Thyme is an excellent herb to add to your garden and one our garden is never without. Thyme is a member of the mint family and provides many benefits to those who grow this pleasant herb. There’s quite a large variety of thyme plants to choose from but for this article we will be discussing the varieties of thyme most commonly found in garden centers or home improvement stores at the start of the growing season. French, German and Lemon Thyme are some of the most common thyme varieties that are used frequently for culinary purposes, and show up frequently in local nurseries or home and garden centers at the start of the growing season.
Planting
German, French and Lemon thyme are perennial plants that grow well from zones 4-9 with a pH balance of around 7.0 and a spacing of 6 to 12 inches apart. The best planting times for thyme are around the spring and fall. German thyme is one of the more cold hardy varieties of thyme plant with ours surviving several snowy winters with no issues. Thyme plants do well in full sun and well drained soil, they even can tolerate soil that runs a bit on the dry side and still grow without much fuss. Thyme plants are also well suited to container gardening which make them great for apartments, balconies or small yards. Thyme can even be used as a decorative ground cover that you can actually eat!
Harvesting
Thyme plants can be harvested whenever you need them. Just trim as much thyme as you need for the dish your preparing or to dry it out for later use. Thyme flowers most common colors are lavender and white depending on the type of thyme you’ve planted. The plant is at its peak flavor and has the highest oil content right before the plant blooms or flowers, however, regardless of when you harvest your plant the leaves will always provide abundant flavoring for foods.
Uses
Both German and French thyme are perfect additions to stews and soups or meat dishes such as goat, beef and lamb. Lemon thyme is great for any recipe that uses seafood such as shrimp and salmon dishes. Thyme is a great herb to use for seasoning homemade salad dressings, adding to butter or sprinkling on some fresh corn along with basil, salt and pepper, we’ve even added thyme seasoning to fresh eggs!
Companion Planting
Thyme is a good companion to plant next to cabbage as it can repel cabbage worms. Other plants that will benefit from having thyme close by are eggplant, potatoes, sage, tomatoes and onions. No matter what plants you plant next to your thyme they will benefit from the close proximity as thyme helps to enhance the natural flavors of whatever foods you plant it by and it will enhance the fragrance of other herbs.
Recent Comments