Here is a photo of my Stevia Plant, which is about 4 foot high....
I took these photos after I harvested some leaf to dry in the dehydrater......After drying to crispy, I then put it in the mortar and pestle to grind up and sieved it...grinding the larger bits again, then sifting again......
I got a fair amount for my first time, but I have plenty more in my garden that I can harvest, I cut it back to about 15 cm off the ground after it produced seeds for me last year....It grew really tall after that as you can see.
My stevia is situated in full sun all day....I did try it in a drink along time ago, only as a tea....I didn't like that, but I don't like tea anyway....There is a wealth of information on the internet for people who areinterested in using stevia...I have only just started and when I harvest the rest I will be introducing it to my cooking....I might try it on brekky tomorrow morning, just a pinch, cause its really really strong.....
You can buy stevia powder in the health food shop, which is pure white, hmmmm nothing pure about it I think..lol.
Stevia is really easy to grow (I wrote about it in my blog), I water mine twice daily and it's in full sun now. When Summer weather kicked up recently, my Stevia grow about 3 inches in a week. It appears to love the sun so long as it has enough water. I'd imagine that brewing Stevia leaves with your tea or whatever would be the best way to prepare Stevia for hot drinks. Try smashing the fresh leaves with your fingers first, rip them a bit, then boil them in your drink.
ReplyDeleteIt's worth it to grow it at home if you have a lot of space to grow, you can use it pretty fast. Even though it's sweet, when dried out you don't get very much from a plant. To get a decent yield I'd recommend growing at least a 5'x5' area solid.