stevias

I am so glad to have something positive to post about here, even though half the balcony plants continue to suffer from ailments and/or pests.

I've just returned from ten days of travel. While I was gone, my plants were left a week without care. For a large number of them, this was probably a relief as I tend to over-water a bit, and they had a good chance to dry out and stretch their roots! For others that required more humidity or frequent watering, I left them in deep saucers that were filled so they could drink from below. This worked well for the majority of the plants. Of them all, I only lost three and none were surprises (a small Stevia cutting that didn't take, and the Basil plants which got overnight chills- we actually have fall weather now!)

Overall I am happy to see things still growing, and there will be a slew of posts here for a week or so while I enjoy using my new camera and recording how much the plants have grown in the undocumented (visually) interval.

To start, my Stevia cuttings! I have three nice robust ones, which is more than enough to replace the parent plant. (Of the original six cuttings started, one got mold, one died in my absence, and another I gave to a friend).

I've been trying to pinch them more often to encourage fuller growth, and saving the pinched leaves to dry for my sweetner.

I am keeping these young plants inside now on the kitchen windowsill, against cool nights and for overwintering.