A tip for processing Moringa

One of the challenges of processing Moringa up until now has been getting the right texture where there are no stems in the final dried product.  It was extremely time intensive to manually strip out the tiny stems that would end up in our morning smoothie.  Because it's not very pleasant to be drinking a smoothie and pull a thin stem out of your mouth.  The stems don't blend down well.

We tried putting the dried Moringa in a small food processor with little success.  It just did not chop it up very well.  My wife finally just put the moringa in a plastic freezer bag and used a rolling pin to crush it down which worked just ok.

Last week I did some research to see how other people processed their moringa and found that they were using high end food processors like Blend Tec or Vitamix.  The advantage was it turned the moringa into a fine powder but the disadvantage was the expense ($300+) and it would be another gizmo to find a place for in the kitchen.    So after doing a little more research I accidentally stumbled on a website where someone was milling nuts and spices down in their nutri-bullet using the mill blade.  At this point a light bulb came on.  We have a nutri-bullet and it came with a milling blade we stuck in the back of our pantry.

nutri bullet / magic bullet

I grabbed a large nutri-bullet glass and filled it with crushed moringa and attached the milling blade.  In minutes the nutri-bullet pulverized the moringa into a fine powder.  It was amazing and it cost us nothing.  Plus we were able to make use of what we already had.  The powdered moringa was so much more usable than the barbaric crushed moringa.  The next harvest we won't have to be concerned about the small stems any longer.  It will significantly speed up the processing of moringa.

Moringa super food now a nice fine powder

Blueberry recovery !!!

What really made my day yesterday was when I walked by the blueberry plants and noticed something different about a couple of the plants.  NEW LEAVES !!!   After being so concerned about the trees dying it now looks more like a natural cycle of the plant as about half of plants were sporting new shiny green leaves.  After working so hard on these blueberry plants,  it's good to know that they will survive and probably thrive. It's also good to know that we'll soon be eating our own delicious blueberries.

New leaves on the blueberry plants !!!!

Everything is growing like mad on the bee farm.  I typically spend about 8 hours a day working in the gardens.  It takes a lot of work to keep up with everything.  But really, it's more fun than work.  Yesterday pigeon peas, spinach, roma tomatoes chives and ginger were planted.   As soon as one set of seedlings graduates and moves out, the greenhouse gets another set of plant seeds started.   At least until we run out of room.

Baby plants

As all the raised beds are filling up with plants it's evident that we'll need to prepare the rear gardening section for new arrivals.  That section was where papaya and plumaria plants were grown in pots.  To make that area ready for vegetable planting, the papayas and plumaria were relocated.  During the move, I discovered a very unique plant I forgot that we had.  It was a shampoo ginger plant or Awapuhi.  We planted this plant earlier in the year and then forgot about it.  When it's mature it produces these beautiful red pine cone shaped flowers.  It is often referred to as “shampoo ginger,” and its most well-known use is that of a shampoo and hair conditioner.  However, the gel from the flowers is also used as a massage lubricant, the root is used for indigestion, toothache, and sprains and as a fragrance to scent clothing, and the leaves can be used as a flavoring for foods.

Awapuhi - Shampoo Ginger

The banana plants are multiplying like mad and there's a couple new banana pups going to town.  Pretty soon I'll be able to call it a banana plantation.

Banana pups

Turning into a banana and papaya plantation

Carrots, onions, tomatoes, cukes and moringa are really growing well.  It seems like I can almost notice the growth difference from day to day.

Eggplant

Cucumbers and beans

Carrots, Onions and Aloe

Tomatoes

Moringa

Moringa Harvest

Our Moringa trees have been growing like crazy and we've been harvesting the leaves for their nutritional values.  Every day we add dried moringa to our morning smoothies.  It's not what I would call delicious but more of an earthy taste that's good for you.  Moringa is one of those miracle plants that are very nutritious and widely used in other parts of the world.  I believe the entire plant is edible and very resistant to drought and insects.

Moringa being washed

Drying the Moringa leaves

From Wikipedia: It is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree, native to the southern foothills of the Himalayas in northwestern India, and widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas where its young seed pods and leaves are used as vegetables. It can also be used for water purification and hand washing, and is sometimes used in herbal medicine.

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	64 kcal (270 kJ)
Carbohydrates	8.28 g
Dietary fiber	2.0 g
Fat	1.40 g
Protein	9.40 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A equiv.	(47%) 378 μg
Thiamine (B1)	(22%) 0.257 mg
Riboflavin (B2)	(55%) 0.660 mg
Niacin (B3)	(15%) 2.220 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)	(3%) 0.125 mg
Vitamin B6	(92%) 1.200 mg
Folate (B9)	(10%) 40 μg
Vitamin C	(62%) 51.7 mg
Minerals
Calcium	(19%) 185 mg
Iron	(31%) 4.00 mg
Magnesium	(41%) 147 mg
Manganese	(17%) 0.36 mg
Phosphorus	(16%) 112 mg
Potassium	(7%) 337 mg
Sodium	(1%) 9 mg
Zinc	(6%) 0.6 mg

The leaves are the most nutritious part of the plant, being a significant source of B vitamins, vitamin C, provitamin A as beta-carotene, vitamin K, manganese, and protein, among other essential nutrients. When compared with common foods particularly high in certain nutrients per 100 g fresh weight, cooked moringa leaves are considerable sources of these same nutrients. Some of the calcium in moringa leaves is bound as crystals of calcium oxalate though at levels 1/25th to 1/45th of that found in spinach, which is a negligible amount.
The leaves are cooked and used like spinach and are commonly dried and crushed into a powder used in soups and sauces.

Drumsticks

drumstick

The immature seed pods, called "drumsticks", are commonly consumed in South Asia. They are prepared by parboiling, and cooked in a curry until soft. The seed pods/fruits, even when cooked by boiling, remain particularly high in vitamin C (which may be degraded variably by cooking) and are also a good source of dietary fiber, potassium, magnesium, and manganese.

Mini Greenhouse

This is the time of year in Florida where you should already have your seeds planted to get ready for the fall growing season.  Last year I tried growing various plants from seeds with mixed success and many lessons were learned the hard way (of course).

What I learned is the seeds need a place to grow where they won't get too much moisture and will get enough sunlight but not so much that it roasts them.  One option that was used put plastic covers over the containers with seedlings.  It worked somewhat ok but turn your back on this setup for a moment and you'll find cooked seedlings or seedlings covered in mold.  What I've been considering for some time is to build a miniature greenhouse type structure.  Something that will allow sunlight and also protect the seedlings from rainstorms.  A structure that's well ventilated but one that can be closed in somewhat during any cold spells that we may get in the winter.  Also the structure had to be made with all the pieces of lumber and scrap wood I had laying around the beefarm.

Mini Greenhouse

Happy seedlings

After considering dozens of designs, I ruled out a free standing structure because I didn't have enough 2x4's for that.  I could have driven to the store and picked up a couple but I wanted to get this project rolling.  And by attaching the structure to the shed, it required less lumber as it was able to use the shed for one side.  Plus the shed sheltered it from wind.  The final greenhouse came out better than I imagined and works great.  The only regret is I didn't make it 3" higher because I keep banging my head when I go in and out.  Oh well.

Greenhouse made from recycled materials

Everything is growing like mad on the BeeFarm.  Seedlings are starting out nice, Okra is over 5' tall and producing quite a bit of okra.  Moringa trees have skyrocketed so we can start harvesting Moringa.  Citrus trees are doing well and a new group of wildflowers are blooming in the Bee and Butterfly Garden. 

Bee and Butterfly Garden

Oranges

Okra growing like crazy

Papaya trees are starting to settle down after the transplant

A House for Bernard (our Lion) and Summer Gardening

With all the rain we've been experiencing plus the fact that lions are in the news lately, we decided that our lion Bernard (distant relative of Cecil) should have a covered shelter to get out of the rain if he wants.   Plus where he was previously hanging out got so overgrown with flowers and weeds that he was pretty much hidden.  A watch-lion needs to be seen, not hidden like a cowardly lion in the undergrowth. 

Bee farm watch-lion (Bernard)

Happy with his new home and his proud mama

Now that the sun is shining, it was fun working in the garden again.  We pulled weeds and transplanted a few potted plants and moved several others.  It's amazing how some of our plants grew so much in the last month.  Our Okra is doing well and is quite healthy. 

Okra

My two Moringa and numerous Papaya plants are also doing well.  Unfortunately in the heavy rains, I lost a dozen or so Papaya's that fell over in the water saturated soil.   But most of them are still doing well. 

Moringa and Papaya plants

A few months ago at a rally against Monsanto I was given some seeds that I mistakenly thought were Moringa plants.  When they sprouted, they didn't look at all like Moringa so I went to a gardening facebook page and asked what the plants were.  Turns out I received a handful of Tumeric seeds that are now quite healthy and ready to go into the ground.  Yvonne transplanted them into our new Tumeric garden.  Tumeric root and Moringa plants are loaded with excellent nutrients and are very good for you.

Tumeric garden

It really felt good getting out into the garden and working.  It's such good therapy getting your hands dirty while working with plants and the earth.  Our bees were very good and seem to have really calmed down now that they have good weather.  The Queenless hives are now back to normal with their new queens and gardening around the hives no longer brings out the guard bees.