Grow Stevia for a Sweet Summertime Treat

Stevia is an herb that can be grown in containers, raised bed gardens or other sunny spaces.

When you ’re shopping for herbaceous plant to add to your kitchen garden this season , front for the sweet herbaceous plant around - stevia . This ship’s boat perennial originated in South America , but it can be grow as an annual in areas that have freeze winter weather .

Stevia grows just like other culinary herbs or vegetables . Select a sunny garden berth or plant in container ( 12 - in lower limit ) and raise beds . Just make trusted the dirt is well debilitate to prevent overly wet roots .

The plants can farm to over 12 inch tall and can get bushy if you keep the tips squeeze to further branching . A bushier plant not only give rise more leaves , but it makes for a sturdy plant that can stand up to windy weather .

utilize fresh stevia leaf as a calorie - free sweetening or steep into a sweetherbaltea . For the best relish , snip leaves from plants before they start to flower .

To make a sweet tea , steep ¼ cup chopped fresh leave in 1 cup live urine . The stevia wo n’t dissolve , so strain before enjoying hot or add up ice for an especially refreshing beverage .

Another way to habituate the sweet leaves is to make an selection that you’re able to practice to sweeten other potable , yield salads or desserts . cover song 1 cup reinvigorated leaves with warm water and let steep for several hours or overnight . Strain the liquid state and keep refrigerated . Use as a liquid come-on for teas and other summer deglutition .

Stevia leave can also be dry out individually on a screen or the intact flora can be draw up and hang upside down for a few twenty-four hour period to dry out . take out the leaves from the stem and store them in a clean , airtight jar .

The dried leaves have about a quarter of the sweetness found in the pulverised stevia purchased at grocery and wellness food stores . For mensurate , 1/8 teaspoon of dried stevia equals the pleasantness of about 1 teaspoon of granulated clams .

Do you have any recipe idea for using a home - maturate sweetener like stevia ? Please share them here .

okay Gardening urge Products

A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo

ok Gardening receives a commission for items purchase through links on this site , including Amazon Associates and other affiliate ad computer programme .

Get our late pourboire , how - to articles , and instructional videos send to your inbox .

Signing you up …

Grow an Herbal Tea Garden

How to Grow the Flavor of the Year: Cucumber

Edible Gifts from the Vegetable Garden

Sweet Seeds for Valentine’s Day

Join Fine horticulture for a free engaging bouncy webinar featuring Dr. Janna Beckerman , a renowned plant pathologist as well as professor emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals technical manager …

When I discern a exceptional guts dollar cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few month ago , I knew I was in hassle . With a delicious coloration normal …

When we only prioritize works we need over plants our landscape needs , each season is filled with a never - ending tilt of chores : pruning , squeeze , watering , treating , amending , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be heedful when you enter the backyard of garden designer Jeff Epping — not because you ’re likely to trip out on something , but because you might be dive - bombed by a twosome …