Growing Thyme

Growing thyme is such a delight! A garden of thyme plants with all their wonderful fragrances, colors, and leaf forms is a welcome sensation to your senses.

Make sure to plant a sampler of your favorite varieties including creeping thyme, english thyme, lemon thyme, orange thyme, and silver thyme.

These spreading plants also make attractive groundcovers along pathways.

Thyme is a good source of iron and is widely used in cooking. The herb is a basic ingredient in Arab (Lebanese, Libyan, Syrian, etc.), Indian, Macedonian, Italian, French, Albanian, Persian, Portuguese, Spanish, Greek, and Turkish cuisines, and in those derived from them. It is also widely used in Caribbean cuisine.

Thyme is not just a culinary herb, but has other uses such as homemade oils, cosmetics, crafts, insect repellents, and is used for medicinal purposes.

Description

Thyme is a perennial herb that grows 6 to 15 inches tall, depending on the species and cultivar. Thyme grows in zones 5 to 9.

Flowers: Clusters of tiny pink to purple tubular blooms at the stem tips in midsummer.

Leaves: Most of the thymes have small, narrow, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long leaves with pale, hairy undersides and smooth edges. The stems become woody with age and may retain their leaves through the winter months.

Flavor and fragrance: Most cultivars have a strong, slightly sharp flavor and aroma.

How To Grow

When to plant: When Growing thyme, sow five to eight seeds per pot, eight to ten weeks before your last spring frost date. Transplant the seeds to the garden a week before that date. Many cultivars do not come true from seed; buy these as plants. Layer stems in late spring to early summer, take cuttings in the spring, and divide the plants in spring or fall.

Where to plant: Prefers full sun but will tolerate partial shade.

Soil and fertility: Plant in well-drained light soil of low to moderate fertility. Excess nitrogen increases susceptibility to fungal diseases.

Plant spacing: Allow 1 foot between groups of plants.

Pests: Spider mites

Diseases: Root rot, leaf spot

Harvesting

When to harvest: Harvest the leaves in the morning whenever the plants are not in bloom.

How to harvest: Snip off the stem tips. When collecting larger quantities for drying, cut the entire plant back to 2 inches above the soil just before it blooms. Take only branch tips for the rest of the season.

Drying: Enclose bunched stems upside down in paper sacks and hang them to air dry, or place the stems on the fruit leather insert of a dehydrator.

Freezing: Freeze sprigs of thyme on a baking sheet and then store them in an airtight freezer container. You can also freeze in butter or ice cubes.

Uses

Cooking: Thyme goes with almost everything. Fresh leaves are a nice addition to salads. Try it fresh or dried with seafood, poultry, vegetables, legumes, cheese, eggs, rice, and tomato sauces. Frozen sprigs are also handy for soups or stews.

Oils: Use thyme to flavor your favorite cooking oil.

Medicinal: An infusion of thyme settles the stomach.

Cosmetic: Add thyme to bathwater for a refreshing bath. It has antiseptic qualities that make it especially good for raw, and rough skin.

Crafts: Add thyme to potpourris for a clean, almost piney scent.

Insect repellent: Growing thyme is excellent for repelling insects.