No, my thumb hasn't gone moldy despite the rumors... I've started growing Stevia at home.

Errr... growing what you may ask?  Stevia.  It's a leafy green plant native to Central and South America that is incredibly sweet (about 300x sweeter than sugar). 

I stumbled onto Stevia a couple of years ago, and tracked down a supplier here in Germany.  I've been ordering the processed stevia (white powder) and using it in my tea and other food for quite some time now.  It has a slightly different taste than regular sugar.  Sometimes you get a faint hint of licorice taste in it if you taste is raw off the tip of your finger.  Mixed into food it just tastes sweet... very sweet.  It is not as "heavy" tasting as sugar... best to say it's an acquired taste, and given the choice I definitely prefer it over sugar.

Anyway... growing it.  I managed to find a supply of seeds and ordered a package.  The seeds are tiny.. really tiny and also almost impossible to convince to germinate.  I researched and tried a dozen different methods, sorted out the husks and grey seeds from the black ones (the black ones are supposed ot be the good ones that will germinate).  I tried planting direct in some potting soil, I tried soaking and planting etc etc.  The only successful method was to sprinkle the seeds on some wet paper towel, and put the paper towel into a plastic bag.  I set the bag on the window sill for a couple of weeks, keeping it wet, and checking for sprouts. 

It took about 6 weeks, for the first hint of green to show.  From there I carefully transplanted the little plant to a pot, and hoped it would keep growing.  The first few failed to grow... but eventually I managed to convince one to stay alive, and now... now I have a fast growing plant.  it's looking good.  Another couple months, and I'll be able to sample it

From what I read, I should be able to simply use the leaves of the plant - mixing them into my tea or food wherever I want something to be sweet.  I can either use them fresh, or I can dry the leaves. 

It's an interesting experiment, but certainly takes patience to see results.