Most of the calcium it contains is in a form that cannot be absorbed by human body. Grown mainly as fodder tree in some part of Asia.

Actually, a multi-purpose tree. Fodder some, but more especially for the delicious beans (known locally as "drumsticks")

In South India (whence they originate), I ate them regularly in curries, sambars and stews. Delicious and healthy...

We eat the leaves as well as the "drumsticks" - the leaves have a slightly pungent smell, but the actual fruit "drumsticks" taste heavenly. I think most of the nutrition is in the leaves though. It has a rich concentration of about 90 nutrients in the greens.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to grow Moringa

For about 5 years, I kept two Moringa trees in pots, bringing them indoors when the nights began to cool. The plants would eventually drop their leaves & go dormant, and the smaller twigs would die back during the winter. But once put back outside in the spring, new shoots would emerge.

While it was interesting & I got two pickings a year from the pots, I grew tired of lugging the large pots in & out, and gave them away.

Now I just start the seeds in pots like I would tomatoes or peppers, and transplant them into the garden when the soil is warm. The trees will grow to 3-4 feet, and provide at least 3 pickings. They will not survive the first frost, but since I plant out 30-40 plants, I can freeze or dehydrate enough to use in the winter. The DW makes a delicious soup from them, with coconut milk, bamboo shoots, ginger, and chicken.

ceth_k

Where I'm from, we used Moringa pods almost daily in the lunch meal. They are delicious when picked young - gourmet human food.

Yup, agree with everyone here, Moringa is a pleasure to eat - a bit hard to grow though but its worth the efforts!

what is the production if eaves and pods for a tree? I do not dare try them, but I will visit a friend in Zone 9 for Xmas, and I am bringing him seeds (readily found on Ebay). He has lemons, olives, and fejioa and it does not frost every year. I guess that there they will lose their leaves but survive outside. He also has rabbits and lots of space, so he may plant a dozen.

For the Ca in unavailable form: all one needs is to eat the leaves with a little vinegar and a fraction of the Ca will be absorbed (or lemon juice, or anything acidic).