Starting a Herb Garden in British Columbia
Answered by: Inge Poot
Questin from: M K Hasan

I am keen on staring a herb garden in British Columbia, Canada. However I do see some problems, mainly:

1. There are very few sunny days here, and herbs need sun, right?

You can probably grow most of the herbs, but you will have to make sure your drainage is excellent, because the constant rain is more of a problem than the few days of sunshine. The lack of sunshine will make the herbs less intense in flavour and they may be reluctant to flower, but the latter is not a problem if you use the herbs for cooking and not for ornamental use.

2. The soil is acidic and will not support herb growing.

Lime the soil on a regular basis. It is easier to up the pH than to lower it.

3. I am new to this and want to establish this as a business too, not sure about which herbs to choose, or grow in a greenhouse.

Any herbs that rot in all the rain would do better in a greenhouse. Basil may find the cool temperatures a problem and would benefit from greenhouse growing. I cannot give you precise help, because our growing conditions are quite different. I would suggest you try at least one plant of each variety out of doors and one plant under cover for a year and then make your decision based on how they fared during the growing season.



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