a story about this miraculous, multipurpose tree.
Moringa grows easily and amazingly fast, and is almost entirely edible by humans or farm animals. An important food source in developing countries, it has been aptly named the "tree of life." Moringa is also highly sought-after worldwide for its numerous health benefits. Its seed meal can even be used for purifying water.
The nutritional value of moringa is off the charts. A single fruit contains seven times more vitamin C than oranges, four times more vitamin A than carrots, four times more calcium than milk, three times more potassium than bananas and twice as much protein as yogurt.
Moringa isn't a new discovery. The fruit from the moringa tree was highly valued by ancient Roman, Greek and Egyptian civilizations. It is native to the foothills of the Himalayas in northwestern India.
Cultivation of the moringa tree is currently on the rise in Africa, Asia, South America, Jamaica, and throughout the tropics. Moringas can be grown year-round in tropical and sub-tropical climates, and annually in more temperate zones. It’s the sole genus in the flowering plant family moringaceae. The two most widely cultivated species are oleifera and stenopetala.
Moringa does well here in Southwest Florida, as it is drought-tolerant and loves warm weather and sunshine. However, be forewarned, it will die in a freeze. But like most Florida-friendly plants, it will come back.
Did I mention that the moringa tree grows very fast? It does. In order to keep it manageable and encourage branching, pinch back some top growth and cut the branches in half, length-wise. I recommend maintaining its height at around 6 to 12 ft. A smaller stature will come in handy when it's time to harvest its fruit, seed pods (also known as drumsticks) and blossoms. If the Moringa's growth is left unchecked, before you know it, you'll have a really ugly tree on your hands, with sparse lower branches and unreachable fruit.
Moringa has a taproot similar to carrots and small feeder roots, but no problematic branching roots. Moringas can be grown as hedge or a specimen trees. If you choose the container method, make sure the pot you select is deep enough, and use well-draining sandy soil.
For you chefs out there, the flower buds should be cooked before eating. The seeds can be eaten either raw or cooked. Leaves can be eaten raw directly from the tree, or shredded into salads, etc. Take a pass on the root, though. It supposedly tastes horrible, and in fact, can be fatal.
If only 50 percent of the amazing nutritional claims about moringa are true, I'm going to start incorporating its seeds, oil and leaves into every meal I eat. I started using moringa about two weeks ago and have found it to be working as an appetite suppressant. As far as the arthritis in my hands, knees and shoulder ... nothing, yet. Stay healthy and keep butterflying!
Don’t forget to help save the monarch butterfly plant milkweed.
Mike Malloy, known as Naples “butterfly guy” sells host and nectar plants for butterflies as well as tropical plants every Saturday at the Third St. South farmers market.