by Lisa Giroday, Sandra Lopuch and Sam Philips | Stevia madness has been happening for a few years, so it’s not news here, but did you know that nature’s aspartame is super easy to grow in our climate? Stevia, or, botanically speaking, Stevia rebaudiana, is a tender perennial, native to the semi-humid subtropical regions of Paraguay and Brazil. Wild plants occur over there — lucky them!

Stevia is power-packed with sweetness, and the taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar – without the so-called “badness”! Stevia contains steviol glycoside extracts that are up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar. Stevia doesn’t have a negative effect on blood glucose so is also great for people on low carb diets.

It has been used as a sweetener widely for decades in Japan – it accounts for 40% of the sweetener market, and is used in Coca-Cola there! Stevia also has a long history of medicinal use by the Guaraní, and has been used this way for over 1,500 years! Not only this, but in both Brazil and Paraguay, the leaves have been utilized to sweeten teas and medicines. Stevia is said to have anti-hyperglycemic, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-diarrheal, diuretic, and immunomodulatory properties.

What about it’s history in North America? Well, Stevia was controversial at some point, and in 1991, the FDA received an anonymous industry complaint to ban stevia. Word has it, stevia madness was infringing on the artificial sweetener market.

Easy to grow: Stevia is super easy to grow here, and as you can imagine, a little goes a long way…nature’s aspartame is quite potent in crude form. Stevia requires full sun, and while it is a perennial it is tender, so try to plant it in a sheltered, warmer zone. Stevia can grow to be anywhere from 1’ to 3’ tall! To harvest, pinch off the tops to encourage more leaves and a less spindly plant.

While it is a tender perennial in it’s native regions, it cannot withstand our winters, as the soil temps have to be 2 degrees above freezing – technically, if we were to have a super mild winter, you never know. However, it goes crazy if planted every year, so you will have it all summer long. Sweetness is greatest just before flowering, which is triggered by short day lengths onset by the change of season into fall. Flowering time ranges from mid-summer to late fall. Plants should be completely harvested before the first frost or as soon as blossoming begins, whichever comes first.

So get in there and grow some stevia in your garden, or in a container on your porch. Macerate the fresh leaves in cocktails, your morning green smoothie, or sweeten your tea. Pro tip: stevia leaves and mint go great together.

THE VICTORY GARDENS ARCHIVE