Latest Update 7th April 2020.
Thyme
- Thyme is a small spreading plant with lots of small white flowers. It has always been a bit untidy in my garden as you can see in the photo, but our weather can be a bit wild at times.
- I grow it mainly as a culinary herb used fresh, or dried and blended with other herbs. It is an important ingredient in my general purpose herb mix.
- I grow it in my fruit and herb garden where it provides habitat for predatory and pollinating insects, and its a useful fill-in between the larger herbs and fruiting shrubs and trees.
- I don't usually need to worry about pests on my thyme, like most of the aromatic herbs, it seems to provide an adequate deterrent of its own.
Details.
- Variety: Thymus Vulgaris.
- Family group: Lamiaceae.
- Garden bed type: Drip line irrigation.
- Recommended soil pH. 6.0 - 6.75.
- Minimum sun per day: 3 hours.
- Plant spacings (centres): 300 mm.
- Climate: Warm temperate.
- Geography: Southern hemisphere.
Nutrition.
- This food is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol.
- It is also a
good source of Vitamin B6, Folate, Phosphorus, Potassium, and Zinc, and a very good source of Dietary
Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Calcium, Iron,
Magnesium, Copper and Manganese.
- More from nutrition data.self.com.
Growing Conditions:
- Thyme grows best in full sun.
- It prefers sandy soil but grows well in most organically actives soils.
- It grows well in hot dry conditions, and is drought tolerant.
Soil Preparation.
- Clear a space for thyme in a drip line bed, add a 60mm layer of thermal compost and cover with 50mm of straw mulch. Try not to plant new seedlings where it has been growing recently.
- Leave the bed for 4
weeks to build up worm and microbial activity.
Growing Instructions.
- Thyme is a perennial plant and I propagated it from seed in spring. It can be propagated from cuttings, but it looks a bit too fiddly for me.
- Sow thyme seeds in August on the surface of an organic seed growing mix in a mini pot, and cover lightly with the mix finely sieved.
- Soak
the mini pot for an hour in a tray containing 10mm of dilute seaweed extract (preferably in
rainwater). The liquid will move up into the soil without flooding it.
- Sink the mini pot up to its rim in a propagator. This will
keep the soil moist until the seedlings are ready to
transplant. Protect the seedlings against frost.
- Transplant the seedlings individually after
4 weeks into organic potting soil in jiffy pots, soak them in dilute seaweed extract and returned them to the propagator.
- When propagating from cuttings, choose your strongest most vigorous plant.
- Take
cuttings in spring from new shoots about 100mm long. Remove the lower leaves leaving 15mm of leaves in place at the top and plant the cuttings 50mm deep in a propagator. Water the cutting in well with dilute seaweed extract.
- The propagator's high microbial activity and constant soil moisture stimulates root growth, so I don't use rooting powder, and I only water once.
- Once the plant starts to grow vigorously, transplant it into prepared soil in your herb bed.
- Water it in and follow up with a foliar spray of aerated compost tea every 4 weeks.
- Thyme is a light feeder, however, a top dressing of home made
compost in winter is very beneficial.
- If left to
its own devices a thyme plant will become woody after a couple of
years, however, regular pruning will extend its productive life to 4 years.
- You should prune the established plant in spring after flowering. Remove the flowers including the stem, and cut the green growth back by 1/3rd. Do not cut back into old wood.
Harvesting and Storage.
- Thyme can
be harvested at any time, but don't strip the leaves too much or you could check the plants growth.
- Begin using the leaves as soon as the plant is large enough to spare
some.
- You can air-dry thyme in small, loose bunches. Once the leaves are dry, crush them and store them in an airtight container.
- I use an electric dehydrator. I remove the leaves from the stems after they are dry, and grind them down to small flakes with a mortar and pestle. I store the thyme flakes in a small airtight bottle.
Organic Pest Control.
- Greenhouse whitefly.
- Aerated
compost tea improves the plants resistance to whitefly damage.
- Control any
infestations by spraying your crop thoroughly with organic horticultural oil (Eco-oil in Australia).
- Spray again in a few days
to ensure second generation whitefly do not survive.
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