You can add freshly picked honey herb directly to food and drinks to give them a pleasant sweetness. If you have planted stevia in your garden or even grown it yourself from seed, you are probably impatiently waiting for the day of the first harvest. But when can the first leaves be collected from the plant?
The right harvest time
Stevia plants that you cultivate in pots on a warm window sill or in a heated greenhouse can have fresh leaves removed throughout the year.
The situation is somewhat different with stevia, which you have transplanted into the garden during the warm summer months. For outdoor stevia, wait with the first harvest until the herb has become accustomed to the changed outdoor conditions. As soon as the plant is growing vigorously, you can pick off the bottom leaves. These slightly older leaves have the highest stevioside content and are therefore the sweetest.
Harvest shoot tips
You should harvest the shoot tips once a month so that the sweet herb branches out vigorously and is not exhausted. Then pluck the small leaves from the branches and remove all hard parts of the plant. You can also use these leaves fresh or, as described in this article, preserve them.
Main harvest in September
Since Stevia is not hardy, the plant in our latitudes has to move indoors by the end of September at the latest. Before you dig up the herb including the root ball, you should shorten it to about 10 centimeters.
You can leave these long-stemmed branches in bunches to dry in a dry, warm and airy place. If you do not have a suitable room, you can also dry the main stevia harvest in the oven or a dehydrator. Carefully pluck the completely dry leaves from the branches. You can store the leaves whole to make fresh stevia extract during the winter months. Alternatively, the leaves can be pulverized and used as a seasoning.
tips and tricks
Stevia has an enormous sweetening power, which, unlike table sugar, depends on the type of plant and the age of the leaves. Therefore, carefully approach the optimal dosage of honey herb for you.
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