Survival Plant Profile: Moringa

Moringa has been called the "Miracle Tree," and for good reason. It has an incredible assortment of attributes in its favor. From cleaning water to fending off malnutrition, it's a tree of many uses. Fast-growing, easy to grow and containing complete proteins in its leaves, the Moringa is a must-have for Florida survival gardeners. If you're stuck living off rice and MREs, you're going to want more nutrition - and that's where this tree shines. The leaves are absolutely loaded with nutrients, brought up from deep down by the tree's questing roots. The tree has been named the "most nutritious on earth." It's also anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, as well as being a really fast producer of biomass. Its pods are often called "drumsticks" and feature prominently in some regions of South Asia, however, it's hard to get them to set pods in regions with frost.

From seed, the Moringa will easily hit 10' during its first year of growth. In the tropics the tree apparently reaches 60', though the wood is very weak. My 2-year-old trees easily blew through 20' tall this year and the growing season isn't done yet.

A cute lil' baby Moringa.

But tall trees aren't really what you want. You want trees that are easy to harvest. To get that, simply cut the trunks at about 4' and let them shoot up lots of tender new growth. The compound leaf stems are easy to break off so the tiny leaflets can be dropped into soups, sprinkled into salads or dried/frozen for future use. After learning of its incredible nutrient profile, I've started putting the leaves into everything from smoothies to scrambled eggs. Bonus: they taste good. The trouble with this tree, however, is that it's a tropical all the way. It quits growing when the weather gets cool - and freezes to the ground during a frost. That means those of us in the central to northern part of the state won't get 60' trees that collapse onto our roofs during thunderstorms. Fortunately, the Moringa is hard to kill and in spring will generally come back from its roots. Or, you can do as I do:

Spring: Plant moringa seeds (or stick cuttings) in desired locations

Summer: Watch them shoot to the moon and harvest leaves as desired.

Fall: Cut back the trees and harvest lots of new growth for storage.

Winter: Put a 2' diameter ring of chicken wire around the base of the tree and fill with straw to protect against frost. Cut off all top growth and save leaves, then cover cut trunk. Wait until after all danger of frost the next year and then remove ring and straw. BOOM! The Moringa flies back into action as soon as days warm and you're harvesting fresh leaves again. 

The trees I protected from frost came back with significantly more vigor than those I simply let freeze to the ground.

I've read that you can dig the roots and grate them to make a horseradish substitute - but I've already read that the roots are somewhat toxic. If you try it, let me know if it works out or if you suddenly die. I have yet to see any pods develop here in North Florida, though one of my protected trees has flowered. The blooms dropped, sadly, but perhaps next year we'll see some pods produced.

ECHO in Fort Myers is seriously involved in Moringa research and their store is one of the few places you can get the seeds. (More fascinating info about the plant here and here.)

SPUDOMETER RATING:

4 1/2 Spuds

Name: Moringa Tree, Miracle Tree, Drumstick tree, Horseradish tree
Latin Name: Moringa Oleifera
Type: Tree
Nitrogen Fixer: No (updated 10/31)
Medicinal: Yes
Cold-hardy: No
Exposure: Full sun/part shade
Part Used: Leaves, pods, roots
Propagation: Seed, cuttings
Taste: Good
Method of preparation: Raw, cooked, dried, sauteed. Leaves and pods.
Storability: Leaves can be dried/frozen, pods could likely be pickled
Ease of growing: Easy to hard, depending on growing zone
Nutrition: Unbeatable
Recognizability: Low
Availability: Low