WOW!! your Moringa grows sooo beautiful .
Do you dig them up for winter ?

Yes.We cut off the stems at a height of 2 feet above the ground level before digging out the tubers (roots) for over wintering.

Two more veggies. are ready for harvesting.
Surti Papdi (Undhia Papdi)
This one has a bushy hobbit of growing.It grows like small bush.It does not grow as a vine.It's another peculiarity is the flower and fruits grow straight around a streak like shoot of about one foot in length.Secondly new flowers emerge in the same spot where the fruits are harvested from.This way plants height remains the same thru-out the whole season.
Please Google for the recipes.
Pic. ofSurti Papdi
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Pic. of Guar (Cluster Beans)
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I love your cluster beans plant/fruits. Is there any special way to grow them?

I try to grow this every year in NJ and simply goes bad.

Beautiful healthy plants. Great pictures. Please continue posting.

Anna

After you cut theMoringa to over winter ,do you pot it?Please tell me more about it.

We had gone for vacation for 5 days.When we came back we were surprised to look at the growth of okras.There were 3 to 5 pods on the plants (on the average).Longest one grew to 9 inches.This much product and length we observed in Maryland weather for first time in our garden.They reached the height of 8 to 9 feet.
I am posting the pics. to share with you.
Okra - 8/22/11 {{gwi:99201}}

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jamesandfely, yes we place them in a pot for over wintering.

I had to read up about moringa, I had never heard of it. It sounds interesting and now I wonder what it tastes like! Do you get pods from that or just leaves? Also, I'm curious what cultivar of okra is that? It has such a fine leaf and slender stalks. Thanks for sharing!

sunnibel7
Boiled drumsticks has mix of nutty and asparagus taste.It is normally used as a Curry ingredient.It makes curry more appetizing.Leaves are used for soup.Cultivar of the Moringa oleifera that I am growing is PKM1 dwarf variety.In tropics it gives fruits in very first year after planting for twice a year and so on every year.In cold weather it takes two years for fruits according to my experience.There after it produces fruits in summer every year.Being a dwarf variety it attains the height of 13 to 15 feet in very first year.You may cut off the stem at a height of two above ground level for taking it indoors for over wintering.
Many online vendors are selling seeds of this variety.

Hi chaman,

Can you please provide some more detail on how you overwinter the moringa trees? From your previous posts, it appears that you cut down the tree to about 2 ft and then transfer it to a pot that you can keep indoors during winter?

When you dig the tree to transplant into a pot, is the tree dormant?

How big of a root system does it have in a year or two? Do you root prune it before transferring it to a pot or do you get a really huge pot?

Does the tree keep growing while in the pot? or can you just store the roots like you store tubers over winter (like calla lillies bulbs, etc) without soil?

At what time of the year do you move it to a pot, late fall?

Sorry about all these questions,but I am trying to learn how to overwinter these trees.

thanks,
xman

Hi xman,
Moringa has tuberous root. It is compact and does not need any trimming. Height of 2 feet is not critical.You can keep it higher if you have good storage area.
Pot should be large enough to accommodate the tuber and soil surrounding it.Moringa does not go into dormancy.It will produce leaves and flowers while inside for over wintering.It does not grow as vigorously inside as it will grow out side.It is good to keep the stem at least of 2 feet or more.If you trim at the crown level it will take longer time to develop in a shrub during summer.Move the plant inside much before the first frost warning in your area.I have not stored the tubers like cala lillies or canas.Please post if you have more questions.

Hi chaman

I planted Clemson Spineless this year and the yield was really poor. It was infested with aphids, not sure if that caused the poor yield. Your okra plants look amazing. What variety of okra is it? Where in MD are you?

Thanks

Hi Chaman,

Thanks for your reply, I understood most of what you are saying. The only concern I had was about digging and transplanting a tree growing in the ground into a pot. Do you bare-root the tree before placing into the pot and fill in with potting soil? or do you just dig it up with the existing soil and place it in the pot and fill in more soil?
Here in Texas we have clay soil that does not do too well in a pot.

thanks,
xman

xman,
Dig out the root , which is very easy ,place it in the pot and fill the pot with soil before you take it in side for over wintering.To avoid the clay soil problem I plant the roots in sandy soil 6 inches deep.
Prepare a hole in 2 feet wide (diameter) and foot deep.Place the root in the center and fill the surrounding area in the hole with 2/3 sand (play sand or river sand) and 1/3 potting soil mix.Provide the plant with 10-10-10 fert. Feeding Ca and phosphate will help.While digging out the root it will be easier to remove sandy mix. Save the sandy mix by filling the hole once you remove the root which you can use next year.

fireman,
I received these seeds from my cousin when I visited India in 1985.

Hi Chaman,
wonderful to see your 2011 harvest. I got bountiful harvest of eggplants, tomatoes were great until squirrel attacked them (now in grave after they ate poision wheat), and hot peppers are simply amazing and putting up lots of pods still.

I got a morinda graft from plantogram as a freebie with my Alphonso mango tree. It came DOA with its lone stem broken off. I planted it anyway and now I see two shoots coming out at fast pace in two weeks of putting it in the ground. In So Cal we do hit low 30's consistently and am wondering if the plant would survive it outside. any thoughts? I used tomato cage around it so it doesnt get run over! I can cover it at nights with plastic wrap to keep frost away.

thoughts on saving moringa? Also ordered PKM1 seeds from seedrack today!

Great pictures, love the diversity of edible plants.

Behlgarden,

I think the Moringa won't have much problem surviving SoCal temps in the 30s. I think it would need a full season of growth though, to harden off and resist the chill in the winter. I would plant it near the home or cinder block wall in a sheltered area from wind, the extra retained heat would help greatly in the winter.

Pic.of Nitrogen nodules{{gwi:99203}}
Pic. above is of Nitrogen nodules developed by peanut roots planted in the sand of about 6 inches in depth.These nodules are of larger size compared to nodules produced by peanuts planted in loamy soil.Pegs are white at the end from where the peanuts were harvested.