Tea is about the only thing I can safely drink all day. The water in the apartment I rent tastes terrible, so I buy bottled water for drinking. If it weren't so expensive, I'd use it for all my cooking as well. I find store tea gets boring very quickly. I've always preferred loose leaf tea when I could afford it. Now that I can't really afford tea, I plan to use even more herbs to make the most of the money I spend on regular tea. And have more variety in flavors to fit every mood.
I'm hoping I can afford a couple grow lamps in the fall so my indoor stevia won't get so leggy in the winter months while I pick the fresh leaves. I nursed one stevia plant through winter and killed off most of it. Oops! I thought I'd killed it all until I saw one pop up in the planter. It grew ever so slowly. I was glad to find some stevia plants locally because I lost patience with the slow growth. It is now the same size as the plants I bought because I've kept it outside so it can get as much sun as possible before the hot summer days and nights take over.
The grow lamps will be invaluable for getting a much earlier start on my herbs, saving some seeds, and even extending the amount of time I will have to grow cold weather crops. It would be great to have a greenhouse so I don't have to try to garden in the hot sun. But I'll just have to keep dreaming while waiting to see whether I'll see the fall and can put my plans into action.
