Everyone knows about delicious tea mate . It was invented for a very long time by Indians, who added a sweet taste and just a chic flavor to it, added to it the leaves of the plant, which we now call stevia. In addition to its sweetness, stevia has a number of other properties that help restore and maintain health without resorting to medications. By the way, stevia can be used as a sweetener for preparing various dishes and even baking, the glycosides contained in it, retain their properties even when heated. Helps stevia and lose weight . Is this all an excuse to start growing stevia in your dacha?
Stevia growing and grooming
Before landing, you need to decide on the place. Where will stevia grow best? Since this is a southern plant, then it should be planted where there is more heat and light. Also try to protect it from drafts and wind - their stevia does not like.
The land for stevia is suitable for everything, except saline, lime and peat. At home, stevia grows in sandy, slightly acidic soils, so it will be just fine if you can provide it with such soil.
The stevia breeds with seeds, cuttings and bush division. It's only a pity that it does not withstand our winter, and therefore it must be transferred to the premises, or simply planted as an annual.
Cultivation of stevia from seeds
Let us dwell in detail on how to grow stevia from seeds.
- All this business begins with seedlings. The planting of stevia is begun at the end of March. Land for planting is prepared as follows: 2 parts of sand, 1 part of humus with 1% biohumus added to it. Alternatively, you can use the second option, take ready land for seedlings, which consists of turf ground, humus and sand. The prepared mixture is covered in a seedling tank with a layer of no more than 10-12 cm and well watered with warm water.
- Selection of seeds. This is one of the most important conditions for the successful germination of stevia. In our climatic conditions it is very problematic to grow a full-fledged stevia from seeds, so it is worthwhile to carefully approach their choice. Selecting the planting material, the method of sailing is used. It is necessary to raise each seed to a height of 50-60 cm and lower it. If it falls swiftly and quickly, then it fits perfectly for planting, if it turns and turns over, then we reject it.
- Prepare the seeds for planting. To do this, hold them for 30 minutes in warm water and dry.
- Plant the seeds of stevia need to a depth of not more than half a centimeter. If you do not follow this rule, you will not get sprouts. You can simply decompose them on the surface of moistened soil, slightly pressing down. After that, sprinkle some seeds with warm water, cover with glass and put them in a warm place. If under the glass everything will be fine: it is moist and warm, then the first shoots will please you within a week.
- When most seeds germinate, you can clean the glass and transfer the sprouts to a warm and bright room. As always, the obligatory condition is the absence of drafts and periodic spraying of young shoots with water at room temperature.
- When the first pair of leaves appears, it's time to prepare containers for transplantation. Soil choose the same as for seeds, and, carefully, together with a small lump of earth, transplant your shoots into separate containers. Watering the plant is required regularly, and once a week it is desirable to feed it with mineral fertilizers. If you plan to grow stevia at home, you can immediately plant it in pots, but keep in mind that its root system grows in breadth, so it needs a wide shallow pot.
- After the plant has gained strength, it can be transferred to a greenhouse. If the street is already warm enough, you can take the stevia to fresh air right in the pots.
That's all the wisdom of growing this "honey grass".