Moringa, also known as the "miracle tree," has gained popularity recently due to its exceptional nutritional benefits. If you want to add this superfood to your garden and enjoy the rewards of growing it yourself, planting moringa seeds is the way to go. In this blog post, we will guide you through planting and caring for moringa seeds to have a bountiful supply of this remarkable plant at your doorstep.
Moringa seeds are the end product of collecting seed pods. Although the seeds are edible, this blog discusses my method for producing more Moringa plants. While growing the seeds can be easy, there are certain environmental conditions and steps you can take to ensure good growth. Following some easy steps, these are one of the easiest plants to grow from seed.
The seeds are like the parent plant and do not like cold weather, including conditions for growing the seeds. They will not sprout until the soil temperature is at least 75 degrees, and they need to be planted in an excellent growing medium as they will need nutrition as they are fast-growing plants. It is a good idea to start with at least decent size potting pot to allow for adequate growth.
Preparing the Moringa seeds is pretty straightforward, and after years of planting them, I have a decent success rate. The first step is picking healthy seeds which look plump and full of life. Second, get a cup or glass jar, fill it partly with water, and soak the seeds for at least 24 hours. You only need to soak a few seeds at a time, as most will sprout within a few days. After soaking the seeds, plant them in a container about 1/2 inch under the soil. In a few days, you should see seedlings breaking the soil. Now on the internet, some people will take the outer shell off before planting or soaking. In my experience, this is unnecessary, and just soaking seems the easiest way.
Caring for the seeds is pretty easy as they grow fast and require a vital light source to keep the soil moist but not wet. Unfortunately, the one thing that will kill the seedlings tends to be overly damp soil. Therefore, I keep the pots in a tray and water from the bottom to ensure each tree gets enough water but plenty of breathing room for the upper root system. I have kept these in the growing pots for over a year, but the more significant the pots, the more the seedlings will grow.
When the time of year is correct, and the seedling is slightly over a foot tall, you can plant it in the ground. In Arizona, March is the best time to plant new plants once the temperature lasts over 80 degrees. Over the summer, the plant will grow into a small tree and need frost protection during the first year of life in colder months. When planting, I tend to give them a good watering well and water every other day. Deep watering is preferred over shallow watering.
Moringa is a fun and easy tree to grow and plant, providing years of leaves and seed pods. If you are developing for leaves and not producing a tree, you need to trim the tree each summer, so encourage branch growth for additional leaves. The tree should be planted away from fences and watering lines as the roots can go deep and be a problem, but I find it at least 10 feet away from these structures.