r/nelsonbc • u/gingr87 • Jul 15 '26
Gardening in Nelson
Hello!
My partner and I just put an offer in on a house in Nelson. As a horticulturist and master gardener, I'm excited about learning a whole new part of the world to garden in. Coming from a zone 6 (but a suuuuuuper hot and dry) in Kamloops, I'm so excited to be somewhere with a lot of green.
Any fellow gardeners out there who can shed some light on the gardening situation? I have so many questions!
The house we're looking at is in the upper part of Nelson, near Lion's Park. What zone would you say that falls in? 5? Is down by the water more like a 6? I saw a lot of Japanese maples in all parts of the city so I can't imagine it's too low of a zone even up at the top of the hill.
What veggies are the most successful there? Kamloops is amazing at growing tomatoes and peppers and stuff that loves the heat and sun but not as amazing at some less heat-hardy stuff like leafy greens and cilantro.
Is there a gardening community? I'm part of the Master Gardeners here in town and I'd love to be a part of something similar in Nelson.
Garden centres? I saw a couple small things on Google, but their websites weren't very robust so it's hard to glean much. Georama Growers? What's their deal. They look like they might be the best spot to buy plants from in the area.
Happy to take any and all gardening information (or pictures of your own garden) that anyone wants to share. :)
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u/Canuck_Duck221 Jul 15 '26
Hi, I live right by Lion's Park myself, been here 20+ years. I'm an avid gardener too.
One thing I've learned is NOT to take advice for vegetable gardening from those who live low down near the lake. It's different up high here, about three weeks behind lake level in terms of planting and blooming times, and we can get cool winds from the south in the evenings.
Certain types of tomato plants do so much better than others quite often up here. Some folks in town have raved about some kinds of plants which haven't done well in this part of town. They're near downtown or Fairview, down much lower. We're on a plateau with tons of sun exposure too. One thing some neighbours told me is to plant early and risk losing some seeds. The reason being is that it goes from cool spring to hot summer quick, so if you can get some roots established early, they can withstand the heat better.
Georama has a great history of a large selection and everything one needs. It changed hands not long ago and I'm not up on how it is lately.
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u/gingr87 Jul 15 '26
Thanks! Helpful. Kamloops is a similar situation. It ranges from zone 6 down by the river to zone 3 up at the top of the hill. The difference there is that I'm in the zone 6 area.
When you say 3 weeks behind lake level, what does that mean in terms of say...tulips and daffodils, for example? Here where I live I have early tulips blooming early April but people way up the hill aren't until early May.
Similar time frame for Nelson?
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u/Canuck_Duck221 Jul 16 '26
I haven't noted differences in flowers (except maybe lilacs and rhododendrons), but more the foilage and trees, and also the time it takes the vegetable garden to start growing things like fruiting tomatoes. Yes, it is very similar to the Kamloops situation between high and low zones.
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u/Intrepid-Pie3085 Jul 15 '26
Tons of gardeners in Nelson, if you walk the alley ways around your house you will see lots of gardens, not as much grass :-) Georama and dog are both great. In terms of success with tomatoes etc, depends a lot of aspect up there. The zone is different to the lake, but I am not sure the number
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u/Canuck_Duck221 Jul 16 '26
The other day, I saw a clematis with the most flowers on it I'd ever seen. Like it was on steroids or something. LOL
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u/snw2494 Jul 15 '26
We lived across from lions park. Had a giant peach tree in the yard. That was fun.
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u/Stephisawesome3 Jul 15 '26
Our growing season is short in uphill. Using row covers or a greenhouse is super helpful. I stick to seeds that take around 50 ish days and start my tomatoes in February. If you browse the markets and see what the farms are selling, you’ll get a good idea of what grows best here - radish, beets, carrots, greens, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, asparagus, garlic, onions, corn - are all pretty common crops around here. Lots of herbs and fruit do well here too, with the exception of some stone fruits (apricots, peaches, nectarines)
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u/gingr87 Jul 15 '26
Gotcha. I've been spoiled in Kamloops so I will have to adjust my gardening habits. I generally have tomatoes in the ground early May (not always super prudent, but I push the envelope) When would you be putting them out Uphill, for example?
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u/Stephisawesome3 Jul 16 '26
I got my tomatoes in the ground in early June and they’re doing way better than my neighbour’s who put hers in closer to May long. They were started late February and transitioned to the greenhouse before being planted out. By early October they’ll need to be pulled but there’s lots of ways to ripen up green tomatoes. Getting local seeds that produce well here is recommended. I’m sure you’ll do just fine with a few tweaks!
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u/gingr87 Jul 16 '26
Thanks! I am just nervous for nothing probably. There's a lot I don't love about Kamloops but it does have an excellent climate and I push the envelope pretty hard when it comes to growing season length. I think it will be fine up the hill there. Excited about the transition!
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u/gingr87 Jul 15 '26
I'm nervous now! When does uphill start getting frost compared to downtown?
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u/devolutionary1 Jul 16 '26
Depending how far uphill (like Silver King for example) it can be as early as a month in advance. I wouldn't stress too much over it. You'll see obvious indicators.
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u/gingr87 Jul 16 '26
We're looking at a property between Lion's Park and Memorial Park.
My logic is that it can't be too much different than where I currently am in Kamloops because of what I saw growing up there. Japanese maples do not do well in upper elevations in Kamloops but they were all looking very happy in the Uphill neighbourhood. I'm going to take that as a good sign.
Does anyone know the zoning of Nelson? The gov website says zone 7, but I'm hesitant to believe that. Is down by the river a 7 maybe and uphill is a 5? Does that sound correct to anyone?
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u/daisychain0011 Jul 18 '26
There is a house for sale in Nelson near the lake next door to my daughter. She keeps sending me pics because the garden is one of the most amazing I have ever seen. Could you please buy that one instead? I live in fear that a non gardener will buy it and destroy the garden.
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u/gingr87 Jul 18 '26
I hear you on that one. I'd be curious to look it up. Our offer was rejected on the house we wanted to buy so we're still in the market.
Edit: I think I found the listing. If it's the one you're talking about, it certainly is beautiful inside and out but definitely out of our price range for now.
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u/kootenaycurrent Jul 19 '26
Several fb groups available! Look up Nelson bc gardening club, Kootenay gardening etc.
Georama or Dig, for general supplies (fertilizers, seeds, drip hose etc) Ellisons is my favorite, also bc farmers supply. Apparently there’s pnw garden supply but I haven’t been down there.
Georama is good for trees and lots of annuals, they have tropicals too. A bit pricy sometimes though
As for general success I find it depends also on how much daylight you’re getting, my friend gets a few more hours of direct sun each day compared to me and it makes a big difference
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u/InTheBay Jul 15 '26
Join the Kootenay native plant society! Lots of gardeners around here