Grow a “Miracle Tree” in Your Backyard

If I told you that I had a miraculous tree from West Africa in my backyard and that it could not only provide you with full nourishment, but that it could also purify your water, provide you with shelter, and in some instances serve as alternative treatment for disease, would you believe me? Because I do. This tree I grew straight from seed. Its scienfitic name is Moringa oleifera, but people prefer to call it things like “Horseradish tree”, “Drumstick tree”, or (much better) “tree of life”.

I first learned about this tree when a friend of mine in college told me the name. I had my intial doubts but immediately became intrigued and wanted to know if I could find this tree. So, I did some serious searching on the web and managed to come across some seeds that I could buy. To my surprise, they weren’t that expensive at all.

Now, this tree is utterly amazing, its leaves are perhaps the most nutrient-dense vegetable known to humanity. In just a single spoonful serving of 25 grams (about nine tenths of an ounce), you will get a daily value of: Protein 42%, Calcium 125%, Magnesium 61%, Potassium 41%, Iron 71%, Vitamin A 272%, Vitamin C 22%. Or, to put it in more ready terms: 2 times the protein and 4 times the calcium found in a glass of milk,  4 times the Vitamin A found in a serving of carrots, 7 times the amount of Vitamin C found in an orange, and 3 times the Potassium found in a banana. This is along with more than 90 other nutient compounds and antioxidants. Eaten raw, the leaves taste a bit like asparagus and do well with a salad, or they can be boiled and made into a sweet tea. You can get the leaves in powdered form and spoon it into soups and stews and the taste is unnoticeable, but the benefits remain.

Another thing is that its dried seeds can not only be eaten for similar benefits, but when dried they can be crushed and used to purify water with the near efficiency of available chemical treatments, something that can end up being especially useful for many people.

This tree no doubt has caught on as a solution for many Third World problems. Many international church missionary organizations, notably that of the United Methodist Church, have caught on and are trying to spread the use of this plant across the world. The plant is also being used as part of the course of nutritional treatment for people living in parts of the world where large percentages of the population are living with HIV/AIDS and/or are in dire famine. Mothers of infants are being told to mix this with their breastmilk. Still, for some reason, when I ask around, hardly any person I know of has heard about it, not even the ones who are health nuts.

So, in my effort to make the world a better place, I am asking that each of you to attempt at growing this tree in your backyard. More importantly, please do spread the word. One would have to wonder why this plant is all the rage across the world but we harldy hear so much as a peep out of the U.S. media. Perhaps it could be due to the impact of all those pharmaceutical advertising dollars?

Here are some sites that may be of interest to you:

1.) Jim’s Moringa Page (Where I got my seeds)
2.) Growing Moringa for Personal or Commercial Use
3.) SaveGaia: Cultivation of Moringa – I used these growing directions and they worked well.
4.) Moringa Fact Sheet – Purdue University Dept. of Horticulture
5.) Trees for Life International – The Morigna Tree
6.) Natural News – Moringa: The Miracle Tree

~ by greling on September 20, 2008.