Avant Gardener: Sweeten the herb garden with stevia
By Kyle Valentini
June 4, 2013
407
Summary: Stevia is easy to grow and can be used as a natural sweetener instead of sugar or artificial sweeteners.
I planted stevia in the garden for the first time this spring. I have thought about planting it before but I never came across decent plants. The herb is notoriously difficult to start from seed but this spring I was fortunate to find healthy starts at a farm market near Wilmot.
A native of South America, more specifically Paraguay, stevia has natural insect repellant qualities. Some destructive insects like aphids as well as grasshoppers do not like the intensely sweet flavor of the plant and will bypass it altogether. It may have companion planting potential in the garden
Like most backyard garden plants, stevia likes well-drained soil with plenty of organic material. Adding compost to soil will benefit the plant.
Stevia prefers lower nitrogen and organic fertilizers suit it well, as they tend to release nitrogen more slowly than conventional synthetic fertilizers.
Stevia prefers full sun and perhaps a little afternoon shade when temperatures are very hot. Only light watering is required to encourage the shallow rooting plants to thrive. A layer of mulch helps retain moisture.
In the garden stevia will grow between one and three feet in height and foliage is best the plants first year. A tender perennial, stevia rarely survives winter in our region. Much like an annual, it will need to be planted year after year.
Stevia does well in a container.
Stevia has been used for centuries to sweeten food and beverages in South America. It has been popular in Japan since the 1970s as a sweetener for processed food and beverages. Not until recently has it gained popularity as a calorie-free sweetener in the United States.
Sugar growers in the 19th century saw its potential to put them out of business. More recently, lobbyists for the artificial sweetener industry as well as sugar producers surely used their political muscle to convince the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to prohibit its use as a sweetener all the while allowing it to be used as a dietary supplement. Huh? The FDA has since approved it as a sweetener.
Processed stevia sweeteners like Truvia, a product created by agricultural mega giant Cargill along with the Coca-Cola Company import the sweet compound found in the stevia plant from growers and processors in China.
Unfortunately, that is not the only ingredient found in Truvia. The packaged sweeteners primary ingredient is Erythritol, a sugar alcohol that is made by processing genetically modified corn. Truvia also contains natural flavors. I have yet to find out what plant natural flavors come from.
There are other versions of stevia-based sweeteners available. Some use real stevia while others do not.
When in doubt, grow your own. Stevia in its pure form can easily be used to sweeten foods and beverages. Fresh or dried, it is a terrific alternative for artificial sweeteners and can replace sugar in some recipes.
For ease of use, you can make stevia extract at home by steeping dried stevia leaves in vodka in a glass jar with a lid for no more than 36 hours, any longer and the flavor can become bitter.
Gently heating the liquid for about 20 to 30 minutes without boiling will remove the alcohol from the extract. Store in a dark colored bottled in the refrigerator for up to three months.
