Arizona Chickens

[City farm]

Gallo, that is really strange. I tasted some raw leaves offered to me at Sun Valley Growers, was over there getting a replacement tree for one that didn't take. I thought they were okay and had kind of a spicy after taste, it didn't linger. Maybe it is the soil you are growing them in that is making them taste odd? I am surprised your chickens didn't go for them right off. We tried giving ours some prunings from Texas Ranger that had full beautiful purple-red blooms attached. I tried to tell Victor to wait until after the bloom to prune, but he was intent on cutting the branches that were growing into the driveway RIGHT NOW, so I said give them to the chickens. He said they totally freaked out! The next day, those flowers on the branches were still there, untouched.

That might not be so strange. Texas Ranger is basically purple sage. While I like sage fresh or dried, you can't use it when canning because it will turn bitter and basically ruin anything that you preserve with sage as an ingredient. Maybe the chooks are trying to tell us something?

I was thinking the same thing.. What if it is a hybrid?? Is that possible?
My DH got 3 seeds from a friend from work, that got them from another country..

 

[Sill]

So, are we going to have to hold a Tucson/southern Az backyard chicken cooking challenge? Lol

Oh, who gets to judge???

So, about these moringa trees. Everything I read about moringa made me excited about growing them for us and the animals to eat. What's not to like about them? They're beautiful, super fast growers, roots, leaves and seeds are edible and the nutritional content is fantastic. I had a hard time starting them over the winter (mistake) and by the spring I'd lost quite a few. I tasted the tubers of some of those early failures and they were sublime. Wonderfully smooth and a rich nutty taste with nice hint of horseradish (I love horseradish). It made me even more hopeful. But then I started tasting the raw leaves--not so good. Thinking they might be better cooked, we tried stir frying them and they were still a bit bitter and something seemed odd about the flavor. I started thinking that maybe it was because some of the leaves I cooked were older and maybe the younger growth might be better. So, while topping the trees off and trimming them back I tasted the growth tips and at first they were wonderful, kinda like broccoli stems or asparagus. But then a strange, powerful and long-lasting aftertaste (that I still can't quite describe) took hold.

I think maybe I've just found the only food stuff to grow from dirt that I don't like. I'm still hopeful that the seeds will taste good.

Oh well, at least I can feed them to the chickens, right? But my chickens don't like the leaves either. Dang chickens loved the short seedlings and would eat them to the dirt every chance they got but now that the trees are larger, they don't like them. I even removed all the protection I had for the trees and the chickens couldn't care less for the leaves. Even the tortoises don't like them.

Has anyone else grown and eaten moringa or fed it to their chickens? Your findings and thoughts? Recipes?

I'll add the moringa leaflets to my salads fresh and raw, but then I'm used to eating strange greens. Yes the younger leaves taste better. I've not tried the flowers since I keep hoping they will turn into pods (called drumsticks), but it is said they are edible and good fried. Still waiting to get any pods. Maybe I need a fertilizer with different nutrient ratios to get them to set fruit. I've not tried the roots either, but will someday.

If I clip the moringa leaves in my chickens' run or quail cages they nibble on them a little the first day but the second day after the leaves are wilted and slightly dried they eat them down to the sticks. Clipping the leaves up helps the birds eat them easier, maybe you can try it and see if your chickens eat them better?

A while back I did take a few branches from @Sill and brewed it..
I used our coffee grinder, when the leaves were still green, added "almost" boiling water.
I let it sit for a day. Only because I forgot about it.. Put it in the fridge.. It was stong and had a
Raw food like taste along with a slight sweetness , I want to say chlorella flavored. Her tree was about 2-3 feet past her garage roof, if I remember correctly..
Chlorella is a fresh water single celled alge, like seaweed. The one we had was from Taiwan..

Yes that tree is a good 10-12 feet tall and needs to be cut. I need to try the leaves as a tea...

 

[Papas Chickens]

Moringa never heard of it, wonder if it will grow were im at.

 

[kevs-chickadees]

I'm not having any problems growing them, they're growing amazingly well, better than anything else I've got growing right now. It's the taste. I'm wondering what others think about the taste and how they prepare them and do their chickens like them. It has me wondering if this is normal, maybe my trees are just weird tasting from my soil or maybe my family and my chickens are just weird. That last part is probably true anyway.

Yes, I have a grape cutting for you!

I've noticed the same thing, kinda disappointed in the bitter taste. I started one tree in the middle of the winter but kept it in the pot so I could move it in the house during the colder nights. It didn't grow that much until I put it in the ground. My wife didn't even recognize it, she said "that's the moringa tree"? It basically went from 2' tall to 4' to 6' in a matter of weeks. I'm hoping the taste will get better but if not it's not so terrible that I cant throw down a couple leaves each time I'm outside. I've read the same thing about the roots, who's gonna be the guinea pig? I'm gonna have to look into this starts from cuttings thing, would like to try some grape vines and more figs.

 

[chicksurreal]

Oh no way.. How cool... It is really neat.. I almost bought it.. You are to fast..

It's beautiful! I know how it goes on those sites. If you blink, it can be gone. Lol!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I'll add the moringa leaflets to my salads fresh and raw, but then I'm used to eating strange greens. Yes the younger leaves taste better. I've not tried the flowers since I keep hoping they will turn into pods (called drumsticks), but it is said they are edible and good fried. Still waiting to get any pods. Maybe I need a fertilizer with different nutrient ratios to get them to set fruit. I've not tried the roots either, but will someday.

If I clip the moringa leaves in my chickens' run or quail cages they nibble on them a little the first day but the second day after the leaves are wilted and slightly dried they eat them down to the sticks. Clipping the leaves up helps the birds eat them easier, maybe you can try it and see if your chickens eat them better?

Oh, that's good to hear. You know, that's the thing, I love eating strange greens! I've loved eating every one I've ever eaten. Well, some of that late season escarole was about as bitter as anything I've ever eaten. I'll try putting some in a bowl today to get a handle of how much they're actually eating and then some clipped the run wall. Have you had yours overwinter yet?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
You know, I haven't minded the occasional leaf while out in the yard. I'll have to look and see if there is a difference in the taste of those in the ground compared to the ones still in pots. It's really shocking how fast they grow. I looked at mine one day and it was 11' and in just a couple days it was 13'. Now it's 5'.

The only thing more amazing about their growth from seed is how they respond to pruning. I pruned only a few days ago and all the new growth is pretty amazing. I put the trunks into a pot to try rooting, I'll let you know how it works out. Grapes and figs are super easy to make cuttings from.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Moringa never heard of it, wonder if it will grow were im at.

It's a tree that grows well in warm climates and just about all parts of it can be eaten by humans and livestock. I think they would do well in Dateland. They will die back in a freeze, but sprout back from the roots in the spring. That looks like less of a problem where you are than where I am.

 

[Papas Chickens]

It's a tree that grows well in warm climates and just about all parts of it can be eaten by humans and livestock.  I think they would do well in Dateland.  They will die back in a freeze, but sprout back from the roots in the spring.  That looks like less of a problem where you are than where I am.

Gallo you have any Moringa seeds or grape clipings you could send me? How would you go about getting a cliping from a fig tree. I have a old fig tree that needs to be removed but I want to take clipings and replant them.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Gallo you have any Moringa seeds or grape clipings you could send me? How would you go about getting a cliping from a fig tree. I have a old fig tree that needs to be removed but I want to take clipings and replant them.

I put over 100 moringa seeds into the seed box, all that I had. So, maybe you could find some in there still. I could send you some cuttings to root next winter when I trim the vines back. With figs you just need a segment of 2 year wood (or older?). I've only done them in very early spring, when I prune the trees right before they sprout. Maybe it could be done now if you removed most of the leaves?