Fresh harvest: Moringa Seeds and Leaves

It's been a while since I posted my last update about our moringa (malunggay) farm.

We haven't been harvesting leaves because we wanted to find out how long it takes before a tree produces moringa pods, and also be able to produce our own moringa seeds that we can plant in our farm.

Planting seeds that came from our own farm means we are 100% sure the seeds are also organic since we only use organic and natural fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides in our farm.

   

Moringa flowers started blooming in the farm early January

The trees started bearing moringa pods early February.

Moringa pods, freshly harvested from the farm and ready for planting!

Healthy moringa seeds

This will supply us with more than enough seeds we need to plant more moringa trees!

We couldn't harvest leaves from those trees that bear fruit, but we were able to get some moringa leaves from those trees that don't have moringa pods. 

How to Germinate Moringa Seeds

There are various ways to plant malunggay seeds. We have tried growing them from cuttings and through seed germination, but so far, we have had better results when we germinate the moringa seeds first. We would like to try planting the seeds directly on the soil next time, and once we've done that, we'll share with you the results. 

Once the moringa seeds have started sprouting, you may be able to transfer them in polybags.

These are the malunggay seeds a day after they were planted.

These are the moringa seedlings 2 days after planting.

How to Choose Good Moringa (Malunggay) Seeds

Some neighbors gave us mature moringa pods today. A lot of the pods measured about 12 to 15 inches long, and when we started opening them, there they were: the treasured, black seeds of the Moringa Oleifera plant! 

Here are some of the malunggay seeds we've gathered. We have chosen the good moringa seeds for planting and discarded the bad ones.

There are several varieties of moringa, but the moringa oleifera variety grows well in the Philippines' tropical climate.

Good moringa seeds have what I call "wings" and have a black to dark brown color. The ones at the bottom are the bad ones and should not be planted. They are either yellowish in color, have holes, or are broken.

Moringa seeds are harvested from mature moringa pods.

We were like kids opening their gifts on Christmas day, as each moringa pod revealed good moringa seeds.

I think this was the longest moringa pod we've opened today.

Good moringa seeds are ready for seed germination!

These are the not so good ones. We're still keeping these moringa seeds for planting next time. Who knows some of them might still germinate and turn into good moringa plants?