Growing Instructions: Thyme

10 Jan

Organic Thyme

A relative of the Oregano family, they are widely used in the medicinal and culinary fields. Thyme was heavily favoured by the ancient Egyptians who used the plant during the process of mummification and added it to sacred oils for bathing.

Best sown indoors: on a sunny windowsill, anytime.

Best sown/ planted outdoors: July onwards

Instructions

Soak two of the coir pellets in a bowl of water for approximately 5 minutes until they have expanded.
Remove the coir pellets from the water and then gently squeeze them to remove the excess water.
Crumble the coir pellets into your pot and gently press down until there is a 1cm gap from the top of your pot.
Now your pot is ready for the seeds to be sown. Carefully, lightly scatter some seeds into your pot and barely cover with a thin layer of soil.
Write the name of your plant on the wooden label stick and place it in the pot.
When the seedlings are approximately 15-20 cm high, thin them out and transport them individually to additional pots.
Your Thyme plant may be kept on a sunny windowsill or moved outside. Once your plant reaches approximately 20 cm tall- if you wish to plant it outside it may be ready to begin the hardening off process, depending on the climate outside, preferably the soil temperature should be above 15 degrees Celsius (see top tips). If you wish to continue growing your plant indoors, we recommend moving it to a larger pot.
If your plant will continue the growing process outside- find a sunny spot and then dig a hole that is slightly larger than the width of the pot. Carefully place the potted plant into the soil, using your hands to tuck the plant into its new bed, pressing down gently but firmly on the soil surrounding your plant.
If you have more than 1 Thyme plant – plant them 20-25 cm apart. Thyme plants needs soil that drains well and like to be positioned outside in a spot that receives full sun to part shade.

Top Tips:

Harvest Thyme sparingly during the first year to ensure better growth. The leaves are best harvested just before the flowers start to open-this is when the flavour will be at its best.