"Stevia rebaudiana" is a natural, low-glycemic alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners. It's also a promising crop suited to a wide variety of climates and soils

"Growing Stevia For Market" is your complete guide to growing, harvesting, and marketing stevia leaves and bedding plants. Valuable information is compiled from growers, research trials, and the author's own experience. Includes stevia leaf buyers, sellers, and other resources.

""Stevia rebaudiana" thrives in a wide variety of climates and soils. It can be a perennial crop in some climates or an annual crop where winters are cold. However, the cultivation of stevia is fairly new. We've only begun to optimize procedures for commercial production. There is great potential for improvement in stevia yield, quality, and profits. This book provides a head start for academic and on farm experimentation. Best practices for stevia cultivation are suggested based on research studies from around the world as well as the author's own experience of growing and using stevia for over a decade. "Growing Stevia for Market" will help farmers, researchers, market gardeners, nurseries, and greenhouse operators succeed with stevia." - from the preface

About The Author Jeffrey Goettemoeller grew up gardening alongside his dad and went on to earn a B.S. degree with a major in horticulture at Northwest Missouri State University. Under the direction of Dr. Alejandro Ching, Jeffrey completed a published research study on the production of "Stevia rebaudiana" seeds. Years later, he still grows and studies stevia. Jeffrey is the author of "Stevia Sweet Recipes: Sugar free-Naturally ," with over 300,000 copies in print, and "Growing and Using Stevia: The Sweet Leaf from Garden to Table with 35 Recipes."

Contents List of Figures - vi Acknowledgements - viii Preface - ix Introduction - 1 1. Climate and Day Length - 7 2. Plant Propagation - 33 3. Field Preparation and Plant Care - 57 4. Field Planting - 93 5. Harvesting and Postharvest - 103 6. Marketing and Economics - 123 Appendix 1: Field Trial Summaries - 141 Appendix 2: Stevia Leaf Buyers - 167 Appendix 3: Selected Resources - 169 Glossary - 179 Bibliography - 187 Index - 193 About the Author - 205

Grow Your Own Sweet Herb! Stevia rebaudiana is a natural, low-glycemic, low-calorie alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners. "Growing and Using Stevia" is your complete stevia guide from garden to table, with chapters about propagating, growing, and harvesting stevia, indoors and out. Enjoy your harvest with 35 delicious recipes developed in the Lucke and Goettemoeller kitchens. Learn how to: Start stevia from seeds, cuttings, or transplants. Grow stevia in your garden or in containers. Harvest leaves and make your own green powder or liquid stevia extract. Use homegrown stevia in pies, frozen desserts, herb tea, smoothies, & more! .,."one of our favorites. It's simple and all in one. You get the facts, recipes, and how to grow it. The price is economical and we are happy to offer it along with live plants and other stevia products." -Marshall & Judy Ayer; Ayer Natural Market & Greenhouse; Bluford, IL Jeffrey Goettemoeller and Karen Lucke are siblings who grew up gardening and enjoying wholesome home cooking. Karen is now a nutritionist and reflexologist. Jeffrey is the author of Stevia Sweet Recipes: Sugar-free-Naturally!, with over 300,000 copies in print. He also majored in horticulture at Northwest Missouri State University and completed a published research study on the production of Stevia rebaudiana seeds.

Sustainable Ethanol goes beyond the headlines, uncovering the benefits and limitations of North America's fuel ethanol industry. Ethanol production and use are becoming more efficient and less reliant on fossil fuel inputs. Learn about the technologies making ethanol make sense for our environment, economy, and security. Discover how the end of cheap oil is providing an opening for biofuels; how some cars get better fuel economy on 10% ethanol compared to ethanol-free gasoline; how the next generation of flex-fuel and hybrid electric vehicles could be optimized to get much better fuel economy on ethanol; how North America can produce significant quantities of biofuels without damaging our food production capacity; how sustainable farming methods are reducing ethanol's reliance on fossil fuels; and how cellulosic ethanol can be made from waste materials and soil-restoring perennial crops.