Stevia on the windowsill and in the garden
Stevia is perfect for growing indoors - firstly, this shrub is low, and secondly, its friable root system does not penetrate deep into the soil - usually only 20-30 cm. Therefore, a wide shallow vessel is selected for it. Soil mixture should be rich in organic substances and mineral elements, with a neutral or slightly acid reaction;add a rather large amount of sand - the ground should be good to let in air. The soil is covered with wet moss, it is good to put it in a tray.
Stevia comes from the humid tropics, so for its well-being it needs constantly moist soil and increased atmospheric humidity. The drought is destructive for her. The plant must often be sprayed with water, creating an artificial mist. It is clear that with our usual employment in an apartment with central heating, humidity will still be very low. Hence, we must either purchase special room air humidifiers, or equip a separate dwelling for Stevia - a microbot.
It is not difficult to do this: just cover the plant with a glass cap( jar) or put the whole plant together with the pot in a large plastic bag. You can also use for this purpose a glass aquarium, placed vertically. Perhaps this will not look very aesthetic, but you will provide the necessary moisture to the plant. In addition, it is easier to maintain the optimum temperature. Although stevia is not very capricious with regard to heat, it can successfully develop at both 15 and 30 ° C, but it is still best at an air temperature of 22-25 ° C.
Stevia is light-loving enough, but it's a plant of the so-called short day. At a long light day, for example, in the conditions of our North-West, the stem can shorten, the leaves grow much larger than in natural conditions, and the plant does not bloom at all. Therefore, it is worth to take Stevia place on the window facing to the south, east or south-east side, but if necessary, adjust the duration of the light day( optimally - about 12 hours a day, that is, in winter, additional fluorescent lamp lighting may be needed, and in summer,sunlight, - shading).
In summer, you can take the plant on a balcony or glazed loggia, but at the same time protect it from drafts.
Propagated "sweet grass" in our conditions usually cuttings. In the garden areas, although it can blossom abundantly, the seeds usually can not be obtained.
No special techniques are necessary for taking care of the condition, you can take care of it as an ordinary houseplant. It is regularly trimmed, leaves and shoots are cut at a height of 20-30 cm. At the same time, the growth of shoots quickly renews, which means that you not only increase the yield of the sweet bush, but also help him acquire decorative: the crown becomes dense and compact.
Growing stevia on the windowsill, you can use its medicinal leaves all year round. Some of us will help to get rid of extra pounds, not depriving yourself of sweet. It is also important that the "sweet grass" will support our home budget: after all, the usual sugar is not only harmful, but also not cheap! And for people with diabetes, this plant will help to move to a new quality of life;possibly, even, to a decrease in insulin dependence.
How to grow stevia in the garden area of
The site for for growing stevia needs to be chosen sunny and protected from the wind.
The ground for landing should be specially prepared. It should be light, sandy or sandy loam, loose, with a weakly acid reaction of the medium. If your soil is heavy, clayey, it needs to be improved - add river sand, humus, turf. Peat mixtures should not be added - it will depress the development of the plant. Liming is also undesirable. From organic fertilizers in the autumn it is recommended to make humus or compost, and in the spring add mineral fertilizer( nitroammophos) at a rate of 10-20 g per 1 sq. Km.m. Before planting the site should be thoroughly digged, remove the rhizomes of perennial weeds, carefully level the surface of the soil.
Seeding for seedlings is carried out in late March - early April. If you apply a lightening, then you can do it before. The land mixture for seeding is prepared from 2 parts of sand, 1 part of well-repelled humus with the addition of biohumus( 1% by volume).Seeds of stevia are rather small, they are sown, not buried, in a well-moistened substrate, covered with glass and put in a warm place. When the bulk of the seeds give seedlings, the glass is removed, and the box with the seedlings is transferred to the lightest part of the room. Sprouts must always be protected from drafts and ensure that the air temperature does not drop below 15 ° C.
When the shoots have pairs of real leaves, they are gently, together with a bundle of earth, transplanted into a larger box or into separate cups, deepening the first leaves. Soil mixture is prepared in the same way as for seeding, only instead of 1 part of sand add as much sod land. Seedlings should be watered regularly and once a week fed with a solution of complex mineral fertilizer. The period of the spacing in Stevia usually takes about 8-10 weeks.
Planting seedlings in the open ground is best when the threat of spring frost passes, and the daytime air temperature rises to 15-20 ° C.Experienced gardeners recommend doing it in the evening or in cloudy weather. Plant one plant per well to a depth of 6-8 cm. Planting is preferable to thickening, with a distance between the young plants of 25-30 cm, then they will be able to support and protect each other from rain and wind. Immediately after planting, water is irrigated with warm water( 0.5 liters per well) and the seedlings are planted with dry soil at 1/3 of the plant height.
Young plants of stevia should be protected from weeds, otherwise they will not develop normally. We need timely weeding and shallow, but regular loosening. Watering is mandatory: stevia needs constantly moistened soil and does not tolerate drought, but stagnant water is also contraindicated. Top-dressing can be given once every 15 days.
From sowing seeds to harvesting sweet leaves, it usually takes 4-4.5 months. The largest mass of leaves in Stevia is at the beginning of flowering, and the stevioside at this time contains the most. Then it's worth starting to harvest valuable raw materials. This is very simple - you need to cut the stem of the plant at a height of 5-6 cm on the ground.
If you create optimal growth conditions for your sweet bushes, they will accumulate in their leaves as much stevioside, which, in terms of our usual table sugar, amounts to 7 kg of sweetness per square meter of planting!
In its first growing season, stevia develops rather slowly, so it is advisable to grow it in a long-term culture. This means that for the winter, the rhizome must be excavated and placed in the vault.
After shoots with leaves are collected, Stevia rhizomes together with a clod of earth are removed from the soil, placed in boxes or boxes. At the bottom of the boxes, the soil is poured into a layer of 3-5 cm, and then covered with damp earth so that only "scraps" of cut stems remain above the surface.
In a storage room( dark cellar or cellar) it is necessary to maintain a strictly defined temperature regime: not higher than + 8 ° C( otherwise the kidneys will move upward) and not below + 4 ° C( in this case, the kidneys may freeze).The optimum humidity is 80-85%.You can use the bottom compartment of the refrigerator, glazed loggia or insulated balcony if you can maintain the desired temperature. After this "wintering" the rhizomes are planted in the open ground, and a new crop will not keep you waiting. The rate of plant development will be much higher than when growing seedlings from