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Superfoods

Moringa

Moringa oleifera

Moringa is, according to the FAO, the world's most nutritious tree, with a complete essential amino acid profile. It needs heat and full sun: it dies below 5 °C (41 °F) and gets damaged below 10 °C (50 °F).

Harvest: 3–6 months
Temperature: 77–95 °F (25–35 °C)
Difficulty: Advanced

Quick step-by-step

  1. Choose a large pot

    Use a 30–50 L (8–13 gal) pot at least 40 cm (16 in) deep: the taproot is enormous.

  2. Give it direct sun

    It needs 8 hours of direct sun, no exceptions. It's very hard to grow indoors without a powerful grow light.

  3. Keep it at 25–35 °C

    Cold kills it even briefly; protect it from any temperature drop.

  4. Water sparingly

    It's very drought-resistant: water lightly to moderately, every 7 to 14 days.

  5. Prune the main stem

    Cut the main stem at 1 m (3.3 ft) tall to trigger dense lateral branching, for more leaves.

  6. Harvest and dry the leaves

    Harvest young leaves from the branch tips. You can dry them at 40 °C (104 °F) for 2 hours to make nutritious powder.

Common mistakes

  • Exposing it to cold

    Cold kills it even briefly; not even a short frost is safe.

  • Growing it indoors without a grow light

    Without full sun, it needs a high-power grow light: it's very hard with indoor light alone.

  • Skipping fertilizer in a pot

    In a pot it needs regular fertilizing because of its size.

Guide in progress

We're working on the full guide for this crop. Leave your email and we'll let you know when it's ready.