Scientific Name : Moringa Oleifera
Common Names : Moringa, Drumstick Tree, Miracle Tree
Malay Names : Kelur
Chinese Name : La Mu (辣木)
Tamil : Murungai
Growing :
Originated from the foothills of Southern Himalayas, this tree can grow rapidly under full sun as much as 3 metres per year! While it now commonly grown in Community Gardens, the challenge is to grow it as a bush in your corridor or balcony so that you can harvest fresh leaves easily.
It is very sturdy but may be easily infested by aphids. Just cut away all the infected leaves and the plant will regrow in no time. In fact, if you cut the trunk down to the last 300mm, it will regrow back in no time.
Eating :
The leaves have a spicy and slightly bitter taste. They can be eaten raw or cooked like any pot herb. Our favourite is to make it into a nutritious smoothie by adding other ingredients like coconut, almonds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds. This has enough fibre and other nutrients for lunch!
Nutritional :
100 grams of fresh leaves is said to contain1:
Protein : 209% compared to cow’s milk.
Potassium : 294% compared to bananas.
Calcium : 367% compared to cow’s milk.
Vitamin C : 733% compared to oranges.
Vitamin A : 359% compared to carrots.
References :
- Moringa, More Than You Can Handle by Green Deane www.eattheweeds.com
- Moringa Nutritional Information Trees For Life International
The contents and references in this posting are for educational purposes only. Please consult your medical professional before consuming this food either cooked or raw, especially if you have any medical conditions.
Very good sharing Ben. Keep it up.
Yes it is really challenging to grow along the corridor.
Yes, it’s challenging. All the photos on this page are of moringas growing along corridors or balconies. I just received a photo from Wein of his Moringa growing really tall in a pot along his HDB Corridor.
The trick is to keep pruning and eating the leaves so that it becomes bushy instead of tall and slim.