Stevia growing at home from seeds. Stevia - growing at home from seeds
2013-05-27
Grow stevia in the garden my aunt taught me. After the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, an elderly woman replaces sugar in the diet with the leaves of this plant.
The taste of stevia is specific, sugary. However, my little daughter immediately fell in love with honey grass. Due to the fact that the baby cut off and ate sweet young leaves, I managed to get the first seedlings with great difficulty. But I did not scold my daughter, because stevia is useful for the work of the brain; strengthens the immune system and the human nervous system.
Planting seeds
First year I planted stevia seeds taken from my aunt. The summer was hot, and they managed to mature normally, which does not always happen in the Middle lane. Seeds are selected as follows: from a height of human growth, they throw 1 seed down. Those that spin when falling do not land, they are empty. In late April - early May, plant the seeds in ordinary garden soil diluted with sand, or in peat tablets. Deepen by 0.5 cm. Pour out of the watering can, cover with a transparent film and take it to a cool place for stratification with a temperature of +4 to +7 ° for 2-3 weeks. I put out a box with crops on a glazed loggia.
Then bring it into the room and place it on the south window sill. Remove the film when sprouts appear. When each sprout grows 2 large sheet plants need to be planted. Deepen the cotyledon leaves.
In early June, I planted seedlings in the garden. It is better to do this in cloudy weather or in the evening. Deepen the plants into the ground up to 8 cm. Pour warm water and immediately spud on 1/3 of the stem.
The division of the bush
Not all seeds germinate. Out of a dozen - somewhere around 3-4. Therefore, many people prefer propagate stevia by dividing the bush. I also gradually switched to this method.
Dig 1 in autumn stevia bush and put it in a box. It will overwinter perfectly on your windowsill, and in the open ground stevia freezes in winter. Dark winter evenings and on gloomy mornings for 2 hours, illuminate the grass with a lamp, otherwise it will start to taste bitter from lack of sun.
Maintain the shape of the bush by not allowing the shoots to stretch excessively. Cut off from them, leaving 3-4 pairs of leaves. If you have a cellar, you can store there stevia roots in a box with earth. Then there won't be any worries at all. Only in March, put the box on the windowsill and water the roots so that they sprout. At the end of spring, divide the bush into parts and land on the beds, leaving 30 cm between plants.
Reproduction by cuttings
Stevia can also be propagated from cuttings.. They are 100% rooted. Cut off at the end of winter sharp knife shoots from the bush on the windowsill and stick them into the damp earth. Drainage must be mandatory. Take the crate to the shade. It is not worth covering with a film, it is better to water and spray the cuttings more often.
When they are accepted and go to growth, tear off the tops. This will start to grow side branches, and single shoots will turn into lush bushes. In early summer, move them to the garden.
culture care
Stevia is undemanding to the soil, unpretentious in care. It grows where you plant it, if only not on salt marshes. Preferably in partial shade from the crowns of trees, in the sun you will have to shade it with a newspaper or cloth in the heat of the day. Does not like honey grass and cold weather below +12°. Water it often, but little by little. Loosen the ground under it, feed every 2 weeks with complex fertilizers dissolved in water.
Weed the first time. Then it will grow and kill the weeds.
plant harvesting
In the middle and at the end of summer, before flowering, I cut off all the stevia shoots 15 cm from the ground with a sickle, cut off the leaves, dry them under a canopy and use them in winter, brewing with tea. Dried honey grass can be added to jams and pastries by grinding it in a coffee grinder. I mix it with cinnamon to kill the grassy aftertaste.
Stevia contains virtually no calories, and for sweetness 1 tsp. dried herb powder is equal to 2-3 tbsp. l. Sahara.
Source: Sofia GROSHINA
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Every woman who counts calories knows about stevia. You can grow stevia from seeds in a pot, and its leaves will provide you with an extract for the whole family. You can make your own stevia extract, but first you need to grow a good bush.
Native American, this herb has taken the world by storm as a source of non-carbohydrate sugar. Can you imagine, 1 kg of dry leaf is as sweet as 30 kg of sugar, having a caloric value of 18 kcal per 100 grams.
Does stevia taste different from sugar? In my opinion, yes, but for the better.
How to grow stevia from seeds
- Germination of stevia seeds is not very good - about 20% to 80% of the seeds will sprout. Growing from cuttings is more productive, but I fail to get a stevia sprig.
- Black seeds germinate better than brown seeds.
- It is better to germinate seeds in small containers.
- Place 3-4 grains on moist soil, sprinkle thin layer soil or vermiculite. Irrigate the top layer.
- Cover with foil and keep the temperature at 23-25 degrees.
- If seed containers are illuminated for 24 hours, then 15 hours of light within 3 weeks after sowing.
- Seeds should germinate in 7-14 days.
- When the seedlings sprout, remove the film.
- At first, before the appearance of 4-6 true leaves, water through the pan, you can gently irrigate the plants every 3 days.
- After 8-10 weeks, you can transplant the plants into pots.
Provide a warm, shady spot for tender seedlings. You can germinate stevia in special cups made of coconut fiber, peat, or even eggshells, which you can simply dig into the pot when the sprouts get stronger. 
A pot for stevia needs at least two liters per adult bush, but can be transplanted as it grows. At the bottom of the pot we lay expanded clay + a layer of sand + nutritious soil.
Watering- I saw a recommendation about watering with boiled water, but we know that such water is dead, and apart from H2O, it will not give anything to the plant, so I prefer to water my plants with settled water from eggshell(It smells when watering, of course). Water generously, but not daily. Make sure there is no water in the pot.
Choose a sunny, warm place for stevia - a south or southwest window. The amount of light and heat directly affects how sweet the stevia leaves will be. The secret to lush potted stevia is to mist it every day.
After 3-4 months, the stevia is ready to form a bush - cut off the stretching shoots, leaving the buds and three to four pairs of leaves. Pruning is desirable to carry out every six months.
In winter, without lighting, stevia will dry out and fall asleep, and before this happens, cut off the leaves and put in a cool place. Occasionally, the soil with sleeping stevia needs to be moistened. with the first sunbeams put the stevia on the windowsill. Needs fertilizer twice a month.
When it becomes necessary to transplant, be careful, its roots are very tender and do not recover well. You need to harvest at the beginning of flowering, then the concentration of stevioside, minerals and vitamins is the highest. Stevia has a number.
Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) or nettle-leaved stevia, sweet biennial, honey grass is herbaceous perennial shrub family Asteraceae (Compositae). It is native to South and Central America.
Stevia was first discovered in Paraguay in 1887 by the South American naturalist Antonio Bertoni. After that, she became known in Europe. Stevia was brought to Russia by Academician N.I. Vavilov from the expedition to Latin America.
Stevia is used in traditional medicine. Currently, this plant has become widely known as a dietary supplement for weight loss and a sugar substitute for diabetics. The plant contains rebaudiosides and stevioside, which are 300 times sweeter than regular sugar from sugar beet and cane.
Stevia is a fairly affordable plant. It can be grown at home or in your backyard.
This herbaceous, abundantly branching semi-shrub reaches a height of 0.8-1 meters. Leaves are paired. Their length is 2-3 centimeters. root system developed. Stevia blooms with small white flowers.
More than 250 types of stevia are known, and every year scientists discover new ones, but only Stevia rebaudiana has the sweetest taste.
Stevia contains over 100 phytochemicals. It is rich in stevioside, terpenes and flavonoids. The stevioside contained in the leaves is 10-18 times as sweet as regular sugar.
1 leaf or 1/4 teaspoon of crushed leaves replaces 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Stevia also contains such sweet diterpene glycosides as: dulcoside A, rebaudioside A-E, steviolbioside.
- trace elements, fiber, essential oils, polysaccharides, antioxidants (quercetin, rutin).
- minerals such as: calcium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, magnesium, potassium, chromium and selenium.
- vitamins: groups B, A, C, E, P, D.
Growing from seed at home
If you follow the rules for growing stevia, it is not difficult to grow it in house plants. In order for the plant to take root and turn into a bush, giving required amount leaves, we must not forget about some of the intricacies of growing honey grass.
Stevia is a subtropical plant that grows at a temperature of +24-25 degrees in a semi-humid climate. For growth and lush flowering honey grass requires 140 millimeters of rain per year. It grows on loamy and sandy, acidic, moist, but not flooded soils. Salt soils and lowlands are not suitable for growing stevia.
To check the seeds for germination, they are lowered one by one into a glass of water. All seeds that have settled to the bottom are suitable for crops, floating on the surface are thrown away.
Proven seeds are soaked in warm water. Then they are dried on paper, after which you can start sowing.
For this, they are used plastic containers or glasses. A mixture of 2 parts of garden soil, 1 part of rotted humus and 1 part of sand is poured into the container. Peat for planting stevia is better not to use. The soil mixture is mixed, calcined in the oven at a temperature of +100 degrees or spilled with a hot solution of potassium permanganate. After draining the water, you can start sowing.
Sowing is carried out in late March - early April. Seeds are sown superficially or laid out 2 seeds in each hole and lightly sprinkled with soil. The substrate is moistened from a spray bottle. The containers are covered with glass or film and cleaned in a warm place.
A phytolamp is placed next to the container with sown seeds, this contributes to the rapid germination of seeds. Condensation accumulated on glass or film is removed daily.
Seeds germinate very quickly, after 1-2 weeks the first sprouts appear. After the seedlings germinate, the daylight hours should be at least 15 hours, and the air temperature should be + 24-25 degrees.
Moisturizing the soil with seedlings is carried out as it dries through the pan. When 3-4 leaves appear on the seedlings, the plants are seated in peat pots.
Seedlings are ready for transplanting in 8-10 weeks. For growing at home, stevia is transplanted into big pot, the volume of which is 2 liters. The bottom is covered with a two-centimeter layer of drainage (fine gravel, pebbles, vermiculite).
Mostly, however, stevia is grown in open ground, so the grown seedlings are transplanted into beds at the end of May.
Seedlings are best transplanted in the evening or on cloudy days. Planting takes place in May or June, after the spring frosts and the air at night warms up to +15 degrees.
- The landing site should be bright, protected from drafts and wind.
- A southern or western slope with light, loamy or sandy soil with neutral acidity is best suited.
- On clayey areas river sand and humus are added, and clay and humus are added to sandy ones.
For ease of transfer to open ground plants stay in peat pots. Landing is carried out at a distance of 40 centimeters from each other and 50 centimeters between the rows.
Each bush is deepened by 10-15 centimeters along with a pot and sprinkled with earth. After planting, each plant is watered abundantly and covered with pruned plastic bottle or film, nonwoven fabric for a week.
Planting stevia in open ground: video
Stevia care consists of maintaining moisture, loosening, weeding, top dressing and pruning.
Watering should be regular. The soil is moistened as it dries. For better preservation of moisture, the soil around the plants is covered with a layer organic mulch(sawdust, straw, needles). For irrigation, you need to take settled or boiled water. Weeding and loosening the soil (in the absence of mulch) is carried out after each watering.
As a top dressing, stevia uses complex mineral and organic fertilizers(mullein infusion or rotted humus). Top dressing alternates and is carried out every 2 weeks.
The only ailment that can harm stevia is the blackleg. It affects plants at the seedling stage. To avoid disease, the soil must be disinfected during planting, in addition, one should not forget about drainage. Watering should be frequent, but moderate.
Older plants need pruning. When the planted plant reaches 20 centimeters in height (about 4 months after sowing the seeds), pruning of the central stem is carried out in the middle of the internode at a height of 5 centimeters from the top. Short shoots need to be shortened by 1/3 of the length, and long shoots by 2 times. At least 3 leaves should remain on the bottom of the stems. Places of cuts are smeared with garden pitch.
Plants should rest after each pruning. They are cleaned in a dark place, and when grown in the garden, they are covered with a dark bag. There it stands for 3-4 days, then the plant is opened for 2-4 hours, and after 1-1.5 weeks it is returned to the light. If this is not done, young stevia leaves will burn out in bright light.
Stevia is propagated by seeds and cuttings.
Properties mother plant when growing stevia from seeds, it may not be transmitted, which affects the sweetness of the leaves. To preserve the characteristics of stevia, you first need to grow seedlings. We must not forget to check the seeds for germination, otherwise, when sowing, a smaller part of them will germinate. In addition, the temperature and humidity of the air must be observed.
The most reliable option for the reproduction of honey grass is cuttings of plants.
Every 3-4 years, the bushes are updated by cutting cuttings. Cuttings 5-15 centimeters long are cut from the tops of the shoots. They should have a few top leaves.
Soddy land, sand, rotted humus and pots or boxes are taken for planting. Cuttings are planted in the ground and covered with a film or glass.
Also, chopped cuttings can be put in a container with sweetened water (it needs to be changed every 3 days) and covered with a dark film.
At an air temperature of +24-25 degrees and high humidity rooting occurs in 3-3.5 weeks. Rooted seedlings are transplanted into open ground, at night air temperature not lower than +15 degrees. Stevia also grows well at home, as indoor plant in pots. In the northern regions, it can be grown at home.
In September, the stevia should be cut, dug up and placed in a box of wet sand. Bushes from above are sprinkled with a layer of sand and sent for storage in basement. Also, honey grass can be planted in a pot and placed in a heated loggia, on a balcony, window sill or in a greenhouse.
Best suited for her Western or east side. In winter, it must be illuminated with a phytolamp.
If you compare stevia with other sugar substitutes, then it is the safest. It is less toxic and has a pleasant taste. She doesn't give side effects, has good tolerance. In addition, this plant can be grown independently at home or in the garden.
Stevia is useful for reduced immunity, blood diseases, diseases of the female and male reproductive organs, thyroid dysfunction, obesity of alimentary origin, diseases of the oral cavity, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, diseases of the liver and biliary tract, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, atherosclerosis, pancreatitis, dyspancreatism, dysfunction nervous system, diseases of the skin, including children's diathesis.
Stevia has antiviral, antifungal, antimicrobial, antiyeast, antibacterial, cardiotonic, hypotensive, hypoglycemic, vasodilating, diuretic, wound healing and tonic effects.
It normalizes high blood pressure, lowers blood sugar levels, reduces cravings for fatty foods, helps to lose weight.
Drinks with stevia normalize the work of the gastrointestinal tract, improve immunity, help with diathesis, allergic skin rashes.
- When added to mouthwash, stevia promotes oral health.
- The antibacterial properties of the plant are used to treat skin diseases, small wounds.
- Stevia infusion helps strengthen hair, smooth wrinkles, and gives freshness to the face.
Stevia has practically no contraindications. AT in large numbers it should not be used by people with diabetes, people with thyroid dysfunction and young children.
The leaves are collected at the beginning of flowering (3-4 months after sowing). The leaves that curl inward are removed first. The stems are cut at a distance of 5-6 centimeters from the ground. Harvested leaves can be used fresh (refrigerated) or dried in glass jar or paper bag. The leaves are dried in a ventilated, darkened place or in an electric dryer.
Harvested leaves are stored for up to 2 years. You can make a powder out of them by grinding them in a mortar and store it in a glass jar in a dark place.
Stevia Recipes
Stevia is very useful plant with a minimum of contraindications. It is widely used in cooking, in the preparation of various dishes and drinks. It not only replaces sugar, but also has a beneficial effect on the body in various diseases.
To prepare the infusion, a thermos is taken, 20 grams of dry leaves are poured and poured with a glass of boiling water. Infused 12 hours. The resulting infusion is poured into a sterilized container. The remaining leaves are poured again with half a glass of boiling water. Infused for 8 hours. Infusions are combined and used instead of sugar. It will keep in the refrigerator for 7 days.
The infusion is used as a food additive. It helps with obesity, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys, thyroid gland. It is also effective in the form of compresses for wounds, rinsing with gingivitis, stomatitis and sore throat.
A moistened towel in hot infusion is used as a steam mask and helps to get rid of wrinkles, gives freshness to the face. The infusion is rubbed into the scalp to strengthen the hair.
The prepared infusion is boiled down to the state of syrup. It is added to many dishes as a substitute for sugar. The syrup is an excellent antiseptic. Keeps in the refrigerator for 1 year.
6 grams of stevia powder and 20 grams of lemon balm are poured with 200 milliliters of boiling water and infused for half an hour. Strained infusion is taken in a tablespoon 5 times a day in violation of the heart rhythm.
10 grams of stevia powder and 30 grams of St. John's wort are poured with 200 milliliters of boiling water and infused for 2 hours. Strained infusion is divided into 3 doses and taken 3 times a day 20 minutes before meals for atherosclerosis, diabetes.
A teaspoon of dry leaves and 1/2 teaspoon of green tea should be poured with 200 milliliters of boiling water and insisted for 5 minutes. Strain, add a mint leaf and a slice of lemon. This tea strengthens the immune system, has a tonic effect.
1 teaspoon of stevia and 1 tablespoon of chamomile is poured into 1 cup of boiling water. It cools down to 35 degrees, filtered and used as a douche for thrush and vaginal dysbacteriosis. You need to douche daily, in the morning for 10 days.
The consumption of sugar and meat products during this period should be reduced to a minimum. For best effect You can also drink stevia tea.
20 grams of dry stevia leaves are poured with 200 milliliters of alcohol and left for 24 hours in a warm place. It is filtered and used as a general tonic.
Ulcers, boils, burns, injured areas should be sprinkled with dry stevia powder or chopped fresh leaves for 30 minutes, then rinse with warm water.
Lemon balm, mint or lemon can be added to stevia drinks to eliminate the grassy taste.
Useful properties of stevia: video
Stevia is grown at home and allows you to always have a natural sweetener on hand. This plant can be used to make great amount delicious and healthy meals and drinks. Stevia is recognized as a safe sugar substitute in many countries around the world. This plant has a positive effect on the body and helps fight many diseases.
Stevia - perennial, which has useful properties. Many people use it as a sugar substitute, buying it from a pharmacy or store. However, not everyone knows that even at home it is possible to grow from seeds.
How to grow stevia from seeds - planting
At home, a container is prepared for planting with a soil mixture of soddy soil and sand in equal proportions. Before planting stevia seeds in the soil, make small indentations (up to 1-1.5 cm deep). Then place 1-2 seeds there and sprinkle them with earth. Spray the ground with a spray bottle.
Growing stevia seedlings at home
Cover the seed container with a lid and place it under a fluorescent light in a room where temperature regime will reach +26+27 degrees. The first three weeks, the pot with seedlings should be under the lamp around the clock.
Usually shoots appear in one and a half to two weeks. As soon as the young plants hatch, the lid can be removed. Watering seedlings when growing stevia from seeds is carried out carefully, the plant does not like an excess of moisture. It is better to water often, but little by little. Another option is to pour water into the pot holder. As soon as young plants reach a height of 11-13 cm, pinch them, cutting off 2-3 cm from the top.
Stevia growing technology involves transplanting seedlings into separate pots small size after three months from the date of planting.
Stevia care at home
Pots with stevia are placed on a south or southwest window, as the plant is very demanding on light. 
Incidentally, in the absence of sunlight the leaves of the bush do not accumulate substances that give them a sweetish taste.
A suitable temperature regime in the warm season is + 23 + 26 degrees. In winter, she is comfortable in cooler conditions - + 16 + 17 degrees. True, stevia does not tolerate drafts and cold walls well, and therefore in winter it is better to remove the pot with the plant from the windowsill.
Water the bushes often, but in small quantities. If we talk about bait, then fertilizers are applied in the summer every two to three weeks. You can use universal complex fertilizer for indoor plants.
The formation of a bush is considered an obligatory item for caring for stevia at home. To do this, when the plant reaches a height of 20-25 cm, pinch its top again.
The plant is transplanted every two years, changing the pot to a larger container.
Among the many plants used to make delicious and fragrant tea, few single out stevia, but in vain. This relatively unremarkable plant has good taste data and has a rich composition. useful substances, which makes it an excellent ingredient for this drink. We suggest that you take a closer look at the characteristics of this herb, as well as find out if it is easy to grow it at home.
Botanical description
Stevia is a herbaceous perennial from the Astrov family, pollinated by insects in a cross way. AT wild you can find specimens reaching a height of 60-120 cm. Outwardly, they resemble a branched bush, with simple paired leaf plates. White flowers are small, collected in inflorescences. The seeds are small (only 0.5 x 4 mm).
Important!It is the leaves of the plant that are endowed with healing properties, since they contain flavonoids, vitamins C, A, E, PP, as well as glycosides, polysaccharides, fiber, tannins and essential oils.
When grown at home from sowing seeds to collecting leaves takes about 16-18 weeks(the seedling period is 8-10 weeks). Such a sweet grass grown in a room or in a garden will be a good alternative to synthetic drugs.
Seed selection
You can find stevia seeds both in free sale and in online stores. Try to choose only trusted suppliers who have been working on the market for a long time. Minimal amount seed material in one bag - 7-10 pieces, but at the same time the manufacturer promises their high germination.
Did you know?First healing properties of the described plant were noted in 1887 by the Swiss scientist Antonio Bertoni, after which his colleagues from other countries became interested in stevia. As a result, in 1954, the plant began to massively appear in the greenhouses of the Japanese, because it was they who were the first to cultivate it at home.
Unfortunately, in practice this is far from always true, and half of the seeds are empty inside. Therefore, in order to avoid disappointment after sowing (especially in our climate), it is advisable to pre-check the purchased product, for example, by sailing. To do this, it is enough to throw each seed from a meter height and evaluate the features of its fall: full specimens reach the floor faster, while empty ones dive smoothly.
seed germination
To grow good raw materials for medicinal or culinary purposes, first of all, you should properly prepare and germinate the selected planting material. This procedure cannot be called complicated, but you will have to adhere to a certain stage of all the actions performed. Germination of stevia is done like this:
- In the loosened and heated soil, several recesses should be made and 1-3 seeds should be placed in each of them, covered with soil or vermiculite on top (the earth layer above the seed should not exceed 30 mm).
- Upper layer soil needs to be moistened but only very carefully so as not to wash the grains out of the ground (it is better to use a spray bottle).
- Now it remains only to close the box with a plastic lid and place under a fluorescent lamp, which in the first weeks of cultivation should burn constantly (up to 15 hours of daylight is reduced only after a three-week cultivation of stevia). The temperature in the room should not fall below +24…+27 °C.
Important! Watering the stevia during this period should be done as carefully as possible so that the soil is sufficiently moist, but not damp. If it is impossible to organize lower watering (it is more preferable in this case), you can pour water on the sprouts themselves, but it is better to use a spray gun.
When young plants reach a height of 12-13 cm, they cut off 2-5 cm from the top of the main stem and wait for branching.
Soil selection and preparation
Those flower growers who have already encountered home-grown stevia are probably aware of the capriciousness of this plant. It may well not take root in ordinary garden soil, so it is better to immediately add compost or humus at a ratio of 3: 1 to standard black soil. If the land on your site is very clayey, then in an additional order it is worth adding one more part river sand. An alternative to such a prepared soil mixture would be a ready-made commercial composition in which stevia should feel good. Among the most suitable options such soil mixtures, the following should be distinguished:
On the package purchased soil it is almost always indicated what this mixture consists of, so it is impossible to make a mistake. Hardening of seedlings
Like any other plant grown in room conditions, when transplanted into open ground stevia needs pre-hardening. To do this, from the place of germination, it is transferred to small containers in order to regularly take them out a little later. Fresh air(for 1-2 hours a day). All pots should be placed in bright sunlight and freely blown by the wind. As soon as the seedlings get stronger and go through the process of acclimatization, you can safely transplant them into the garden.
Transplantation in open ground
Given that stevia is a heat-loving plant, its planting on the territory middle lane often does not bring the desired result, of course, if you do not wait with this idea until the middle or end of June. For transplanting seedlings, the soil temperature should be at least + 10 ... + 15 ° C, although minimum value, at which the plant is still viable, +4 ° C is considered.
AT southern countries grow stevia all year round, but in our climate it can grow only in summer period. With the advent of autumn, it is usually dug up and transferred to a pot to be planted again in the spring on the site.
When choosing a place for future growth, be sure to take into account the pH of the soil, which should be close to neutral. In this case, a light, non-clay, well-drained earth, constantly heated by the sun's rays, is considered a good substrate. In shade and damp given plant will not be able to grow and will quickly die.
Important! When growing stevia, give it autonomy within a few meters. She will not tolerate any close "neighbors".
The transfer process to the selected site involves the following steps:
When planting several copies of stevia between them, you need to leave 40-45 cm, keeping a gap between rows of 50-60 cm. True, in our climatic conditions the plant is unable to grow maximum dimensions(the duration of warm time is not so long), so you can slightly deviate from the recommendations regarding the landing pattern. The first top dressing is carried out two weeks after planting using diluted complex mineral fertilizers. Care
Caring for the southern capricious cannot be called too troublesome, but some rules will have to be followed. Yes, pledge active growth and wellness plants is timely and proper watering, which runs several times a week (weather conditions must be taken into account).
In dry times, the earth should be constantly moist, but not very wet, since stevia reacts equally badly to both drought and excess moisture. 3-4 hours after watering, it is useful to loosen the ground, removing weeds(The procedure is performed as needed).
After the first feeding, fertilization is continued every two weeks, pouring 4-5 liters of complex diluted under the plant in accordance with the instructions on the package. In addition, twice per season, you can also use a rotted infusion of fresh diluted with water in a combination of 1:10.
Harvest and storage
Most often, the described grass is grown for the purpose of harvesting, so the correctness of its collection and storage does not lose its relevance. This process begins during the flowering of stevia, which can be observed already 16-18 weeks after its sowing (approximately in July), and ends in mid-September.
