How to Start Your own Tea Garden Business

If you want to grow tea, it’s really quite easy. Ideally, the tea shrub can grow at its best in Zone 8 in the US but even if you live in another place, you can still grow Camellia Sinensis in a pot or in your greenhouse. You will need sandy and well drained soil.
The tea shrub prefers an acidic soil so if you want to plant it on a pot, you can add sphagnum moss to your potting mix.

How to Grow Tea

A lot of people mistake the real tea or Camellia sinensis from herbal teas. Even if you don’t have a large garden space, growing tea is possible. In fact, you can also grow tea from your balcony or planter as long as you know how to do it. The ideal region to grow tea in the US is the Midwest to the southern states. This is also known as Zone 8 and the states included in this zone usually have similar weather patterns and temperature. However, there is no need to worry if you don’t live in this regions because tea can grow almost anywhere.

You can grow tea inside a greenhouse or in a pot. This is a small shrub that can reach 1 to 2 meters high. Some shrubs tend to grow taller especially if the owner doesn’t prune it. During autumn or fall, you will notice white blossoms with delightful scent and because of this, some people plant teas for ornamental purposes as well. You will need sandy and well drained soil. The tea shrub prefers an acidic soil so if you want to plant it on a pot, you can add sphagnum moss to your potting mix.

Harvesting Tea

Harvesting will take some time. Once you start growing tea, you will have to wait for 3 long years before you can harvest the leaves. The seeds of tea are widely available in local nurseries where you can purchase them. When the leaves are ready for harvest, you can now pick them one by one. The tea leaves are going to be processed and you can create green, oolong, or black tea. For the green tea, you will need leaf buds and young leaves. The leaves need to be blot and dry. Steam the dried leaves or you can roast them for a new flavor.


Growing the tea shrub is really easy. Visit a local nursery store and ask for seeds of the tea shrub. If you are not familiar with the growth requirements, you can ask the seller for some growing tips. If you don’t live in Zone 8 and you don’t have a greenhouse, you can plant the seeds in pots. It will take 3 years before you can harvest so during winter, you will need to take the shrub inside to protect it from the frost. Don’t place the shrub near the glass window because they can still catch the frost. Take care of your plant well and in no time, you can harvest many leaves.

References

• How to Start Your own Tea Garden Business

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