The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: RUSTYME on October 19, 2009, 02:06:17 pm
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I have got some seeds on the way of the Stevia plant . It has leaves that are said to be many more times sweeter than sugar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia
I don't know how well the seeds will germinate , but if at least one or two do so, then it is meant to be very easy to propagate by cuttings . So I should be able to grow enough plants to supply all my family with a sugar replacement if they should so wish .
Use of the plant was effectively banned by the US FDA as a sweetener , as it would have cost the big companies millions in lost sales .... Just think a few plants in every garden would supply all the sugar needs of most families ... no wonder they banned it .
I will sow a few seeds as soon as they arrive , see how they germinate , and how they grow over winter indoors . I will then sow the rest in spring .
cheers
Russ
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I will then sow the rest in spring .
Then you'll send some bits out to everyone on the forum - yeah ;D ;D ;D
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yep ... by pigeon post ... but sadly my pigeons only fly for 5 miles then they come back home ... ::) ;D
cheers
Russ
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We will all send you a stamped addressed envelope then
;D ;D ;D
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problem solved .....why can't it always be that simple ? :-*
cheers
Russ
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That sounds really interesting.
I was reading an article the other day about how sugar decreases brain function. I only have two sugars in a cup of coffee once a day but I reckon the effect must be pretty strong.. I'll send you a SAE
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How do you extract the sweetner? Curious and very interested. :cat: :chook:
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there are industrial methods of extracting , but the easiest way seems to be drying the leaves, and adding them to whatever you want sweetened. Not sure I would fancy dried leaves floating in my coffee, (and I drink loads a day with 2 spoons of sugar , my brain must be dead!! no comments please ) , but I would think you could use a tea strainer maybe ? ... won't know till I get some .
cheers
Russ
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Keep us posted. Ros :cat: :chook:
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will do Ros...
cheers
Russ
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What about all that quality Aspartame out there?? :o
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I purchased a tiny Stevia plant last year and I kept it in a small container in the window sill. It grew like crazy and finally died from dehydration :o. Apparently live plants need regular watering :-\ :D, which is why all the other plants in my home are made from silk. Anyway, while it was alive You could chew on the green leaves and get some great sweetness. When I get my garden growing I will be sure to plant more. :bouquet:
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Ah Marigold, that explains why I seem to be getting dimmer the older I get - its all the sugar I have on my cereal!
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if anyone is interested in trying some stevia before attempting growing , then just type in stevia on ebay . You will get loads of different forms of it for sale on there . From spoonable to dried leaf , to tablet form .
Lots of choice , although some of it is a bit costly .
The seeds have arrived here , I haven't sown any as yet , nowhere to put them ... I may wait till early next year , January onwards , not that long now anyway.
cheers
Russ
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With its extracts having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, stevia has garnered attention with the rise in demand for low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives. Medical research has also shown possible benefits of stevia in treating obesity and high blood pressure. Because stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets. However, health and political controversies have limited stevia's availability in many countries; for example, the United States banned it in the early 1990s unless labeled as a supplement. Stevia is widely used as a sweetener in Japan, and it is now available in Canada as a dietary supplement.
Wikipedia
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?... yes ....and....lol. Judging by what I read it was banned because it would have made aspertame (a known poison) , obsolete . Good ole Donald Rumsfeld couldn't be having that now could he ? , well not unless he or Monsanto have the patent on it anyway !!!
cheers
Russ
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Donald Rumsfeld is the most evil person on the planet!
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Power corrupts.....absolute power corrupts....ah well ye know the rest.
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yes I couldn't agree more MM, he is ...along with all the people that allow him to get away with it ....again, and again ..and again......ad infinitum....
Yes you are right Morgan....you would think that the powers that be, would at least try to hide the fact a bit though ? But there again, they have so much power and are so corrupt now ....why do they need too ?
cheers
Russ
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I'm sick of all this dithering...i'm putting up 20 ft electrified chainlink fence, Gatling guns on turrets and the whole dang fluffed up world can kiss my hiney! Should point out that i'm keeping a few acres for you Russ! How did I get here from 'sweetner'?
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lmao..... :o ::) .. yes I know what you mean mate. I can start off all well intentioned , but end up ranting on about good ole Don or some such !!!
Cheers for the few acres though mate ... nice thought ...Now the fence !!! how are you going to provide the leccy to run it ? generator ? wind turbine ? and the Gatling gun !!! MMMmm , Lewis machine gun would be better.....you can take buildings down with those !!! Not been attacked by too many buildings , but you can take em down just in case !!!
When I get setup completely, I am going to have to grow MSG plants and some Aspertame plants as well ...I don't think I can go cold turkey ? ::) ;D
cheers
Russ
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Hope you're going to grow some coffee plants too. :) How about some paracetemol plants or are you going to grow willow to strip the bark for asprin? :-\
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Join the revolution Marigold......he says sipping his nescafe ;)
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hehehe....well I have some tea seeds to sow next year ...thats a start...but coffee needs a warmer climate to produce beans (roll on global warming !!) . I have tried the dandelion root thing yuk ..puke puke ...vile ...so I will just have to make do with tea when TSHTF.
I already have the willow growing and have tried the dried bark , powdered ...it tastes yuk .. but it does work perfectly . Not looked into paracetamol , but I have got opium poppies (Papaver Somniferum), yes really , they can be bought in any garden centre , and it is easy to make morphine and more ... so I could chase the dragon when tshtf , and just let it all float by man ....cool .... ::)
cheers
Russ
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Careful now - there could be a commune starting in 'Wales
and you'll need a lot more land, and seeds ;D ;D ;D ;D
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lol... I think there are a few communes around already ? ::)
Land ..well they will have to make their own arrangements there ....but seeds !!! have you seen how many poppy seeds you get from one plant ? THOUSANDS .... I know (years ago ) I had loads of opium poppies growing and I collected the seeds from some of them , they filled a 200g coffee jar !, the rest I threw away .
I have only ever grown ordinary hemp , for string /rope etc , the other type is as easy to grow though , and you get loads of seeds from them too . Some of the hybred ones need to be propagated by cuttings though !!! as easy as busy lizzy cuttings.
peace and love man !!!!
Russ
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So they're not real clouds hovering over the UK so!
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lol... funny thing is I have never touched an illegal drug in my life . I have three brothers who have . One ,as far as I know is still on heroin , or whatever he can get hold of .
Another doesn't do drugs anymore ," just a bit of blow now and then " , his words not mine ? and the third is away on her Majesties secret service ..oh no , that should have been at her Majesties pleasure . I have no idea what he is up to , but he was on everything in there !!
There was a legitemate reason for collecting the poppy seeds , a reason that completely escapes me at the moment ( I hate getting old !!) . However , I have made sure I know how to make morphine just in case TSHTF in a very big way .
Same with willow , I wanted to know how to get the aspirin effect from it . Pain is one thing I don't do very well . So I want to know I can cope with any situation that may arise.
Another good healer is comfrey , it heals cuts and broken bones . I did even use it on a broken wrist years ago . It healed much faster than any break in a wrist I had had before . Yes I have broken my wrists a few times , broke both in a motorbike crash , broke both in the car crash , broke both in different fights and fell arse over tit on ice and broke one . I have broken one 3 times and the other 4 times ...but which way round I don't remember now .
So you see now why it pays me to know how to heal broken bits .... one doctor once said that looking through my x-rays, he couldn't find a bone that hadn't been broken !! I said that there must be one somewhere and that as soon as I find it I will no doubt break it.... I am not looking ...just in case !!!!!
cheers
Russ
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Holy crap Russ you're the 'normal' one in the family!! Only kidding mate!
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;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ...lmfao.....yes ... how scary is that ? :o :o Just wait till I start 'doing a bit of weed ' or a few lines of coke , hey hey ... or a bit crack !!! Then TS really WHTF :o ;D ;D
cheers dude
far out bro .....
Russ
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Coke! I take it you failed the Pepsi challenge so!
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yep....didn't you know , things go better with COKE....I think there was more aspertame in diet Coke than in diet Pepsi ......( insert picture of me dancing on the ceiling !!)( Lionel Richie must be Donald Rumsfelds illegitimate son) ....I think Michael Jackson had been on neat aspertame since the late 70's . So much so that his brain spontaneously combusted in 1984 while making a Pepsi advert (maybe there is more aspertame in Pepsi after all ?) , he was therefore buried without his brain, which had been missing since incineration in 84 , hence him acting like a complete muppet (or should that be puppet ? he did look like Pinocchio after all !! ) for the last 25 years .
"I've got no strings blah blah blah......" ::) ;D ;D
cheers
Russ
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;D