Sweeteners, Silver Princesses and Battery Garden Tools

We’re talking the new wave of battery operated tools in part 1 of this segment in Tool Time growing a natural sweetener in Vegetable Heroes, a native tree with many things to love in Plant of the Week plus bloomin' Tiger Lily flowers in Talking Flowers.

TOOL TIME

Battery Operated Tools part 1

Have you ever cut through the electric cord of your electric hedge trimmer?
I know I have. Thank goodness for the safety cut off.
They may be light than petrol powered hedge trimmers, but apart from the risk of cutting through the cord, there’s the meters and metres of cord that you may have to run.
Especially if you have a long back yard and need to get to a hedge.
So what’s the alternative?

Battery powered edger

I'm talking with Tony Mattson, general manager of www.cutabovetools.com.au

Lithium ion batteries for battery operated garden tools now have now no memory so they don’t have to be fully discharged before charging again. The power tools themselves are so much lighter.
The big tip is how much gardening do you need to do with the tools?
Base it on amp hours.
4 amp hours will go for 25% longer than 3 amp hours and 5 amp hours will go 50% longer than e amp hours.

Battery lawnmower

But the cost increases on the batteries also.

Important Tip: The batteries are not interchangeable between brands, so make your selection based on the range of tools that you need for your garden. If the brand you like doesn't have everything you need, as well as spare parts, choose another, but reputable brand.

If you have any questions for me or for Tony, why not write in to Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Stevia: Stevia rebaudiana
There’s a few plants whose leaves are quite sweet and have been used to produce sugar alternatives without the calories.

Stevia is one such plant.

Native to Paraguay and other tropical areas of the Americas, the stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana) has leaves packed with super-sweet compounds that remain stable even after the leaves have been dried.

Stevia is a member of the chrysanthemum family and the Stevia leaves have been used to sweeten teas and other drinks throughout South America for centuries.

So why are Stevia leaves’ so sweet?

Because the leaves contain something called steviol glycosides.

Steviol glycosoides are high intensity natural sweeteners, 200-300 times sweeter than sugar.

The leaves of the stevia plant contain many different steviol glycosides and each one varies in sweetness and aftertaste.

So what does Stevia plant look like?

Stevia is a small perennial shrub with lime green leaves that do best in a rich, loamy soil — the same kind that most of your plants in the garden like.

stevia plant

• Stevia is evergreen in temperate, sub-tropical and tropical climates, but in cold and arid districts, it’ll lose its leaves in Autumn.
• Stevia is native to semi-humid, sub-tropical climates where temperatures typically range from -6°C to 43°C.Stevia tolerates mild frost, but heavy frosts will kill the roots of the plant.

Stevia plants also hate being water logged.

By the way, I’ve grow my stevia plant in a pot for several years now without any problems and it’s survived several bouts of dry hot summers and lack of watering during spells with a house sitter.

But, it really isn’t drought tolerant like a succulent or a cactus and won’t tolerate long term neglect.

• During warm weather don’t forget to water it and if you’re going away for a few weeks put in a dripper system, otherwise you’ll lose your Stevia plant. But don’t plant your Stevia in waterlogged soil and don’t overwater it.
• Since the feeder roots tend to be quite near the surface add compost for extra nutrients if the soil in your area is sandy and a layer of your favourite mulch around your stevia plant so that the shallow feeder roots won’t dry out.
•  Stevia plants do best with fertilizers with a lower nitrogen content than the phosphorus or potassium content. Which means the artificial fertiliser aren’t your best bet, but most organic fertilizers are because they release nitrogen slowly.

HINT: Stevia leaves have the most sweetness in autumn when temperatures are cooler and the days shorter. Definitely the best time to pick those stevia leaves.

If your district is prone to frosts in Autumn, make sure you cover the Stevia plant for another few weeks’ growth and more sweetness.

How do you store Stevia leaves?

If you Stevia plant is big enough, the easiest technique is to cut the branches off with secateurs before stripping the leaves.

TIP:As an extra bonus, you might also want to clip off the stem tips and add them to your harvest, because they have as much stevio-side as do the leaves.

 If you live in a mostly frost-free climate, your plants will probably cope with winter outside, as long as you don’t cut the branches too short (leaving about 10cms of stem at the base during pruning).

These plants do last a few years in temperate and warmer climates.

In cool temperate districts, it might be a good idea to take cuttings that you’ll use for next year’s crop.

Cuttings need to be rooted before planting, using either commercial rooting hormones or a natural base like honey.

Stevia seed is apparently very tricky to germinate, and the cutting method is your best option.

SO HOW DO YOU USE YOUR STEVIA LEAVES?

I should mention that the stevioside content is only 12% in the leaves you grow compared with the 80-90% that commercially extracted stevia has.

It’s still had a decent amount of sweetness all the same.

So you’ve picked the leaves now you need to dry them.

As with drying all herbs you can hang your bunch of leaves upside down in a warm dry place.

Otherwise, on a moderately warm day, your stevia crop can be quick dried in the full sun in about 12 hours. (Drying times longer than that will lower the stevioside content of the final product.)

If you have a home dehydrator use that instead.

Finally crush the leaves either by hand,  in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle that you use for spices and herbs.

The dried leaves last indefinitely!

If you add two or three leaves added whole or powdered, that’s enough to sweeten a cup of tea or coffee.

HOT TIP: Another way is to make your own liquid stevia extract by adding a cup of warm water to 1/4 cup of fresh, finely-crushed stevia leaves. This mixture should set for 24 hours and then be refrigerated.

Stevia flowers

TIP

Why are they good for you?

 Stevia is a natural sweetener that has zero calories and isn't metabolised by the body.

Stevia isn’t suitable for everything in cooking but you can use it to sweeten drinks, fruits, salad dressings, stewed fruit, yogurt and most creamy desserts.

The processed Stevia that you buy in the shops has been stripped of all the natural goodness that Stevia contains, so it’s better to grow your own Stevia.

THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Eucalyptus caesia Silver Princess

This week we have a native plant that is a medium sized tree with outstanding features.

Eucalyptus caesia Silver Princess or gungurru has interesting bark, leaves and flowers.)
It’s in the Myrtacaea family and it is a gum tree.
Let’s find out what’s good about this one.

I'm talking with Adrian O’Malley, horticulturist and native plant expert.
PLAY: Eucalyptus Silver Princess_25th September 2019

Silver Princess trunk and fruits are covered in the grey to whitish bloom, except for the leaves and flowers themselves.
If you rub the bark you’ll see the mahogany colour under that bloom.

Silver Princess grows to about 8m in height, but as Adrian says, it's a leaner.

That means unless you are keeping on eye on it as it grows, the tree will develop a 45 degree lean.

Formative pruning helps, but for some reason it aspires to lean.

Adrian will almost coppice his leaning Silver Princess in the hope that it will resprout from it's ligno tuber as it does in the wild.
If you have any questions for me or for Adrian or would like some seeds of this tree, please write in to realworldgardener@gmail.com

Sweet Leaves, Nectar and Flowers

What’s on the show today?

A tiny honeyeater in Wildlife in Focus, sweetness you can grow in Vegetable Heroes. A new series starts in Design Elements, that’s gardening in tight spaces and less value for money cut flowers in the Talking Flowers segment with Mercedes.

WILDLIFE IN FOCUS

Eastern Spinebill

Did you think all honeyeaters were on the large side in Australia?
Well if you did, you’ll be surprised to learn that there’s a tiny honey eater weighing only 11 grams.
Not only that, the Eastern Spinebill is the only Australian honeyeater that will feed will flying.
So how can you spot them because they’re bound to be terribly shy?
Firstly get up at the crack of dawn, when most birds are out and about then listen to what Holly has to say about them.
Let’s find out more.

 I'm talking with Dr Holly Parsons from www.birdsinbackyards.net

America has the humming bird but Australia has the Eastern Spinebill which can hover will extracting nectar from flowers.
Not as spectacular as the hummingbirds, but pretty amazing all the same.

You can spot the eastern spinebill male has a grey black crown, white chest and throat with a rusty patch right in the middle, plus a beautifully curved beak to get the nectar from flowers, particularly tubular flowers.
Listen out for their call which as a few variations. Often though it includes a staccato like twittering.

If your garden is near bushland and you want to attract the eastern spinebill, then think about planting more of those tubular flowers like epacrids ( pictured below) and correas.

Epacris impressa var, grandiflora

Also smaller flowering grevilleas like Grevillea sericea and Grevillea speciosa.
If you have any questions about beds either for me or for Holly why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Stevia rebaudiana

Native to Paraguay and other tropical areas of the Americas, the stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana) has leaves packed with super-sweet compounds that keeps its sweetness even after the leaves have been dried.

Stevia is a member of the chrysanthemum family but did you know that Stevia leaves have been used to sweeten teas and other drinks throughout South America for centuries?

So why are Stevia leaves’ so sweet?

Because the leaves contain something called steviol glycosides.

Steviol glycosoides are high intensity natural sweeteners, 200-300 times sweeter than sugar.

In fact the leaves of the stevia plant contain not just one, but many different steviol glycosides and each one varies in sweetness and aftertaste.

So what does Stevia plant look like?

Stevia is a small perennial shrub with small pointed lime green leaves that do best in a rich, loamy soil — the same kind that most of your plants in the garden like.

It has little white flowers at the end of long stems.

Stevia is native to semi-humid, sub-tropical climates where temperatures typically range from -6°C to 43°C.

• Although Stevia tolerates mild frost, heavy frosts will kill the roots of the plant.
• Since the feeder roots tend to be quite near the surface add compost for extra nutrients if the soil in your area is sandy.
• From all that, you could guess that Stevia is evergreen in temperate, sub-tropical and tropical climates, but in cold and arid districts, it’ll lose its leaves in Autumn.
• By the way, I’ve grown my stevia plant in a pot for several years now without any problems and it’s survived several bouts of dry hot summers and lack of watering during spells with a house sitter.
• But, it really isn’t drought tolerant like a succulent or a cactus and won’t tolerate long term neglect.

  

  Stevia flowers

• During warm weather don’t forget to water it and if you’re going away for a few weeks put in a dripper system, otherwise you’ll lose your Stevia plant.

TIP:But don’t plant your Stevia in waterlogged soil and don’t overwater it.

 Adding a layer of compost or your favourite mulch around your stevia plant so that the shallow feeder roots won’t dry out.

 Stevia plants do best with fertilizers with a lower nitrogen content than the phosphorus or potassium content.

Which means the artificial fertiliser aren’t your best bet, but most organic fertilizers are because they release nitrogen slowly.

HINT: Stevia leaves have the most sweetness in autumn when temperatures are cooler and the days shorter.

Definitely the best time to pick those stevia leaves.

If your district is prone to frosts in Autumn, make sure you cover the Stevia plant for another few weeks’ growth and more sweetness.

How do you store Stevia leaves?

If you Stevia plant is big enough, the easiest technique is to cut the branches off with secateurs before stripping the leaves.

TIP:As an extra bonus, you might also want to clip off the stem tips and add them to your harvest, because they have as much stevio-side as do the leaves.

 If you live in a mostly frost-free climate, your plants will probably cope with winter outside, as long as you don’t cut the branches too short (leaving about 10cms of stem at the base during pruning).

These plants do last a few years in temperate and warmer climates.

In cool temperate districts, it might be a good idea to take cuttings that you’ll use for next year’s crop.

Cuttings need to be rooted before planting, using either commercial rooting hormones or a natural base like honey.

Stevia seed is apparently very tricky to germinate, and the cutting method is your best option.

 SO HOW DO YOU USE YOUR STEVIA LEAVES?

I should mention that the stevioside content is only 12% in the leaves you grow compared with the 80-90% that commercially extracted stevia has.

It’s still had a decent amount of sweetness all the same.

So you’ve picked the leaves now you need to dry them.

• As with drying all herbs you can hang your bunch of leaves upside down in a warm dry place.
• Otherwise, on a moderately warm day, your stevia crop can be quick dried in the full sun in about 12 hours. (Drying times longer than that will lower the stevioside content of the final product.)
• If you have a home dehydrator use that instead.
• Finally crush the leaves either by hand,  in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle that you use for spices and herbs.
• The dried leaves last indefinitely!
• If you add two or three leaves added whole or powdered, that’s enough to sweeten a cup of tea or coffee.

HOT TIP: Another way is to make your own liquid stevia extract by adding a cup of warm water to 1/4 cup of fresh, finely-crushed stevia leaves. This mixture should set for 24 hours and then be refrigerated.

Why are they good for you?

 Stevia is a natural sweetener that has zero calories and isn't metabolised by the body.

Stevia isn’t suitable for everything in cooking but you can use it to sweeten drinks, fruits, salad dressings, stewed fruit, yogurt and most creamy desserts.

The processed Stevia that you buy in the shops has been stripped of all the natural goodness that Stevia contains, so it’s better to grow your own Stevia.

THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Gardening in Tight Spaces Part 1

Tillandsia capitata

Gardening in tight spaces seems to be a modern day occurrence with people living in smaller and smaller accommodation.

Today we’re tackling a tiny balcony situation high up on the 7th floor.

That may not be where you live, but there’ll be something that you can take from this.

Let’s find out.

I'm talking with Peter Nixon, garden designer and director of Paradisus garden design 

If you have a westerly aspect that’s under cover, go for anything in the Tillandsia family.

Peter suggests Tillandsia fasciculata hybrids and Tillandsia capitata hybrids.
And the suggestions were if you’re stuck with a tiny balcony, or even courtyard, then do use those vertical surfaces.
Those modular units can be a bit pricey, but there are alternatives if you’re prepared to do your own hand watering. If you have any questions about gardening in tight spaces or have a suggestion either for me or for Peter why not write in or email me at www.realworldgardener.com

TALKING FLOWERS

Shorter Lasting Flowers for the Vase:

True love may last forever, but flowers do not. Some flowers only last a day. But what a day!

Some flowers do alright in the garden, but not so good in the vase.

So which ones are they?

 Short vase life, anything less than 7 days.

Daylilies make the top of my list. Not true lilies because they belong in the Hemerocallis family.

Each flower only lasts 1 day like its name says but they come in all colours of the rainbow. In fact there used to be a daylily farm called Rainbow Ridge.

 Hibiscus flowers only last 1 day, but in temperate climates they flower for at least 6 months of the year. Longer in warmer climates.

The hardy hibiscus bush can produce up to a hundred flowers in a season.

Evening Primrose-flowers that open in the evening and close again the next morning. If it’s cloudy though, the flowers will stay open. They just don’t like opening for the sun.

Queen of the night.-member of the cactus family, you’ll have to stay up late to watch this one flower. Also known as night flowering cereus.

Desert plants and cacti can have gorgeous, sometimes also fragrant, flowers which last less than a day.

Bearded Iris-only flower for a few weeks then are gone until next season can also be cut for the vase. Will last 4-5 days..

Iceland Poppies have a short vase life of 4-5 days.

Cosmos also 4-5 days. Pick them when they’re not 100% open.

Cosmos

Things you need to do to keep the flowers longer in the vase.

Change the water every two or three days, making fresh stem cuts and adding more floral preserver. Never use tap water, only filtered water.

With roses, avoid fully opened blooms, but also pass on stems with tight buds. Roses harvested too early will not last as long as those that have been cut later.

And remember, true love may last forever, but flowers do not. “It’s OK for flowers to die,” Miller said.

I'm talking with Mercedes Sarmini from www.flowersbymercedes.com.au

Recorded live during studio broadcast of Real World Gardener show on 2RRR 88.5 fm Sydney.

Orchids and Sweet Leaves.

SPICE IT UP

Vanilla Bean Orchid Vanilla planifolia
The plant that this next spice comes from originates in the highland forests of Mexico, so that gives you some idea of where it grows best.
Somewhere warm and humid.
But hey, don’t let that stop you from trying to grow it, after all it’s an orchid.
Let’s find out what’s great about this spice.
I'm talking with spice expert and owner of www.herbies.com.au Ian Hemphill
If you buy imitation vanilla essence then you’re buying a mixture made from synthetic substances which imitate the vanilla smell and flavour.
This often contains propylene glycol which is also found in automotive antifreeze!
It’s mass produced and relatively cheap but, of course, not in the same class as true vanilla extract.

Growing Vanilla planifolia
If you want to try to grow this orchid, you must be sure to get Vanilla planifolia-used to be called Vanilla fragrans.
The flowers are like a skinny Cattleya (that’s an orchid) flower and they’re yellow.

The plant usually doesn’t flower until it’s at least 3 metres tall and it can reach a size of 20 metres and more.
A friend of mine has the variegated one growing in his laundry that faces north.
Seems to be doing pretty well.

If you're in an area where you can grow this orchid and have it flower, then you'll have to pollinate it yourself to get the vanilla bean.

The only natural pollinator is the Melipone Bee which is native to Mexico and thought to be extinct.

Should your vanilla bean orchid produce a green bean, luck you, but this will have no vanilla flavour.

It takes many weeks of drying and sweating before the pod is ready to be used in cooking.

If you have any questions about growing Vanilla orchids, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Stevia is the sugar plant
Stevia rebaudiana

Native to Paraguay and other tropical areas of the Americas, the stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana) has leaves packed with super-sweet compounds that remain stable even after the leaves have been dried.

Stevia is a member of the chrysanthemum family and the Stevia leaves have been used to sweeten teas and other drinks throughout South America for centuries.

So why are Stevia leaves’ so sweet? Because the leaves contain something called steviol glycosides.
Steviol glycosoides are high intensity natural sweeteners, 200-300 times sweeter than sugar.
The leaves of the stevia plant contain many different steviol glycosides and each one varies in sweetness and aftertaste.

So what does Stevia plant look like?

Stevia is a small perennial shrub with lime green leaves that do best in a rich, loamy soil — the same kind that most of your plants in the garden like.

Stevia is evergreen in temperate, sub-tropical and tropical climates, but in cold and arid districts, it’ll lose its leaves in Autumn.
Stevia is native to semi-humid, sub-tropical climates where temperatures typically range from -6°C to 43°C.
Stevia tolerates mild frost, but heavy frosts will kill the roots of the plant.
Since the feeder roots tend to be quite near the surface add compost for extra nutrients if the soil in your area is sandy. 

TIP: Stevia plants also hate being water logged.

By the way, I’ve grow my stevia plant in a pot for several years now without any problems and it’s survived several bouts of dry hot summers and lack of watering during spells with a house sitter.
But, it really isn’t drought tolerant like a succulent or a cactus and won’t tolerate long term neglect.
During warm weather don’t forget to water it and if you’re going away for a few weeks put in a dripper system, otherwise you’ll lose your Stevia plant.

Stevia plants do best with fertilizers with a lower nitrogen content than the phosphorus or potassium content.
Which means the artificial fertiliser aren’t your best bet, but most organic fertilizers are because they release nitrogen slowly.

Stevia flowers

HINT: Stevia leaves have the most sweetness in autumn when temperatures are cooler and the days shorter.
Definitely the best time to pick those stevia leaves.
If your district is prone to frosts in Autumn, make sure you cover the Stevia plant for another few weeks’ growth and more sweetness.
How do you store Stevia leaves? If you Stevia plant is big enough, the easiest technique is to cut the branches off with secauteurs before stripping the leaves.
TIP:As an extra bonus, you might also want to clip off the stem tips and add them to your harvest, because they have as much stevio-side as do the leaves.
If you live in a mostly frost-free climate, your plants will probably cope with winter outside, as long as you don’t cut the branches too short (leaving about 10cms of stem at the base during pruning).
These plants do last a few years in temperate and warmer climates.
In cool temperate districts, it might be a good idea to take cuttings that you’ll use for next year’s crop.
Cuttings need to be rooted before planting, using either commercial rooting hormones or a natural base like honey.
Stevia seed is apparently very tricky to germinate, and the cutting method is your best option.

SO HOW DO YOU USE YOUR STEVIA LEAVES?
I should mention that the stevioside content is only 12% in the leaves you grow compared with the 80-90% that commercially extracted stevia has.
It’s still had a decent amount of sweetness all the same.

So you’ve picked the leaves now you need to dry them.
As with drying all herbs you can hang your bunch of leaves upside down in a warm dry place.
Otherwise, on a moderately warm day, your stevia crop can be quick dried in the full sun in about 12 hours. (Drying times longer than that will lower the stevioside content of the final product.)

If you have a home dehydrator use that instead.
Finally crush the leaves either by hand, in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle that you use for spices and herbs.
The dried leaves last indefinitely!

If you add two or three leaves added whole or powdered, that’s enough to sweeten a cup of tea or coffee.
HOT TIP: Another way is to make your own liquid stevia extract by adding a cup of warm water to 1/4 cup of fresh, finely-crushed stevia leaves. This mixture should set for 24 hours and then be refrigerated.

Why are they good for you?
Stevia is a natural sweetener that has zero calories and isn't metabolised by the body.
Stevia isn’t suitable for everything in cooking but you can use it to sweeten drinks, fruits, salad dressings, stewed fruit, yogurt and most creamy desserts.
The processed Stevia that you buy in the shops has been stripped of all the natural goodness that Stevia contains, so it’s better to grow your own Stevia.

AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Summer Limb Drop

Most people would be wary of various species of Eucalypt trees, which can drop limbs without any warning.
But what about other trees that drop limbs?

Muogumarra Nature Reserve photo M Cannon

When the Summer’s are long and hot without much rainfall, trees are stressed.
How can you tell then if a tree is so stressed that a big branch is about to fall off?
I'm talking with Glenice Buck, Consulting Arborist and Landscape Designer of www.glenicebuckdesigns.com.au

Glenice noticed plenty of fallen branches in paddocks near where she lives in Young.
Unfortunately the answer to the question how can you tell when a tree is going to drop a healthy limb, and that is, you can’t tell at all if a tree limb is going to fall.
Perfectly good branches just seem to break off.
The trees are perfectly fine [on the outside] and the inside, they seem to be structurally sound - a lot of the trees that have dropped limbs, you could not pick that they were going to fall.
You would expect that trees that are structurally unsound, are more likely to drop limbs, but as a rule, the normal eucalypts that drop limbs like the red gums and a lot of our box trees, have been dropping limbs with no sign of structural damage at all.

If you have any questions about trees for Glenice, why not write in or ask for a fact sheet.

LIVING PLANET

What Went Wrong with My Worm Farm?

So you’ve now got a worm farm but you open the lid one morning and there’s a mass of short fat white wriggling things?

Too awful to contemplate so I'm not posting a picture of the maggots.

Instead, here's a photo of the nice worms that you should have in your worm farm.]

You’re of course horrified and think “How did they get there and why? "

So now let’s find out. '

I'm talking with Sophie Goulding, environment project officer with a local council.


You need to get rid of those wriggling things because they’re maggots and they're there because probably you put that dairy or meat product into the worm farm.
Perhaps you did it on purpose knowing that your chooks will really appreciate a feast of protein that those white maggoty things have plenty of.
But if you didn’t, you’re best bet is to remove the maggots and put them into a small bucket.
Leave them to fry in the sun before adding them back to the compost.

If you don't get rid of them they'll get rid of your worms and there goes your worm farm.

The Sweetness of Autumn

THE GOOD EARTH

Whether or not you’re into permaculture, there’s plenty of things to be done in the autumn garden. Working conditions aren’t quite as unpleasant, plus all the seed and bulb catalogues fill out post boxes or inboxes if we’re getting them via email.

Who can resist all the new varieties of seeds and bulbs but what must we do first?
Various online websites, garden magazines and gardening books, tell us when to plant this or that.
The reality is, those timeframes are very generalised and it's knowing your seasons and responding to the climate in your district, which indicates when it's the time to plant certain crops.
Of course, if you're a beginner gardener, there are some basic rules that you need to know.

Listen to this….. with Margaret Mossakowska from Permaculture North

 

Of all the least attractive or glamorous tasks in the garden, working the soil is one of them.
You can make the task easier by planting green manure crops as Margaret suggested.
Green manure crops make the task of digging and fertilising a whole lot easier, because you let the green manure crop do the work for you.

You don't have to dig them in, just lay them on top of the soil and let the worms do the work for you.
You also can just rake them into the top 10 cm of soil if you prefer.
If you have any questions about the Autumn garden why not drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675, and I’ll post a CD in return.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Stevia  (Stevia rebaudiana)

Native to Paraguay and other tropical areas of the Americas, the stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana) has leaves packed with super-sweet compounds that stay sweet, even after the leaves have been dried.
Stevia is a member of the chrysanthemum family and the Stevia leaves have been used to sweeten teas and other drinks throughout South America for centuries.

So why are Stevia leaves’ so sweet?
Because the leaves contain something called steviol glycosides.
Steviol glycosoides are high intensity natural sweeteners, 200-300 times sweeter than sugar.
The leaves of the stevia plant contain many different steviol glycosides and each one varies in sweetness and aftertaste. So what does Stevia plant look like?

Stevia is a small perennial shrub with lime green leaves that do best in a rich, loamy soil — the same kind that most of your plants in the garden like.

Where Will It Grow?
Stevia is evergreen in temperate, sub-tropical and tropical climates, but in cold and arid districts, it’ll lose its leaves in Autumn.
Stevia is native to semi-humid, sub-tropical climates where temperatures typically range from -6°C to 43°C.

Stevia tolerates mild frost, but heavy frosts will kill the roots of the plant.

Since the feeder roots tend to be quite near the surface add compost for extra nutrients if the soil in your area is sandy.
Adding a layer of compost or your favourite mulch around your stevia plant so that the shallow feeder roots won’t dry out.

Stevia plants also hate being water-logged and don't overwater it.
HOT TIP:Stevia can grow in a pot.

By the way, I’ve grow my stevia plant in a pot for several years now without any problems and it’s survived several bouts of dry hot summers and lack of watering during spells with a house sitter.

But, it really isn’t drought tolerant like a succulent or a cactus and won’t tolerate long term neglect.

During warm weather don’t forget to water it and if you’re going away for a few weeks put in a dripper system, otherwise you’ll lose your Stevia plant.
 Which Fertiliser?

Stevia plants do best with fertilizers with a lower nitrogen content than the phosphorus or potassium content.

Which means the artificial fertiliser aren’t your best bet, but most organic fertilizers are because they release nitrogen slowly.

HINT: Stevia leaves have the most sweetness in autumn when temperatures are cooler and the days shorter.

Definitely the best time to pick those stevia leaves.
If your district is prone to frosts in Autumn, make sure you cover the Stevia plant for another few weeks’ growth and more sweetness.

How do you store Stevia leaves?

If you Stevia plant is big enough, the easiest technique is to cut the branches off with secauteurs before stripping the leaves.

TIP:As an extra bonus, you might also want to clip off the stem tips and add them to your harvest, because they have as much stevia goodness and sweetness as do the leaves.

 If you live in a mostly frost-free climate, your plants will probably cope with winter outside, as long as you don’t cut the branches too short (leaving about 10cms of stem at the base during pruning).

These plants do last a few years in temperate and warmer climates.

In cool temperate districts, it might be a good idea to take cuttings that you’ll use for next year’s crop.
Cuttings need to be rooted before planting, using either commercial rooting hormones or a natural base like honey.

Stevia seed is apparently very tricky to germinate, and the cutting method is your best option.

 SO HOW DO YOU USE YOUR STEVIA LEAVES?
I should mention that the stevioside content is only 12% in the leaves you grow compared with the 80-90% that commercially extracted stevia has.
It’s still had a decent amount of sweetness all the same.
So you’ve picked the leaves now you need to dry them.
As with drying all herbs you can hang your bunch of leaves upside down in a warm dry place.
Otherwise, on a  warm day, your stevia crop can be quick dried in the full sun in about 12 hours. If you have a home dehydrator use that instead.
Finally crush the leaves either by hand,  in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle that you use for spices and herbs.
The dried leaves last indefinitely!
If you add two or three leaves added whole or powdered, that’s enough to sweeten a cup of tea or coffee.
HOT TIP: Another way is to make your own liquid stevia extract by adding a cup of warm water to 1/4 cup of fresh, finely-crushed stevia leaves. This mixture should set for 24 hours and then be refrigerated.

Why are they good for you?

 Stevia is a natural sweetener that has zero calories and isn't metabolised by the body.
Stevia isn’t suitable for everything in cooking but you can use it to sweeten drinks, fruits, salad dressings, stewed fruit, yogurt and most creamy desserts.

The processed Stevia that you buy in the shops has been stripped of all the natural goodness that Stevia contains, so it’s better to grow your own Stevia.

AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT

Some suppliers for you to source your Stevia.      www.greenharvest.com.au and ww.diggers.com.au

DESIGN ELEMENTS

with landscape designer Louise McDaid

photo: Real World Gardener

 NEW SERIES-DROUGHT PROOFING YOUR GARDEN part 1

Today starts a new series on dry gardening around Australia.
We’re not talking cactus and succulents specifically or gardening with only hardy native plants.
The idea behind this series is that summers are getting warmer so we need to look at how we garden, and what we can do to preserve our precious plants.
Let’s find out what this is all about.

It's important to know what type of soil you have.

Once you work that out, you can set about improving it (if it needs it) which will save you years of headache in the years to come.
Poor sandy soils and waterlogged heavy clay soils are just two that need to be improved.


If you ignore this step, your plants will refuse to grow well, and you may end up spending too much money on fertilisers and pest control products to overcome soil deficiencies.

Plants that grow in the wrong conditions, tend to be stressed and easily succumb to pest and disease.

If you’re looking at a large garden and thinking, how am I going to achieve that better soil profile?
Don’t think of doing the whole garden at once. Start working on a small corner by giving it the right amount of mulch and compost.
Then gradually work your way around the garden over several months. Look it may even take a couple of years, but at least you’ve started.


If you have any questions about this week’s any trees on your property, send it our email address, or  you can write in for a fact sheet.
  

PLANT OF THE WEEK

SEDUMS ARE GO!

Many sedums are grown as garden plants around, because they have interesting and attractive appearance and can be quite hardy.

The various species differ in their requirements; some are cold-hardy but do not tolerate heat, some require heat but do not tolerate cold.

It's no surprise that Sedums are considered to be a stand-by perennial.

In Autumn, upright stalks carry flowerheads of pink red, yellow or ochre, the colour deepening through as the flowers age. A bee and butterfly favourite.

For the most part, absolutely trouble-free - aphids may be a problem if it is grown in shadier conditions.
In winter some varieties down right down and the life cycle starts again when tiny little foliage "cabbages" appear by late winter or early spring, and develop into a tidy low mound by summer.