Stevia
- Thread starter Van
- Start date
Yes. They say it is hard to germinate, but I have had luck. It likes the Texas hot summers. Grows about a meter tall. It does well for me.
Mike
Mike
Here's a link with some useful info. Hope it helps!
http://www.stevia.com/stevia_article/growing_your_own_stevia/8077
http://www.stevia.com/stevia_article/growing_your_own_stevia/8077
stevia is cancer.
you know when you burn toast ever so slightly... you then try to scrape of the unacceptably burnt layer? ostensibly this is an attempt to make the toast palatable, but dont you really do it because you dont have the time or bread to make more toast?
Im told by a reliable source, that this is how they make stevia. Cancer is milled into blocks and then burnt on each face. The friable extra dark bits are removed by means of an undisclosed abrasive, collected, bleached, then burnt again, bleached quite aggressively one last time, then blended with artificial sweeter.
Its then homogenized in a mill and packaged into bulk containers and shipped by rail to various packaging facilities. Then its purchased by regional distributors, who then sell it onto retail outlets. then the retail outlets put all the hologram stickers on the point of sale packaging.
you know when you burn toast ever so slightly... you then try to scrape of the unacceptably burnt layer? ostensibly this is an attempt to make the toast palatable, but dont you really do it because you dont have the time or bread to make more toast?
Im told by a reliable source, that this is how they make stevia. Cancer is milled into blocks and then burnt on each face. The friable extra dark bits are removed by means of an undisclosed abrasive, collected, bleached, then burnt again, bleached quite aggressively one last time, then blended with artificial sweeter.
Its then homogenized in a mill and packaged into bulk containers and shipped by rail to various packaging facilities. Then its purchased by regional distributors, who then sell it onto retail outlets. then the retail outlets put all the hologram stickers on the point of sale packaging.
queequeg152 said:
lol He said "stevia". Not "wheat germ".
I've grown it in a pot on my doorstep a few years in a row. Our maritime climate (cool nights, frequently at about 60°F) doesn't allow for rapid growth, but the cool temperatures seem to enhance the sweet flavor (when i tried bringing a plant indoors every night to offset the cool temperature's influence, the flavor became rank, bitter and 'weedy' or 'green').
It propagates very easily from cuttings, but overwinters very poorly on a windowsill. Grow lights work better, but make for poor-tasting leaves, compared to outdoor culture. I have never been able to coax them into producing viable (dark-colored) seed.
Although bruising a few leaves in a teacup, and adding hot tea, will sweeten the drink slightly, it also imparts a bitter leafy taste. Ironically, it is the only herb i know of whose flavor is improved by drying and powdering it. Cooking it -- even briefly -- destroys the sweet taste, and imparts an aspirin-like taste to the dish (yuchhh-!).
It's limited enough in its applications that most folk will find little use for it, but it can be added to a pot of strong tea, and make great iced tea... the addition of some lemon verbena and/or bergamot leaves makes an excellent iced tea, in fact.
If i had more garden space than a mere few pots/planters on a porch, i would grow it again. As it is, i will need the room for peppers....
It propagates very easily from cuttings, but overwinters very poorly on a windowsill. Grow lights work better, but make for poor-tasting leaves, compared to outdoor culture. I have never been able to coax them into producing viable (dark-colored) seed.
Although bruising a few leaves in a teacup, and adding hot tea, will sweeten the drink slightly, it also imparts a bitter leafy taste. Ironically, it is the only herb i know of whose flavor is improved by drying and powdering it. Cooking it -- even briefly -- destroys the sweet taste, and imparts an aspirin-like taste to the dish (yuchhh-!).
It's limited enough in its applications that most folk will find little use for it, but it can be added to a pot of strong tea, and make great iced tea... the addition of some lemon verbena and/or bergamot leaves makes an excellent iced tea, in fact.
If i had more garden space than a mere few pots/planters on a porch, i would grow it again. As it is, i will need the room for peppers....
I got a couple plants at the city market last year and put them on my porch. I didn't use them for much, I did put a few leaves in tea a couple times, they are a fun low maintenance talking piece too.
skullbiker
eXtreme
I usually start and grow about 10 plants a year. It often takes 2 to 3 weeks to germinate. I have found, for me the soil had to usually be quite moist to germinate. Also, usually just a very thin layer of soil over the seed.
skullbiker
eXtreme
Time for an update to your thread. Here are my Stevia plants in the ground:
