Hello, I was wondering if anyone on here had any experience or interest intercropping leafy greens with moringa. I was specifically thinking of the possibility of growing a perennial green in the under story of a moringa tree that is pruned for seed production. Some plants that I was thinking may grow well under moringa are Katuk and Chaya. I would love to hear any ideas or experiences relating to this topic.
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because Moringa leaves are so lacey and let in lots of sunshine underneath, almost any plant would grow well. It’s a nice dappled shade for aloeVera. Sesame, Tasba , citronella, are the ones we plant here in the Sahel.
I have seen Moringa intercrops both succeed and fail. I think part of what matters is how established the Moringa is able to become, and how much water (and light) competition there is. In our dry context, competition for light is probably not a factor, but established moringa trees (such as those left for seed production) are more likely to establish extensive lateral root systems that compete for limited water. Some crops don’t seem to mind, especially if water is plentiful… but I’ve also seen others suffer. I don’t know that I’ve seen an intercrop with either chaya or katuk… try it, and let us know!
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Yes! I inter-crop Moringa with Chaya and all kinds of other stuff. They both do very well, because they have great water storage–Moringa in the root and Chaya in the stems–and also because Moringa is a very partial shade, as Marian pointed out.
That being said, in rainy season it can get pretty bushy and create a more dense shade, but that is easily managed with pruning–er harvesting ;-).
I seed Moringa and plant Chaya sticks into all my annual gardens so that their production succeeds the annual one. All it takes is some pruning to open the place up for another annual garden. On the other hand, in very hot climates, the partial shade is welcome for the annual garden.
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