tomatofreak ~ That is great. It will save buying a book on the subject as everything seems to be in this article relating to the growth and care of Stevia!
Stevia: do you grow it?
I've grown stevia for a couple years, mainly for my granddaughter to nibble on. Has anyone used it for jam making? I was thinking of whirling some in the food processor and adding it to the fruit as it cooks down and then using no-sugar pectin. Any experiences or suggestions?
Hi Tomatofreak,
I grow stevia successfully here in Tucson. It's in a location that gets partial sun and it's in a container. I have it on a drip system so it gets watered every other day. It dies back in winter but comes back nicely in the spring. It's pretty easy to grow as long as it doesn't dry out and isn't in full sun.
Momherb
Mine gets mostly sun and it is in sort of a container...part of my square foot garden, growing near some veggies. The SFG is surrounded by 12" high redwood boards, nailed together and hardware cloth on the bottom to keep the gophers out. I wish I had put weedblock cloth in there as well, as this year I have been digging out the weeds all the way to the bottom and sifting them out.
As well I am amending the soil a lot more since originally there was my native clay soil with added amendments, but mostly the clay soil. If I had known better, I would have just taken out the soil altogether and put in my own mix, but at the time I had no clue and thought how expensive to put in potting soil.
I'm in zone 9b and my stevia re-seeds everywhere. It's in full Florida sun all day long, and although it looks a little droopy mid-day, it perks back up in the evening. I use it fresh, shredded into things like you would chop mint, or throw a few leaves in the blender to sweeten a drink. It grows in plain old sand, here.