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growing Dwarf Moringa in pots

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posted 2 years ago

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Have been meaning to post a photo...we've been eating them so that keeps them cut back. Moringa and lambs quarters are our main summer greens...they both love the heat

I did lose two more roots once potted...more than usual along with the ones that didn't keep well stored. I think too much moisture in both cases while they had no use for it.

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Tereza Okava

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posted 2 years ago

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they're lovely!
mine did okay this year- the one I planted in the ground lived, kind of like a charlie brown tree. I topped it and it came back with three main branches; we ate a bit but my family do not like the taste, sadly, although the bunnies do enjoy it. I suspect if I were more careful getting the leaflets off the stems they would never know if i mixed it with collards or other greens (like in saag, for example). Then again, I don't mind eating it raw, so it's still useful.
We are now in winter and I'm not sure whether I should wait to prune it down until spring, or to do it now ("winter." today was 85. we have had two mild frosts but the moringa still has its leaves, so I guess it was sort of protected).

I had two others in pots, and propagated two others in the ground, and they all died. No idea why, but there was some crazy irregular rain this year.

Judith Browning

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Tereza Okava wrote:they're lovely!
mine did okay this year- the one I planted in the ground lived, kind of like a charlie brown tree. I topped it and it came back with three main branches; we ate a bit but my family do not like the taste, sadly, although the bunnies do enjoy it. I suspect if I were more careful getting the leaflets off the stems they would never know if i mixed it with collards or other greens (like in saag, for example). Then again, I don't mind eating it raw, so it's still useful.
We are now in winter and I'm not sure whether I should wait to prune it down until spring, or to do it now ("winter." today was 85. we have had two mild frosts but the moringa still has its leaves, so I guess it was sort of protected).

I had two others in pots, and propagated two others in the ground, and they all died. No idea why, but there was some crazy irregular rain this year.

Flavor wise we aren't eating the leaves on their own...usually strip the leaves from the stems, chop them and add to whatever we're eating that meal. Sometimes slightly cooked sometimes mixed into a cold dish...I don't notice a flavor at all.

I need to stop pointing them out as edible to visitors though because they immediately grab some leaves to taste and aren't impressed.
Same with lambs quarters...many have only tried a raw leaf and find it inedible...we cook them like spinach and eat all summer.

I wish I had bought some morning seed this year as usual...only $3 or 4 for 15 seeds from baker creek and they all seem to germinate so I have some spares to replacement roots and to share.

Will you be able to grow leave the roots in the ground year round with a heavy mulch or some protection?

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"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Tereza Okava

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Judith Browning wrote:I need to stop pointing them out as edible to visitors though because they immediately grab some leaves to taste and aren't impressed.

OMG i am glad it is not just me!! "Edible when properly dressed or cooked!" People do this in my garden all the time, with similar results. sigh.
Last winter I think the tree was about waist high and I just left it alone, didn't even mulch it. It did die back completely to the woody stem.
This year, I didn't even think to mulch before the early frost, but it is sort of protected by a few things, even though now it's maybe 8 feet tall, I think my yard was spared the worst of the cold (a block away, everything was scorched).
I will prune it before I go away for a month or two, am waiting for the right phase of the moon since I would to cut it way down and get it to bush out (I don't know much about this moon thing but I have had good results with planting, and I don't want to lose this last one. And maybe I could get a few more plants, if I can get them to root.).

Flora Eerschay

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I think my moringa died :(
Not sure if it's the dwarf variety or not... but I have two large pots which I was planning to move outside, but they had lots of sunlight indoors too. They seemed to thrive for a few weeks after I bought them and then died... or almost. They were together with some other plants, maybe they didn't like the company? Or there were some bugs in the soil that ate them? All my seedlings were heavily infested with aphids, but I haven't seen aphids on moringa - but there were some webs looking as if made by a tiny spider, on one of the moringa which was already dead.

moringa-dead.jpg

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Judith Browning

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Going into the 4th wintering over for most of these roots...others at 2-3 years.
I didn't plant any seed last year.

They produced well over the summer in the usual big pots in a sunny location with late day shade and lots of water...have had enough from these twelve plants to dry some leaves for winter.

These photos are after I trimmed the trunks and dug the roots and laid them out to dry a bit. After no rain for 6 weeks we had an inch of rain overnight and now a freeze due mid week so went ahead and got them indoors yesterday.
I had let the pots dry out a lot to prepare for lifting the roots.

I have a tub of pine chips ready to store them in over the winter.

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Nancy Reading

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I've been catching up on this thread with interest. I'd heard of Moringa as a tropical food/cover crop, but hadn't seriously thought of growing it as a replant perennial! It looks like Chiltern Seeds have seeds in the UK and they say

just about the whole plant is edible: the roots as a horseradish substitute, the mustard-flavoured leaves, twigs and flowers raw in salads or cooked in curries and the seeds like peanuts

source
It's a pity I would be unlikely to get flowers or seed here, but the mustard taste description puts me off a bit. If I put a Chiltern Seeds order in (and I usually can't resist!) I might get some just to try as an experiment though!

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Judith Browning

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Nancy,
I wouldn't describe the leaf flavor as like mustard...it's much milder and when chopped and added to a salad or hot dish really not distinguishable.

We've only eaten the leaves and chewable stems and have heard conflicting info about the roots edibility so have not tried them.

I think it's well worth growing even if we had to buy seeds every year

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Nicholas Roberts

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posted 2 years ago

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They look great!
I have a funny Moringa story from a couple years ago... Ordered 100 Moringa seeds from Mexico, and upon arrival found a giant sticker stating, “For Human Consumption Only. Will Not Germinate.”
So I ate a few. Tasted horrible, I thought, so I poured the whole bag of seeds into my compost.
You guessed it, 50 little Moringa trees peeking through the shade cloth along with some potatoes haha.
I didn’t have a great indoor setup at the time, but a friend adopted a few of them to grow under some proper lighting.
Good times!
Beautiful Trees!

Tereza Okava

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i have heard (ahem) that due to certain legal sticky wickets related to international control of seeds and other vegetable matter, some people ship seeds as tea or for human consumption only, saying specifically that they will not germinate. As you've found, actual condition may vary.

Judith Browning

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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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Checking on my stored moringa roots. Looks like they kept fine in the decomposed pine chips with the usual one or two losses.

It's still a little cool here to pot them up and none are showing any growth so will cover and leave for another few weeks.

Apparently even the ones with the stem end soft will still sprout so will test that and try to remember to label.

The older roots are getting quite large so might even test cutting them into chunks?

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Mary-Ellen Zands

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I’ve had a moringa tree for the past few years and I think I lost it this winter. Then I’ve been watching the electroverse videos on youtube to wrap my tree in copper wire maybe this will bring it back to life? Looking at Judith’s post I think it’s worth a try. Since the roots grow back so well! I’ll keep you updated to see if it works. Of course I bring it for the winter and outside for the summer.

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Judith,
You have inspired me. I want to try this. I have some moringa powder, but I agree, it doesn't taste that good.
John S
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Misty Rhodes

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posted 2 years ago

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Hi there. I bought and grew dwarf Moringa last growing season, saving some seeds for this year. I’ve planted about 8 and only 2 have grown. Does anyone know if the seeds should be stored in the refrigerator? Wondering if the seeds “go bad” after just a season? Thanks for the input.
Kindly, Misty
Zone 9.

John F Dean

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Hi Misty,

Welcome to Permies.

….give me coffee to do the things I can and bourbon to accept the things I can’t.

Judith Browning

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Misty Rhodes wrote:Hi there. I bought and grew dwarf Moringa last growing season, saving some seeds for this year. I’ve planted about 8 and only 2 have grown. Does anyone know if the seeds should be stored in the refrigerator? Wondering if the seeds “go bad” after just a season? Thanks for the input.
Kindly, Misty
Zone 9.

Hi Misty!
I'm pretty sure the seeds need to be fresh but I don''t know about refrigeration. Sometimes they can take two weeks to germinate though...and I soak for a day before planting and then also keep the soil moist until I see signs of a sprout.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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This years 'trees'.
I worried that my stored roots were deteriorating so also bought a pkt of seeds.

Then of course all the roots took off and the seeds are sprouting too!
The more the merrier

There are two more big tubs with the old roots in addition to those in the photo (all with one to three roots each) so 10 old trees and looks like 6 or 8 newly seeded ones.

Summertime greens!!!

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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And now...these have been cut back and have regrown for the third or forth time since I posted that last picture a month ago.

Once the weather warmed up they grew fast!

There is a milkweed or two, some purple sweet potato vine and lambs quarters sharing the pots and in the ground taking advantage of the moisture is dock and red clover and hidden around back some nice perila that we are enjoying as a cooked green this year.

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Flora Eerschay

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posted 1 year ago

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Beautiful! My moringa died completely sadly. But I had some luck growing spinach in these pots.

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Judith Browning

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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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posted 1 year ago

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Going to cut a lot of moringa today

It's growing well along with milkweed, purple sweet potatoes, lambs quarters, perilla all under a small maple tree.

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

May Lotito

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posted 1 year ago

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Will they flower and produce seeds? Do you find the caliper getting bigger every year or this is the mature size of the dwarf variety?

Zone 6, 45 inches precipitation, hard clay soil

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Judith Browning

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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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May Lotito wrote:Will they flower and produce seeds? Do you find the caliper getting bigger every year or this is the mature size of the dwarf variety?

There's not a long enough season for flowers and seeds here.

For eating we cut a length of new growth at a node and then that sends up a fresh 'stalk' (branch?).

Sometimes I pop off a stem of the lower leaves to dehydrate but for fresh eating we take a foot or so of new growth all summer.

The roots do get larger yearly but since I cut the main trunk back to just a few inches in the fall at dormancy the new growth trunk size is about the same each year.

But...There is a big overall size difference in a first year newly planted seed moringa and ones from older roots so I assume the larger roots feed more growth?

I'll try to get some pictures with more details.

If uncut and allowed to grow they shoot straight up several feet tall in a first season so I'm not so sure about the 'dwarf' variety...seems like it still wants to be a large tree?

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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posted 1 year ago

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There's light frost in our forecast and no reason to wait so I first cut the tops to a two or three inch staub and dug the roots from these five pots...eleven in all. I'm leaving another two tubs in another location in case the weather warms. (The purple roots are sweet potatoes that I missed)

Planted the tubs to wheat and crimson clover and will cover with wire mesh to keep the cats out.

The tops to dry are in what we call our work room but it is also a guest room, library, my work table for sewing and different projects...the sweet potato curing room...laundry and herb drying.
All because it has a dehumidifier we run as necessary...these cool days that room is toasty

The roots will air dry outside for a day or so and inside a bit more before I pack in the tub with a course sawdust.

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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I decided to brush the roots and trim a bit of broken root while they are air drying for a few more days...then will bury in the course pine sawdust. I lost some roots last year and thought maybe it was because I didn't clean them well enough.

The bulbous one at the top right and lower middle are from a friend who had them in a tub maybe 1/3 the size of my big tubs in a heated greenhouse for a few years...they are from the same seed from Baker Creek so I can't explain the root difference? The upper one was getting more mature looking bark though.

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

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All tucked in for winter now.
I left them to air dry a little longer than usual since it'so warm.

Now on to the dahlias

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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Here we go again

The largest tubs have three roots each and three smaller ones each have a single root each. Plus some purple sweet potato slips that did great along with moringa last year. They made lots of delicious greens and huge roots.
And there's a nice milkweed sharing one tub. The perilla is just starting to take off in the surrounding ground.

This year I was able to add some rabbit poo to all of the pots.

All set for summer and right near the rain storage for easy watering.

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
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Tereza Okava

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Looking great!
This year I'm almost at the point where I need to cut my moringa, which is probably 18 feet tall. I cut it last year and it branched into three tall branches, so I hope to do it again and try to keep it around my height. Only the tippy top has leaves, so I'm hoping to root some of the cut branches. We're in a dry spell of indian summer, so once it rains I'll do it and see how it goes.

Judith Browning

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Tereza Okava wrote:Looking great!
This year I'm almost at the point where I need to cut my moringa, which is probably 18 feet tall. I cut it last year and it branched into three tall branches, so I hope to do it again and try to keep it around my height. Only the tippy top has leaves, so I'm hoping to root some of the cut branches. We're in a dry spell of indian summer, so once it rains I'll do it and see how it goes.

18' tall!!!
Do you harvest a lot of leaves?
How old is your tree?
Even mine seem to shoot straight up and never branch on their own.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Tereza Okava

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This year it flowered, Judith, and I left it alone hoping we might get a drumstick or two, and the hummingbirds liked the flowers, and I'm a sucker for hummingbirds.... But alas, no drumsticks.
It is too tall not to harvest, really, without chopping the leggy thing. I'm hoping that cutting it to maybe waist height will encourage it to branch out a bit (i'm thinking like a fig?)
Edited to add: the guy I bought it from, along with 3 others, told me to cut it to the ground and it would come back 100% guaranteed. I did that with two and they died, like dead dead, so I am a bit leery of that!!

The rabbits will eat the leaves, though it's not their favorite. I don't like the taste of the greens but enjoy tea made with them, because I'm complicated! (^facepalm) I'd like to harvest more next year, this year I feel like this tree didn't do much for me. I suppose the hummingbirds would disagree....

Judith Browning

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Tereza,
Mine are 'cut to the ground' I guess? Maybe a two or three inch staub. Then no water....seems like his advice should have worked in your climate.
Did the roots rot?

We eat large amounts of the leaves chopped and added to other vegetables in a sautee or a bulgur salad...they just blend in with no particular flavor of their own.
I think it's like lambs quarters, where a fresh leaf is not exactly pleasant in texture or flavor?

Hummingbirds

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
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Tereza Okava

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i think the water might have been what killed them- i don't recall if it was the year with the crazy drought or the crazy wet-- either way they didn't come back, and I went looking for the tuber afterward and found nothing, so I suspect it was a wet year and it rotted?
I know I've cooked them and they were good, which is why I want to try to get this tree into more of a bushing habit so I can harvest more. And chopped up in tabbouleh, for example, where the pepperiness is more welcome, it is a really good thing.

Judith Browning

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It's that time of year!

Sunny and 80F's here but tuesday's forecast is a low of 36F overnight and we always are a few degrees colder in this bottom by the creek.

So....I've cut them back and dug them out of their tubs to dry and cure a bit before packing in the same old pine chips for the winter.

We ate a lot over the summer and the 'trees' seem as hardy as ever although the roots are getting larger and rough looking.

Has anyone divided the roots with any success?
I broke one getting it out so might try the chunk that broke off as an experiment.

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

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Yesterday I set 12 healthy looking moringa roots into their tubs in the moringa 'orchard' out the back door...north/east side of the house.
This will be 7 wintered over years for most of these roots.
...have used the same pine chips for most of that time...very dry seems to work best.

this is the post where I finally figured out how to successfully winter them over ('18-'19)
https://permies.com/t/71148/growing-Dwarf-Morianga-pots#943296

IMG_20250420_084548_328-2.jpg

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

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