Moringa for Mulch

 

Moringa as Mulch

Here are some of our Moringa trees, that need to be cropped. I have been too busy to do it, but they have no weeds down at their bases, because when I harvest leaves, I toss the chopped up branches down underneath them. Talk about easy mulch! Talk about cheap mulch! I have never had such results with mulch purchased at Home Depot, or Lowes, or from a garden center - not even close! 

 

Now, of course, you have to have Moringa trees to do this, or know someone who does. They might just be willing to donate a lot of branches to you, as they should have more than they need. When we have too many branches to have the time to strip off the leaves, we have occasionally just chopped up the limbs, leaves and all - and put them down underneath the trees. However you do it, Moringa is an excellent product for mulch.

How To Eat Moringa, How To Plant Moringa, and a lot of other How-To's

Just putting a link up, so that you can learn all about how to eat Moringa, how to plant Moringa, how to eat Moringa leaves, how to use Moringa leaf powder, how to eat Moringa seeds, how to use Moringa oil, and how to use Moringa blossoms.

We have hundreds of thousands of words, online - about Moringa. To save everyone a lot of aggravation, and time, we consolidated several articles on Moringa in one place. The main thing, about Moringa of any kind - Moringa Oleifera, Moringa Stenopetala, Moringa Ovalifolia, or any other variety - is: you need to start eating it!

Recently, we heard that someone was able to keep his diabetes under control, by eating two Moringa seeds a day. Has anyone else had this experience? If so, please let us know. We are fairly easy to find, online.

We Grow Moringa Oleifera and Moringa Stenopetala in Florida

Do you want to grow Moringa in the United States? You can - we grow it here in Florida, and despite our recent cold winters - it grows! For a really sustainable source of edible landscaping, the Moringa tree is an excellent choice. Planted a few feet from your back door, or your front door, for that matter - you can harvest edible greens for your meals - within minutes!

When the weather is warm, above 70°F, plant your Moringa seeds. They grow so fast, that you can start harvesting leaves within two weeks of planting. Now, THAT, is if you live in a very temperate climate. Where the weather is cooler, it will take a bit longer, but once those Moringa seedlings take off - you will be hard pressed to keep up with their bounty.

Should you live in the northern part of the US, you can, with a little bit of extra planning and care, grow Moringa, too! If you have access to a greenhouse - you are "set". They love humidity and heat, and thrive on the sunshine. If you do not, you can prune them back severely, and keep them in large potting containers, with an ample supply of plant lights.

Since Moringa leaves provide all the essential amino acids necessary for human life, a Moringa tree growing on your property, can provide excellent nourishment to you, year-round. For more about growing Moringa trees, eating Moringa leaves, pruning Moringa trees, and how to add Moringa to your diet, check out the links below:

• More About Moringa on My About Me Page
• I Love Moringa
• How to Prune Moringa Trees

Read about Moringa, and see how it can enhance your diet, and beautify your yard - you'll love it!

How Do You Prune Moringa Trees?

One of the nightmares, of growing Moringa Trees, is that they can rapidly get out of hand. If you intend to eat their leaves, and harvest their pods - you have to be able to get to them!

From seed, a Moringa Tree can easily grow 20 feet tall, within a year - given the proper growing conditions. That makes for a difficult harvest! They just reach for the sunlight, with all of their might, and before you know it - the leaves are out of your reach.

Listen up - it does not have to "go that way"! There is a very simple process involved, for keeping any Moringa tree pruned to a reasonable height, and here it is --- pinch or chop off, every other top growth, and always, always - prune from the top!

Once our little Moringa seedlings are about 12 inches tall, I start pinching off every other top growth of leaves. That encourages Moringa leaves to sprout out, all down the trunk of the seedling. You can do that many times, while the seedlings are still in their pots, and before long - the trunk gets "woody".

If you do not pinch off every other growth, you will have a very tall, spindly Moringa seedling - which grows into a very tall, spindly Moringa tree. That is not conducive to easily getting your hands on the Moringa buds, blossoms, and leaves.

Once the Moringa seedlings are about 18 inches tall, I start chopping the branches in half, lengthwise. We strip off the leaves, and eat them, or dry them, for future use. You must trim them this way, or all you will have, is an extremely tall tree - with its harvest waving up in the air, far above your head.

With Moringa trees of any variety, the more you prune them, the better they grow - and the stronger the tree!

More about this, at this link: How to Prune Moringa Trees

Does Anyone Else Feed Their Guinea Pigs Moringa?

Recently, we acquired two male guinea pigs. One is young, the other is mature. They get along just fine, miraculously! We grew to love them both, very much, and then the younger one started showing signs of not being quite "right". This is our little guy - isn't he cute?

He routinely manufactured 50, that's right, 50 pellets - within 15 minutes. I have owned many, many guinea pigs, and never encountered THAT before. He also did not seem to gain very much weight, in comparision to the food he devoured. We think his digestive system is "awry".

Then, he started coughing, and being listless - almost to the point of death. He shivered, and sneezed, and would "go limp" when we picked him up. For a "squirrely" guinea pig like this little fellow, that was not a pleasant site to see. Usually, he would be "bouncing off the walls" - endowed with enough energy for 5 guinea pigs.

I researched every site I could, to help him. Never, had I seen anything remotely close to his symptoms. He did not want to eat, or drink - even blueberries were spurned. We noticed that he started breathing loudly and rapidly, and acting like he was choking on something. Because he tends to eat his bedding - lots of guinea pigs do - we started keeping him on old bath towels. That seemed to help. We also stopped giving him timothy hay, because every time he appeared to recover - he would eat a lot of hay, and drink water, and start coughing again. We switched to alfalfa hay, with the same results. He would eat hay, and within hours, the cough returned.

No more hay for him, we decided. That seemed to help, but it did not get him "up and running" again. So, because we already knew the basics:

• fresh water
• top quality guinea pig pellets
• dark, leafy greens
• no iceberg lettuce - ever
• small tidbits of fruit
• Vitamin C in their food or water

we decided to try something else. His little body was just not "behaving" like most guinea pigs' would.


Because I grow Moringa, and it is used in some countries for animal fodder, I thought it certainly wouldn't hurt anything, to feed him some. The only other time I had seen a rapid decline in health in any of our other guinea pigs, was when I was very, very young, and fed one of mine a lot of iceberg lettuce. She developed diarrhea - fast - and died. I learned my lesson.


I thought it would be easy to find references online, to people feeding their guinea pigs Moringa, but I was mistaken. Because it grows in the Philippines, in India, in Guam - just to name a few of the countries, and people there have guinea pigs, I expected to find references galore! I could not find any. There was no place that said people feed their guinea pigs Moringa - so I really was leery of giving him any of it. He was in such bad shape, though, I thought anything was worth a try. Almost fearfully, I tendered some fresh Moringa Oleifera leaves to our sick little guinea pig. He liked that - a lot! He ate them rapidly, and started to show a bit of interest in life. I then gave him some of our dried Moringa leaves. That was devoured, also - stems and all.

So far, our little guy is looking good. I know we are not "out of the water" yet, with him. His digestive tract is just "screwy". Time will tell. We hope he completely recovers, and thrives, as both my husband and I just love him!


What I would like to know, is - does anyone else feed their guinea pigs Moringa?

How to Grow a Moringa Tree

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

For edible landscaping, a Moringa tree is hard to beat. This versatile tree can be ground year-round in any tropical climate, and as an annual in temperate zones. Fast-growing, nutritious, and lovely to behold, Moringa is gaining in popularity daily. What could be easier than walking into your yard, and gathering healthy greens to put on the table?

Steps

1. Obtain some Moringa seeds from one of the many fine sources that sell them. There are several varieties, but the seeds of Moringa Oleifera and Moringa Stenopetala are the easiest to obtain. For a fast-growing tree that will bear leaves, blossoms and seed pods - called drumsticks, the first year - choose Moringa Oleifera. If you want a fast-growing tree with much larger leaves, making the task of gathering them for a meal easier, opt for Moringa Stenopetala. The flowers and seed pods take longer to develop on the African variety of Moringa - Moringa Stenopetala. Moringa Oleifera seeds are round, brown, and winged. Moringa Stenopetala seeds, out of their husk, are almond-shaped and light tan in color. The seeds are very different, but they both grow Moringa trees. In actuality, the seeds are basically the same size; but, you can see they are not alike, in appearance.
   


2. Decide where you would like to grow your Moringa tree. Keep in mind that Moringa trees can grow over 20 feet tall, their first year. The average growth is about 15 feet, however, in optimum conditions, they can grow much taller. Because the branches will grow, on the average, to about three to four feet wide the first year, you will need to consider whether you want to plant your Moringa tree close to any existing structures. Moringas need a lot of sunlight, warmth, and water, in order to thrive - so think about where your tree will obtain the best exposure to the sun.
   


3. Get the best organic potting soil that you can find. Moringas do not like heavy, clay-like soil or vermiculite. They will grow in poor soil, sandy soil, and depleted soil, but they do not like their roots getting wet. Bear this in mind, and if necessary, purchase sand to add to the potting soil mixture, or use whatever soil is available in your area, and add coconut coir, peat moss, perlite, or sand to loosen it. This gives the roots of the Moringa tree room to spread out, go deep, and drain well.
   


4. Make a hole in the soil, and plant the Moringa seeds about ¾" to 1" deep, cover with soil, and tamp it into place. Make a note of when you planted the seed or seeds, so you can monitor their growth. Once you have covered the seeds, thoroughly water the soil. Whether you plant the seeds in pots, or right into the ground, they will need a thorough soaking every day, until you see the seedling emerge from the soil. Once they have sprouted, they can be watered once every other day, until they are about 18 inches tall. Then, once a week will be sufficient. Some people soak the seeds in water until they sprout, and then plant them. This method also works, but Moringa seeds are very hardy, and do not really need this additional step.
   


5. Moringa can be grow as a solitary tree, in rows, or as a hedge. If you would like to grow it as a hedge, plant the seeds into the ground, about 1 foot apart. Pinch back every other new leaf growth, to force the tree to grow like a bush, and once they are about 2 feet tall, cut the branches in half lengthwise, and pinch back the new leaf growth that will sprout out at the top of the Moringa tree. If you are going to grow your Moringas in rows, then plant the seeds about 3 feet apart, in rows that are at least 6 feet apart, for easy weed removal and walking through the rows. If you are going to grow your Moringa as a solitary tree, just remember to give it plenty of room, so its branches can spread out. Periodically, cut back the top of the tree, to encourage new growth, and cut the branches' length back, by half. This will insure that your Moringas thrive, and give you lots of beautiful flowers, edible leaves, and drumsticks - for years to come.
   

Tips

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  • The leaves are edible, and there are many places, online, that will tell you how to incorporate them into your diet.
    
  
  


• The flowers buds and blossoms can be cooked slightly and eaten, as a nourishing vegetable.
  


• Keep those pruning shears handy, as the more you prune them, the faster they will grow.
  


• Maintain your Moringa tree at a height of about 6 feet maximum, if you wish to be able to reach its harvest.
  

Warnings

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  • Worldwide, some people eat the root. Do not eat the root. It tastes like horseradish, but the root's bark contains a powerful neurotoxin. In large enough quantities, it can be fatal. Leave the roots alone.
    
  
  


• Constantly trim your Moringas. If you do not, you will eventually have a very tall, very thin tree, with branches at the very top; inaccessible, and unattractive.
  


• The leaves, pods, flowers buds, blossoms, and seeds can all be eaten. The flower buds and blossoms must be cooked, the seeds should be cooked, but the leaves can be eaten raw or cooked.
  

Things You'll Need

• Moringa seeds.
  


• Loose potting soil.
  


• A sunny location for the Moringas.
  


• Water
  


• Pruning shears or scissors
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Grow a Moringa Tree. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Our Moringa trees and the Florida winter

Well... the COLD weather December 2009 and January 2010 certainly didn't do our Moringa trees any good! They have survived, but they need the sunlight and the warm weather, to thrive. Supposedly, the Moringas will drop their leaves if the temperatures average 50°F or below. Ours didn't, but they lost a lot of leaves when the temperatures got into the 30's!

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Our poor trees, took such a hit! Going to put some photos up, so you can see how badly they took a beating, because not only did we get COLD, here in Florida - we had lots of ---WIND, which just "beat them to pieces", but left them alive! When I checked on the trees in one of our locations, they just looked "dead", but look at the photos, and you'll see - they are very much alive! We were SO glad! The trees at our other location, have water near them, on both sides, so they fared much better than these did, but they are ALL --- alive!

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We grow and sell Moringa trees, so you can buy Moringa Oleifera seeds, Moringa Stenopetala seeds, Moringa Oleifera seedlings, Moringa Stenopetala seedlings, and Moringa Leaf Powder from us online, right here in sunny Florida. All of our Moringas are organically grown, using no chemicals or fertilizers, other than a really good organic one.
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We eat the leaves, buds, flower blossoms, pods and seeds from our own trees, and we don't want those synthetic chemicals put into our bodies, anymore than we want them in yours! The closer to nature that you eat, you know, the better off you'll be.

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Many people ask us how to grow Moringa. Well, if you live where the weather is tropical, you grow them in the ground, year-round. If you live where winter brings freezing temperatures, you can grow Moringa as an annual - plant it in the spring, when the ground is warm, eat the harvest from it all summer long, and when the temperatures get into the 50's, dig it up and bring it inside for the winter. Alternatively, you can just let it go in the winter, and plant fresh seeds the next year.
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If you intend to bring your Moringas inside, make sure they are in a large container, as they develop BIG roots. If you give them LOTS of indoor light, in the form of plant lights, and an organic fertilizer, they will almost grow like "bonsai".

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One thing to remember, about Moringa trees, is that they will grow faster, and bush out beautifully, if you prune them - a lot, and often. If you DON'T, they will grow into a tall tree very rapidly, and put their leaves, buds, blossoms and pods...out of your reach.
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What more can I say, except that I love Moringa! It truly was "love at first bite", and our appreciation for the humble Moringa tree just grows and grows; just like our Moringas!
Posted by Excalibur at 9:19 AM 0 comments
Labels: Our Moringa trees in Florida winter