How To Grow Thyme
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is a small perennial shrub with lots of branches and light purple to pink flowers. It's aromatic and has a pleasant, pungent, clover flavor. There are over fifty varieties used in cooking and gardening. English thyme is used most often in cooking. Growing thyme provides an anchor in an herb garden in areas where it is evergreen in winter. Thyme is also perfect for containers, either alone or in combination with plants that won’t shade it out. The flowers open in spring and summer, sprinkling the plant with tiny, two-lipped blossoms attractive to bees.
SPECIFICATION OF THYME
Common Name -Thyme
Planting Depth-1/4 inch
Seed Spacing -1 inch
Row Spacing -18 inches
Space After Thinning -8-12 inches
Days to Germination -14-28
Days to Harvest -85
Ways to Grow -Containers, Ornamental Edibles, Small Gardens
1. For a head start, plant the seeds or young plants 6 to 10 weeks before the last spring frost after the last frost. Plant in well-drained soil with a pH of about 7.0 with a slightly alkaline conditions with 9 inches apart. For best growth, the soil should be about 70ºF.
2. Add lime to the pot or ground to raise the pH if needed. Also add a slow-release fertilizer to the soil at or before planting and again each spring.
3. Mulching with limestone gravel or builder’s sand improves drainage and prevents root rot.
4. Pinching the tips of the stems keeps plants bushy, but stop clipping about a month before the first frost of fall to make sure that new growth is not too tender going into the cool weather.
GERMINATION
Use a flat tray like container about 10 inches by 15 inches (biggest or smaller your choice) 1.5 to 2 inches deep. Make sure you have plenty of holes in it for good water drainage è put the seedling mix you prepared up to almost top leaving about 0.5 inches space è now evenly spread the seeds over it after that cover the seeds with seedling mix only about 0.5 cm (half centimeter) è water it by watering can è place the container in semi shaded place.
As prepare a planting mix with the sand, soil and vermicompost =>Sprinkle diluted fungicide water (2gm in 1 liter water) after sowing the seeds. Make a hole in the potting mix with your finger=>Insert each seed in a hole as 1/3=>Place the planted pots or flats in a warm, above 60ºF (15.5ºC), sunny place=>too wet is quite dangerous for the seeds so keep the potting soil moist but not too wet until the seeds emerge, which should be in about 21 days=>cover the mixture with poly bag=> after 21 days you can remove the plastic.
Care:
Water normally and remember to trim the plants. Prune the plants back in the spring and summer to contain the growth. You can take some cuttings and plant them indoors in pots, too. If you have cold winters, remember to lightly mulch around the plants after the ground freezes.
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