Moringa

[zeedman]

For many years, I've grown Moringa oleifera for its leaves. It is a tropical tree, a.k.a Horseradish Tree, and as Malungay in the Philippines. It will not over-winter in my climate unless brought indoors, but I just grow it as an annual in quantity. Started early as transplants, it will get 3-4 feet tall even in my short summers, which gives me several pickings.


The trouble is, I've lost my source. The non-profit ECHO in Florida sold seed for many tropical vegetables (including Moringa) from their bookstore; their prices were reasonable, and the germination rate of their Moringa was outstanding. Unfortunately, they have chosen this year to discontinue all seed sales.

Does anyone know of a good source?

[bunkie]

I got some Moringa seeds from here a few years back. Talked to the guy on the phone. Really nice and excellent seed. I see they're selling trees now, too...

moringafarms.com/

[castanea]

This variety will even flower in one season:

www.seedsofindia.com/shop/?itemid=127

Sorry to hear that Echo quit selling seeds. I assume this was in the uS only. I kept waiting for them to sell domestically all the stuff they were selling internationally.

[zeedman]

Thanks to both of you. Seeds of India looks like a good source, especially since they offer volume discount. Silly me, I had glanced at their site previously, and only saw the 10-seed packet... didn't notice the drop down button for larger quantities.

May 4, 2013 9:49:43 GMT -5 castanea said:

Sorry to hear that Echo quit selling seeds. I assume this was in the uS only. I kept waiting for them to sell domestically all the stuff they were selling internationally.

I agree. Through their bookstore, they had offered quite a few seeds which were hard to find elsewhere, including winged bean and the true rice bean. Their seed bank is even more extensive, especially in regard to tropical plants. It would seem to me that opening up seed sales would bring more money in to support their organization... I hope they will consider reopening seed sales to the public.

P.S. I did find a supplier with low prices for larger quantities (100 seeds):
www.moringa.com/products-page/
I would only be growing about half of that... do Moringa seeds have a moderately good storage life?

[atash]

do Moringa seeds have a moderately good storage life?

Unfortunately, no. Like many tropical plants, they have short seed viability.

Moringas are mostly from the horn of Africa in the deep tropics, at low elevations. There are 3 exceptions, all in India and neighborhing countries (the Moringas in the Philipines are planted and/or feral).

You'd almost think that India broke off from Africa roughly 120 million years ago, and brought with it a lot of Gondwanic African flora like Moringas and Sauromatums and astonishingly even Proteaceae.

Anyway..

Although a native of the lower Himalayan foothills they still retain deep-tropical characteristics such as short seed longevity. Very little frost tolerance either. They probably tolerate brief radiation frosts but nothing of long duration.

The seedlings are delicate and disease-prone. The plants get tougher as they mature. Oddly enough although their current homeland is not desert, they retain xeric characteristics which will manifest if they are subjected to semi-arid conditions once they mature enough to be established. They have deep tap roots and leaves that are drought-deciduous. A vestigial adaptation to their earlier existence in extreme desert.

If you're buying from Seeds of India you should be able to get the variety PKM1 which has the endearing traits of precocious blooming, less fibrous "vegetable drumsticks" (Indians will eat the leaves but the seed pods are their main interest), and non-bitter "beans" (seeds). They grow them as annuals too, to avoid disease buildup and to make harvesting easier. But you could still grow PKM1 as a tree if you lived in a warm enough semi-tropical climate.

[zeedman]

Thanks, Atash. The short storage is, unfortunately, what I suspected. Hopefully the seeds will take a little refrigeration, so I can store the excess for a year. Worst case scenario, it will be a good experiment... but I'll be sure to have a backup plan.

I've noticed the xeric characteristics too, reflected by their negative reaction to the same amount of irrigation that makes most vegetables flourish. I killed quite a few plants the first few years, attributing their death to disease... they don't like wet feet. Surprising, given how well they do in the Philippines, and other areas where they get drenched during the wet season. The dry season, on the other hand, would explain the xeric adaptation.

I will probably be growing PKM1, just because it is so widely available. Not much chance of getting drumsticks here, though, regardless of how (relatively) early it is. I'd be happy to just see a flower or two, which is probably equally unlikely. We grow it for the leaves anyway.

Surprisingly, I have had few problems with the seedlings. Everything I use to start them is (theoretically) sterile, from soil less starter mix to boiled water, and I germinate them in an enclosure at a constant 80F degrees. With the seed from ECHO, I generally had around 75% germination or better. I've heard many complaints online of poor germination for Moringa from other sources; and seed I was sent in swaps had germination anywhere from poor to none. So I hope I don't encounter that problem from whatever new source I choose.

Last year was exceptionally warm here, we picked enough Moringa to dehydrate some. The wife is using the last of it in soup tonight, along with ginger, coconut milk, bamboo shoots & chicken.

[castanea]

I've grown older seeds. I lost germination in about 20-25% of them every year they weren't planted.

[kevin8715]

Bump.
I am also growing this plant. Have a small one and some seeds. My local ethnic markets actually sell the seeds pods and leaves. Will post on how it grows.

[zeedman]

Glad to see this bumped. Regarding longevity, I ordered 100 seeds last year, planted half, and saved half. Germination last year was not great, only about 50%. The remaining seed was stored in a zip lock freezer bag with all excess air squeezed out, and planted this year, also had about 50% germination. Out of the 100 seeds, though, there were about 20 culls total which I discarded due to their being under-developed or damaged, so I will be looking for a different vendor next year.

I had an abnormally high mortality after transplanting into the garden this year, probably due to the unusually wet summer. Lost about half of the plants, and the survivors look sickly... if we get one more flooding rain, it will probably finish many of them off.

[oxbowfarm]

A friend of mine used to work for ECHO, and she contacted them when I mentioned the moringa problem. She said they are still selling Moringa seed on their bookstore website. It appears to be available for purchase from what I can see?  Are you seeing this zeedman?

[zeedman]

Thanks for the heads up, oxbowfarm. Glad to see ECHO selling Moringa again. I hope their seed sales are back to stay.

It has been a rotten year here for Moringa & other heat lovers. We will be getting down to the upper 40's F. tonight - in July??? I think this is our third drop into the 40's since June 1st. My Moringa plants are still only a few inches tall, and have yet to green up... chances are they won't produce much this year. On the bright side, though, my runner beans are setting pods (July is normally too hot for them) and my peas & garbanzos are loving the cool temperatures.