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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Stevia

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  • From: OakCamp2 AT aol.com
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Stevia
  • Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:54:57 EDT

I've found with Stevia rebaudiana that it grows fairly well once germinated, too.  It grows like a shrub in it's native habitat, so the pinching mentioned is a great way to bulk it up.  It is native to Paraguay and is a tender member of the verbena family (zone 11), so it must be brought indoors for the winter if you intend to keep it from year to year.  It will produce the most leaves if allowed to remain outdoors as long as possible ( once nights reach the 40's it's time to harvest).  Regular watering is necessary, like most shrubs.  For whatever the plant is worth, I've found you can harvest plenty of stevia after one growing season to last through the winter for most families.  I cut it at the stem base and hang to dry upside down in a dark room.  Strip the leaves after the shrub top has dried completely.
 
With most of the herbs, I've found personal preference is usually the dictator as to how much dried or fresh herb to use in food preparation.  I advise customers to taste a leaf first and decide for themselves how sweet it tastes to them (even more important with plants from seed because the genetic variance in sweetness is prevalent in stevia).  Then I advise that dried stevia leaves are roughly 8 times sweeter than sugar, so make those adjustments to recipes before substituting for sugar.  There are plenty of recipes on the web that people can try- just remind them that adjustments may be necessary for their individual tastes. Our favorite is pound cake. During the holidays, it looks festive with the little green bits of stevia in it.
 
Barb
Oak Camp Herb Farm, LLC
Lodi, Wisconsin
608 592 7261 (business)
608 592 5381 (cell)


Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make dinner for $10 or less.



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