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First Year: Plant (or buy) in spring, grow all year. Take them inside for the winter: Taste the leaves & mark your strongest in sweetness plants. If any are very week in sweetness mark them also.

Second year:  Put the plants back outside in the spring as soon as possible (but protect from frost). After a week or two, taste the leaves again. Take cuttings of the ’strongest’ (in sweetness and growth) and plant them in new pots to grow. Treat these cuttings as year 1 plants. Harvest the strong sweetness plants (completely): Dry and use like tea leave (or do other crazy stuff to get the white powder form). Let the less than sweet plants go to seed, and save the seeds for the following year.

Stevia will grow for several years when protected from frost. The second year is almost always the best year for sweetness level & taste.  The “sweetness” of the leaves does not seem to be passed from parent to child by seed. The seeds of a very sweet plant may produce bland leaves or vice versa. Plants grown by cuttings do seem (for the most part) to hold true on the level of sweetness.

Do save seed and plant some from seed each year… otherwise your gene pool will be very poor over many years from just cuttings.

Also during the year, leaves can be pulled at any time, and used like mint leaves to sweet teas and drinks during brewing.

In homeopathic veterinary circle, the Aloe plant has several additional uses.  It can be used in weaning baby animals, keeping flies off wounds, and as a insect repellent.  To use as a insect repellent, chop the Aloe leaves into small pieces and soak in water for at least 5 hours.  Use this mixture to wash the animals twice a day.

   Keep several Aloe plants in pots.  If possible get plants from different sources to have a variety in the gene pool. They require very little water, and are a great natural remedy for burns and abrasions.

   Do not plant Aloe plants outside (in the ground) unless there is no chance of freezing, as even a light freeze can kill them.  Well protected Aloe plants can survive a light freeze, but the risk of loosing the entire plant is high.  If an Aloe plant is killed by a frost, chop off the entire plant just above the ground. Then cover the roots with mulch or some other method of protecting them for the rest of the winter. In the winter, water lightly until the plant re-sprouts (if the roots were not killed by the freeze as well).

Most commercially made fertilizer that will be bought at typical stores is made from oil, and will see price increases as oil rises. The primary purpose of fertilizer is to put the major nutrients back into the soil that plant growth removes. However, most fertilizers ignore the minor (and micro) nutrients. Many gardeners swear that these are vital to healthy plants, fruits and the consumer; but this is in dispute by officials.

Composting is generally considered easy, and there are several gadgets that can be purchased to make it easier. It can also be done in a small space in the back yard. Some devices claim to be able to make compost in as few as 4-6 weeks, but without them, in a simple ‘pile’ composting can be complete in 6 months. In theory, through the course of composting, the minor (and micro) nutrients will be added back into the soil

In addition to traditional composting, there is a form of ‘worm composting’ – letting earthworms eat the material and harvesting the worm dung as fertilizer. When earth worm composting make sure to include egg shells or some other form of digestible calcium so the worms can reproduce.

The heat in the compost generally kills most (but not all) microbes and weed seeds. Also note that the heat from normal composting will kill earthworms.

Anticipate the rise in fertilizer costs, by starting the compost pile today.

A side effect of burning wood (to keep warm or for cooking) is a large amount of wood ashes.

Ashes are a fantastic source of Potassium, Phosphorus and Nagnesium and (if it is clean of impurities like plastic) can be spread on vegetables or in gardens as a mulch. However, this makes the soil very alkaline, and can and will kill acid loving plants. The ashes can also be tilled into the soil to sweeten it (and is about half the strength of lime).

Ash can be used to make lye, can be spread as a cover for waste material in a composting toliet (outhouse) to help cover the smell and to improve the digestion. It can also be used for polishing stains in coffee cups or spreading in urine soaked areas before cleaning up kept animals (non-domestic). There are 1000’s of uses, some of which are more practical than others, and a search of google yields many results.

Although it is listed as a fix for the Squash Beetle, do not apply it to summer or winter squash plants or the surrounding soil, as squash need acidic soil, and the ash will kill them (or any acid loving plant) quickly.

Feverfew is a flower that appears similar to a daisy, and is sometimes called a pyrethrum (by mistake). It does however have similar bug repelling properties as pyrethrum, and can be planted as a border around the garden. Feverfew will grow to about 1.5 feet tall, and has yellow green, ferny foliage, and will self-sow readily. It can also be propagated by seed (in late winter), or root division (early spring) or by cuttings (fall).

There are also many herbal uses and claims made for the feverfew plant and/or flowers. A google search on Feverfew will return many articles on its use.

White geraniums plants will lightly attract the Japanese beetle, which will consume the flower and die.

Nicandra is a Peruvian ground cherry with little pale blue flowers which grows best in shade. Many insects which eat the foliage are poisoned and die.

Pyrethrum flowers have been used as a natural pesticide, and in the 1850’s they were one of the major pesticides imported by the United States, and has been used by the Persian empire for centuries.

Pyrethrum is a perennial that does best in well draining soil. The plant will provide some protection in the garden from insects, but is most powerful if the dried flowers are ground into powder.

Marigolds, Asters and Nasturtiums not only add a dimension of color and attract beneficial insects like bees, they also have added value to repel other insects. These three flowers have been found to exude a substance into the soil that keeps down the nematode population in the immediate area even after the flowers have died.

Marigolds repel Mexican bean beetles and are a good companion for Snap Green Beans. Marigolds also help protect strawberry plants from disease. They will also help keep white flies off greenhouse tomatoes.

The nasturtium is a flower that will attract some insects, but repel others. The plant specifically attracts aphids (which attack the nasturtium instead of the protected crop). Also the nasturtium repels the white fly and squash bug.

Wooly aphids in apple trees (or other similar places) can be combated by brewing the nasturtium (like a tea) and used as a spray on the foliage with the nasturtium tea.

Also, do not bother with the odorless varieties of Marigolds, Asters and Nasturtiums. They are ineffective at providing any protection in companion gardening.

Green (Snap) Beans help all the other plants by enriching the soil with nitrogen. There is a summer trio that makes a great combination: beans, sweet corn and melons. The three plants like the same conditions warmth, rich soil and plenty of moisture. Peas, and carrots, and Basil are also good companion plants. The herb summer savory is important to keep away bean beetles, while improving the growth and flavor of the beans. However, keep the onion, chives – all the alliums away from the beans.