Lets Grow Thyme. Is it difficult to grow? Which variety should to grow? What is it good for? Can you grow thyme inside? Lets answer these questions.
Thyme comes from the Lamiaceae family, more commonly known as the mint family. Within that group there are hundreds of varieties. Some are used for culinary purposes, while others are ornamental making beautiful ground covers. We have probably have only heard of a handful of them. Which variety do you want to grow? Lets take a look at three of the more well know varieties.
Table of contents
Varieties of Thyme
Thymus Vulgaris also known as Common Thyme, or English Thyme.
This is probably the variety that you are most used to and have heard of. Hence the name common thyme. This plant is a low lying perennial shrub that grows to around 8 inches tall and has a mat type spread.
If it is grown in a container or on top of a wall it will trail and spill over the edge. Which I have found to be ideal. It loves the room to breathe.
If you allow it to go to flower it has small white/pale purple flower clusters that will cover the entire shrub. It is very beautiful
If you are using it for culinary purposes you wont want it to flower so it will need to be kept trimmed. We want all the plants focus to be on growing the leaves for us to cook with.
Common thyme has a really strong scent and robust flavour. Although as with any of the thyme varieties if it is grown in soil that is too heavy it will lose its fragrance.
Thymus Citriodorus commonly known as Lemon Thyme.
Lemon thyme is grown in exactly the same way as common thyme, it also grows to around the same size and has the same mat forming spread.
This variety is also edible and great to cook with, having a distinct citrus aroma and flavour.
It does milder in flavour than common thyme.
The flowers are a soft pink or pale purple. If you are wanting to use the herb for culinary purposes again like any herb you will want to cut those off.
Creeping Thyme.
This is an ornamental alpine variety. It has a very tiny leaf and beautiful flowers. You are able to create a lawn with it, which when walked on gives off the wonderful aroma that thyme has. Although, I wouldn’t recommend having the type of lawn in any high traffic areas. Creeping thyme wont handle a lot of wear and tear.
Alpine thyme or creeping thyme comes in so many different shapes and sizes. From bright green to sage green. Varigated to plain leaves. Smooth to fuzzy. It is endless.
Unlike the culinary thyme where you will probably only find common, lemon and possibly orange thyme. Nurseries and garden centres usually will stock a larger selection of creeping thyme. You will find them in a perennial ground cover section.
One of my favourites is the wooly thyme. It looks fluffy and feel so soft.
Plant them in an area where water doesn’t sit, it is crucial it has really good drainage. It will also need a good amount of sun so avoid any areas that are too shady.
If you live in an area that has hot summers then it will need some afternoon shade or at least some dappled shade.
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Growing Thyme
So what does it take to grow thyme? Is it difficult to grow?
The quick answer is no it is very easy. It just requires certain conditions to be happy.
What conditions does it require?
Like most of our favourite culinary herbs it comes from the Mediterranean. This means it will want to be in a sunny location with very good drainage.
You don’t want to plant it in an area where any water collects. It doesn’t like its feet to sit in water. If you are wanting to plant it in an area with heavy clay I would suggest adding lots of grit and sand to the area first. That will help aid with drainage. The picture above shows some common thyme that isn’t happy in its present location. It is discoloured, thin and woody.
The best tip I ever heard about growing this herb is that thyme doesn’t even like its own shade. So always keep that in mind when planting. it does not like to be over crowded with other plants around it.
If you live where you have hot summers make sure that it gets some dappled shade or at least some afternoon shade. This will save it from burning.
How to plant thyme seed direct in ground
Thyme is very easy to grow from seed. The seeds are very small so rather than planting them individually you will need to sprinkle them over the soil.
Can you sow thyme directly in the ground? Yes absolutely, if you live somewhere that has long summers and mild winters.
Sow the seeds in Spring once the soil has warmed up. Depending on where you live you should be able to do this in May. Try not to over sow the seeds because they are small that is very easy to do.
To avoid the seeds from moving around too much water the sowing area first before sowing the seeds, saturating it really well.
Sprinkle the seeds over the area you are wanting to it grow in.
There is no need to bury the seeds deeply into the soil, just a light sprinkling of soil over them is fine.
Keep them watered not letting the area dry out.
You should see your little seedings come up after around two to three weeks. If there are any clumps of seedlings you will need to thin them out. Like most plants they will grow better if they are not over crowded.
Planting seeds in trays
In a seed tray with drainage add your seed soil and water well.
Lightly sprinkle your seeds over the surface of the soil and lightly cover with more seed soil.
I like to place my seed trays into another tray that holds water. This is so I can water from below rather than having to water directly onto the trays. This will stop the seeds from moving around as much and forming clusters.
Place the tray either under a grow light or in sunny window. Keep them watered (not soaked), you never want your seeds to dry out.
In two to three weeks they should have germinated.
Once the little seedings are big enough to handle. You can repot them up individually into their own little pots or repot them together in a larger tray or pot, but with more space between them.
Thyme doesn’t tend to grow quickly like basil or parsley does, so will take some patience.
If you live in a cooler climate I would recommend growing them this way rather than directly in the ground. This way you can wait until the plant has grown large and strong enough to withstand a winter.
If you are a newby to gardening a seed starter kit like this one is perfect.
I also use a grow light to get most of my seeds going.
A heat mat like this one can also be a helpful aid to seed germination I love mine.
Can you grow common and lemon thyme plants inside?
If you have a nice sunny window spot then it will happily grow inside.
We all like pretty pots when we grow anything indoors, they become part of out decor. Most pots I come across that I like don’t have any drainage. Your plant will not like this.
What is the solution? Find a basic plastic pot that has drainage and will fit inside your pretty pot and place it inside.
Simple. I have found it so much easier to monitor my plants this way. You will be able to see if and when it needs repotting and more importantly if you get bored its easy to switch out plant.
Styles evolve. I love changing my pots and plants around.
How to harvest and store.
If you keep your plant well pruned and full of new growth then harvesting and use is very simple.
Because the stems of new growth are soft you eat them with the leaves. Finely chop the stem and leaves together and add them to your dish.
As the shrub grows and ages the stems will loose that tenderness and become woody. You wont want to eat those woody stems , so in that case you will need to strip the leaves from the stem.
If you are stripping off the leaves what I love about thyme is that the leaves are so small so it barely requires any chopping at all. In fact most of the time I just put the leaves straight into my dish.
Thyme also dries really well.
To dry it you can either cut bunches of thyme tie them up with string, hang up and leave to dry. Once it has dried I strip the leaves off and store in a sealed jar. The only downside to this is that because it is dry the stems are brittle and can end up in with the leaves.
Alternatively you can strip the stems before drying place all the leaves on a tray and set aside to dry.
Another option is to freeze it, you can do this either in water or oil using ice cube trays.
If you would like to preserve thyme in oil and create a flavoured oil, you will need to dry the thyme first. If this isn’t done you risk it going rancid and moldy. That is because of the moisture content found in fresh thyme. If you do decide on using fresh thyme in oil anyway be aware it wont last as long so be sure to use it within a month.
Cooking and its herbal uses.
In the herbal world thyme is known as an aromatic, a carminative, a nervine and expectorant. It is also antimicrobial.
So what this means is that is can help relieve flatulence, soothe and calm our nerves and can also relieve congestion. Which knowing that it is part of the mint family it makes sense it has these qualities.
Being an aromatic herb it has quite a noticeably strong fragrance and an intense flavour. When you are adding it to any dish you wont need to use much for it to make an impact.
I love using common thyme in most meat dishes whether it is beef or chicken, it is especially good in stews. Add it to a bouquet garnis when making homemade bone broths.
Lemon thyme is a fantastic compliment to chicken and fish. Because it has a milder flavour it is lovely in a salad dressing.
A few different uses for thyme include adding it to jams and jellies. Or even cakes and pastries. It is such a versatile herb to use. I recently made an apple jelly with thyme and it was lovely. Why not give it a try.
You should definitly check out my lemon sugar cookies with thyme.
I hope this has answered any questions you may have had.
Enjoy growing this wonderful herb in your own garden and using it in your recipes.
