Thyme is a delicious, healthy and versatile herb. It's an aromatic shrub and it originates from the Mediterranean Area. It has straight and upright stems with little greyish-green leaves and it flowers with little pink flowers. It's a small, Evergreen, aromatic shrub that starts to become wood-like from the second year after sowing. Thyme attracts bees and other beneficial insects.
Thyme is healthy and versatile. Thyme contains a.o.: vitamin A, B6, B11, C, E and K. And the minerals potassium, iron, calcium, manganese, magnesium and selenium. It also contains a large amount of flavonoids antioxidants like: zea-xanthine, lutein, pigenin, luteolin, naringenin and thymosin and a large amount of the amino acid tryptophan. Thyme is delicious in combination with: lamb, chicken, beef, pork, chocolate, cinnamon, garlic, goat cheese, onions, lemon, oranges, tomato, white fish, eggs, cheese, pasta and potatoes. Thyme is also widely used in sauces, stews, stir fry dishes, oven dishes, pasta dishes, marinades, with game dishes, in soups, salads, potato dishes, egg dishes (omelette), desserts, vegetable dishes and in herb butter. Thyme is also an important part of Provencal herbs and in a Bouquet Garni. Thyme can be cooked in dishes. Thyme is used both fresh and dried. Dried Thyme is much stronger in flavour. You can use the leaves of Thyme or use Thyme in its entirety to add to your dishes. Thyme is also used to make herbal tea. You can use this tea against cold, cough, sore throat and to make your health better. You can also add Thyme to a foothbath or a herbal bath. Thyme helps against cold, against fatigue and it's relaxing. Hardy perennial. Height: 30 - 40 cm.
Indoor sowing: March - April
Outdoor sowing: May - June
Germination: 10 - 15 days
Germination temp.: 18 - 20 °C
Sowing depth: ½ cm
Planting distance: 23 - 28 cm
Plant position: sunny
Harvest period: June (see text below)
Sow indoors from March till April. Sow in trays filled with moist pottingsoil. Sow sparingly and shallow and cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. Thyme is a light germinator. The seeds need a lot of warmth to germinate. Cover the trays with a lid to retain the moisture. Keep the temperature as even as possible and don't let the temperature drop during the night. Remove the lid, when the seedlings emerge. Put the seedlings, when they're large enough to handle, in seperate pots. Harden these pots of for about 14 days in the sun during the day, from the beginning of May. Put the young plants on a sunny plot after this period, when there's no longer any danger of nightfrost. Keep about 23 - 28 cm apart.
Sow outdoors from the middle of May, when there's no longer any danger of nightfrost. Sow in rows about 45 cm apart. Sow sparingly and shallow. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. Thin the seedlings, when they're about 5 - 7 cm in size to about 23 - 28 cm surrounding the plants. Put Thyme on a sunny plot with sandy, lime rich soil with good drainage.
Harvest Thyme in the first year after sowing, only once. After this you can harvest Thyme in the second year after sowing twice. First in June and for the second time not later than end of August. Cut the branches of Thyme of with scissors. Cut regularly to promote the growing of new leaves and to promote the branches to become wood-like.
