Growing Stevia Plants in your Herb Garden

Spring is Approaching fast!

 Things to Consider for Spring

• Germinating Your Own Herb Seeds

• Ordering Potted Herb Plants

• Controlling Garden Pests

• Composting - Using Compost

• Drying and Storing Your Herbs

• Soil Fertility - Soil Testing Your Herb Garden Soil

• How the Changing Weather Will Affect Your Herb Garden

Stevia: An amazing sweetener that can be grown from stevia plants planted in your own summer herb garden!

Stevia Rebaudiana

Plant Type: Tender Perennial, an annual in most areas

USDA Planting Zones: 4 and up - sensitive to freezing temperatures.

Stevia is a tender perennial herb native to Paraguay where growing stevia has been very successful. It has been used there as a sweetener in many stevia recipes for centuries. In the United States there has been an ongoing controversy between, on one hand, stevia growers and the public who want a safe sweetener, and on the other hand, the FDA and the lobby of the US sugar industry who want to keep Stevia sweetener off the market.

As reported by Matt McKinney in the May 16, 2008 issue of the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, MN, a new zero-calorie sweetener made by Cargill is a step closer to the marketplace. The company announced that its research had found the product safe for human consumption.

The studies published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal "Food and Chemical Toxicology" qualify the sweetener for retail sales under FDA rules. No further review is necessary of the Stevia sweetener. With the trade name rebiana, and sold under the brand name Truvia, it will likely be on the market later this year, according to a Cargill spokeswoman. Among the companies considering its use is Coca-Cola, which collaborated with Cargill over the last three years to develop the sweetener which is derived from Stevia.

Recently the FDA did approve Stevia for use as a sweetener. Cargill has released it under the name, Truvia, and will be used in Coca-Cola products with others to follow.

Growing Stevia Plants in your home herb garden.

Growing Stevia, whether in your home herb garden or on your balcony is another fun way you can, quite legally, protest the ridiculous FDA policies that have deprived the American people of the benefits of stevia! -- a Victory Herb Garden of your own!

Growing Stevia Plants in your home herb garden is not difficult as long as one follows a few basic guidelines that seem to work well for this unique and controversial herb, stevia.

In North America successfully growing stevia is possible from Florida to Southern Canada. In the Northern part of the continent, where winter freezing temperatures are common, it is necessary to grow stevia as an annual herb rather than that of a tender perennial herb. Either way successfully growing stevia in the home herb garden is perfectly feasible.

For the home herb garden it is best to grow stevia plants from quality stevia seedlings

It is best not to buy stevia seed online, or from any other seed supplier. Growing stevia from seed can be difficult due to very poor stevia seed germination and inconsistent quality of the sweetener level (stevioside) in the stevia leaves.

For the herb garden it is best to grow stevia from quality seedlings which are more available from online herb suppliers as growing stevia in home herb gardens becomes more common. A quick check of online suppliers shows growing stevia plants, in 3” pots, available for $3 to $5 each. From another stevia supplier, a quantity of live stevia plants in plug trays are available for as low as $0.50 a plant.

• Stevia Plants prefer well drained, loamy soil with an organic content of 2.5% or more.

• Wait until the danger of frost is past and soil temperatures are well into the 50s and 60s before transplanting them into your garden.

• Place the Stevia plants in rows 24 inches apart, 16 to 18 inches between plants.

• Keep Stevia plants moist but not soggy with frequent light watering preferred. A layer of compost or mulch helps to conserve moisture.

• Stevia Plants respond well to "slow release" or low nitrogen fertilizers.

• Harvest should be done as late as possible, shorter fall days intensify the sweetness of the stevia plants.

Harvest and Drying Stevia

When your leaves have been harvested they will need to be dried for storage. The drying process is not one that requires much heat; more important is good air circulation. A home dehydrator is the best option; it provides the low temperature, high volume air movement. (Refer our article on Drying Herbs)

Crushing the dried leaves is the final step in releasing the sweetening power of stevia.  This can be done either by hand, or in a food processor with a small chopping bowl for herbs for herbs.  You can also make your own stevia extract by adding 1/4 cup of fresh, finely-crushed stevia leaves to a cup of warm water.  Let it steep for 24 hours and then refrigerate it.

Why have you not heard of this amazing herb, Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni, before now?

Where has this cheap sugar substitute been hiding, that is estimated to be several hundred times sweeter than sugar? Citizens of other countries have for years enjoyed this safe, natural sweetener that is virtually calorie-free and to which other possible health benefits have been attributed?

• The answer: In the US the U.S. FDA, since 1995, has labeled stevia an "unsafe food additive" and gone to extensive lengths to keep it off the U.S. market. At one time they even initiated a search-and-seizure campaign.

No one has documented the supposed long list of the dangers of stevia that might exist. Since 1994 Stevia can be legally sold only as a “dietary supplement”, as long as no mention is made of its use as a sweetener or tea.

It looks, though, that this ridiculous FDA ruling has changed, thanks to Cargill. Soon, we should be able to look to a safe and healthy sweetener derived from the herb Stevia.

Thomas Kueny – Publisher  http://www.growing-herbs.com