Need help germinating moringa seed...

9 years ago

This is my third attempts... I soaked the seeds for 24 hours. Then put the seeds in a air tight container on top of a wet paper towel. I put it in a darker area and checked them for germination every other day. They just molded on me.

any advice?

Featured Answer

zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin

9 years ago

Moringa seeds have a short storage life; I've had seeds from both trades & commercial sources that had poor germination - or none at all. I had good germination with seeds from ECHO (a Florida-based NGO), and with the seeds in the bright green foil pouch... can't remember the brand. The latter were the seeds I used this year, had almost 90% germination, using soil-less seed starter & purified water. The pots were bottom-soaked over night after planting, then excess water poured off. A little liquid fertilizer added to the water will increase germination.

I would not recommend soaking the seeds en masse, since one bad seed could infect & destroy the entire lot. That might be what happened to the first attempt mentioned in the OP.

Moringa is tropical; in a temperate climate, it benefits from being grown in a warm, sheltered location. Treat it like okra, they are about equally sensitive to cool conditions. The South side of a building works well, the reflected heat & shelter from wind are both beneficial. I have also had good results using pole beans as a wind break (at least 2 rows running E-W), with a row of Moringa on the sheltered South side. In my short summers, the trees might only reach 4-5' tall... but I plant them closely (about 8" apart in the row seems optimal) and get several large pickings.

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Comments (9)

hldzion
9 years ago
I wonder if your seeds were old. I got some seeds from ebay and I did the same and had almost 100% germination. The only difference, I used moist coffee filter and put the box on the kitchen counter. They germinated in a matter of days.
shp123
Original Author
9 years ago
Update... I got another batch of seeds from someone else. I managed to e germinate 4 seeds. They didn't grow much in a pit, so I planted them in my vegetable raised bed. They are doing better but no where like 13 feet in one season. Am I doing something wrong?
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hldzion
9 years ago
My Moringa like a lot of heat. How hot have you been so far? It seems like as soon as we are into the 90s they begin to shoot up and thrive. They don't like to be soggy, if anything too dry is better than too wet.
shp123
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you. I will hold back watering them. I think I will have to dig them up and bring them inside the house to over winter.
mlmitchell75
8 years ago
I live in Sydney and just planted the seeds directly to the ground, and my moringa trees been growing now for 3yrs... pruned them in winter and thrive again in spring...
shp123 thanked mlmitchell75
shp123
Original Author
8 years ago
update: I managed to successfully germinate 3 seeds in the spring. I transplanted 2 to the ground and left 1 in a terra cotta pot. The 2 in-ground plants put on some growth in the summer. They are about 2-3 high. The growth is much slower than I expect. I am in zone 7 so I had to transplanted them back to container in October. Now I am overwintering all three indoor. Unfortunately, i don't have a south facing sunny spot for them. We will see if they survive the winter.

Thank you all.
hldzion
8 years ago
shp123 - Thanks for the update. glad you are having success. Can you get a light source for them? When I lived in zone 5, I had a table lamp and replaced the bulb with a grow light bulb and had it pointed over some plants that did not get light from a window. Also, in modern homes most windows are made to block out "harmful UV rays" so even when it looks like they get good light, they don't get the full spectrum. The Moringa will go dormant, and loose most of its leaves indoors. however if it survives, in the spring it should bounce back. Good luck.
shp123 thanked hldzion
shp123
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you. I hope so. I have been babying those plants and so far all I got was a few leaves in my salad :-(

now at least they are in a big pot and can stay there for a few years. I just have to move in and out of the house to overwinter etc.