Dear Friends, The 6th Stevia Global Summit India 2014, 20th July 2014, New Delhi a comprehensive conference on the stevia value chain, with important insights covering stevia applications in the Food & Beverage sector, Stevia Regulatory Issues, Stevia market Trends, Stevia product launches, Stevia investments and developments taking place in cultivation, it will bring together leading R&D, innovation, new product development (NPD), marketing and food safety, Quality assurance professionals to discuss, innovate, knowledge share and shape the future of Stevia industry into the new decade. Visit: www.steviaglobalforum.org Contact: steviaglobalforum@gmail.com, +91 9891988880, 9811988880 Here is a link that might be useful: Stevia Global Forum

Rhizo: That all depends on the persons opinion who's talking. =) Spindly plants, IMO are very noticeably unstable. They would require several stakes/ties just to keep the plant from falling over by itself, etc., etc.. (Example: ). It is quite normal for a very healthy tomato plant to be a bit leggy (and even grown that way on purpose for deeper root development). Simply pot it up 4-6 inches when going into its final home (ground or container) and it will have a deep healthy root system and produce just as fine as any other tomato plant. Many many people overreact and take legginess to seriously; as some wickedly harmful disease or something. From what I've heard on the many threads about it from many different people, it's nothing but a matter of opinion (to a certain extent...see picture above). When someone calls my plants leggy now, I simply thank them for their kind compliment. =) Anyway, let's try to stay on the subject of the thread, shall we? My Stevia was sown 4 days ago. I will let y'all know how it goes. - Steve

Stevia can be quite temperamental. It can die in what seems like perfect conditions for no reason at all except to spite you. Its saving grace is that sometimes it only pretends to die and will resurrect - sometimes taking up to a year to make up its mind to do it - so if that happens to you, don't give up on it, but keep giving the occasional drink to an apparently dead plant! Certainly, it will die (or die right back) if you allow it to flower. It's not a particularly fast grower, is very slow to get going in fact, and it doesn't spread. I've never, ever had any luck propagating from my plant, though I've tried many times, using seed I've collected and cuttings. The plant is climatically suited to climates from temperate to sub-tropical where temperatures range between 21-43C, with an average of 24°C, but it will also grow in the tropics, where it prefers shade and will also grow in cold climates with winter protection. Plants in the ground have been noted to take minimal frosts. It's dormant in winter and often loses its leaves, even here in the subtropics, which shows that it's really happiest in warmer climates. It likes regular water, but won't tolerate water-logged conditions. It can be a gangly plant, so it's a good idea to stake it to begin with, or to plant several plants close together. Once it's older, it can stand up quite nicely. In short - theoretically it should be an easy plant to grow, but in practice it presents quite a challenge. More detail (the theory part of it!): Propagate by seeds or by tip cuttings taken in summer, or root division in spring. Seeds are notoriously infertile and slow to germinate. Flowering usually occurs 54-104 days after transplanting. Plants in the ground have been noted to take minimal frosts. It is a somewhat temperamental plant and may be slow to grow at first. Even in ideal conditions, it is not uncommon for plants to die suddenly or to lose their leaves. As long as the roots are alive, the plant may regrow. Poor, loose, well drained soil is recommended. The plants need to be well-mulched so that surface feeder roots do not dry out. For gardeners in cold climates, it is recommended that plants be started in large pots so that the pot can be moved to a warm verandah in winter. In cold climates, the plant may go dormant to the ground. As stevia does not over-winter outdoors in freezing conditions, the roots are lifted in autumn and stored indoors in perlite or sand and then set outside again in spring. Stevia requires regular watering in dry periods but has poor tolerance to long waterlogging or to saline water or soils. In its natural habitat, the plant occurs naturally on acid soils of 4-5 pH but will grow well on soils up to 9 pH. Leaf yields can be increased with a moderate application of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilisers. Plants also respond well to liquid seaweed as a foliage spray applied fortnightly. As soon as the plant flowers, the leaf production slows down, so it is an advantage to nip off flower buds, to encourage further leaf development. If the plant is left to flower, the tip leaves take on a slightly bitter overtone. Plant will die if left go to flower, so it should be cut back repeatedly to prevent flowering.

Wow! Lots of helpful information. Thank you everyone. Dchall: We are appr. 3500 feet. Pretty high up and definitely in the mountains. I see what you are saying about the timing on applying some organic food to my lawn. I may have missed a window to do anything right away because out temps are slated to rise to 94 degrees this weekend. Unheard of for May in our county. Really appreciate the good info in your post. Bill, thank you. Can you give me the name of a preferred Organic Fertilizer? Rosarama: You were indeed being silly on the Rose Forum. But very entertaining. Appreciate all the good suggestions on possible products. I just bought my first 50lb bag of Alfalfa Pellets for Alfalfa Tea for the roses. So at the moment I have plenty. I'll run that idea by the husband and see if he will go for putting some on the lawn. I'll be careful to work it in. In the interim I have been pulling all the dandelions by hand. Weirdly we don't seem to have as many this year. Either that or since I pulled them all up daily it just never became a major issue. Again thank you folks. Kate