What is stevia plant?
Stevia plant, or sweet leaf, is an alternative to sugar that you can grow in your own garden. In this post we’ll cover a little background info on stevia, growing it from seed or starts, harvesting and using the leaves and making stevia extracts. What is Stevia? Give Stevia Plants a Try! What is Stevia?
How do you harvest stevia?
The most important tip for harvesting your stevia plant is to pick the leaves before the small white flowers appear. Once the plant starts putting energy into flowers, the leaves become less sweet. (You’ll find this with most garden plants, such as other herbs and lettuce. Flowers = bitter lettuce and less fragrant herbs.)
How much Stevia is in a leaf?
The leaves contain up to 5% dry weight of stevioside, a sweetener estimated to be up to 300 times sweeter than table sugar (sucrose). Whole sweet leaf contains 11 major steviol glycosides, which range in sweetness from 50 to 400 times sweeter than sucrose.
How long do stevia plants last?
For colder climates, bring plants inside before hard frost if you want to keep them from year to year. A well-tended stevia plant may produce for 3-5 years or more, but becomes less vigorous with age. You can start new plants with cuttings or natural layering. (Plants will often root where a stem stretches and contacts the ground.)
How long does it take for stevia to grow?
A well-tended stevia plant may produce for 3-5 years or more, but becomes less vigorous with age. You can start new plants with cuttings or natural layering. (Plants will often root where a stem stretches and contacts the ground.) Stevia plants are now available at many garden centers or through online nurseries and retailers.
How do you grow wild stevia?
Wild stevia tends to grow near bodies of water, where soil is moist but not waterlogged. Organic mulch can help keep soil moisture even. Room to grow – plants grow 1-3 feet tall (shorter in cooler areas) and roughly as wide. Use a one foot or larger diameter pot, or space plants 18 inches apart in garden beds.
What do you do with stevia stems?
There is some sweetness throughout the entire stevia plant, but the leaves are much sweeter than the stem, so the stem is typically discarded. You can cut off the desired stems from the plant and bundle them in small bundles (less than 1 inch in diameter) and hang dry, and strip the leaves after they have dried.