Growing Thyme

This post is another request from a reader. I don't know tons about Thyme but I have had moderate success with it and have learned a bit about it's growing habits. Hope this helps you out HM....

Of all the herbs, I like Thyme the best. I like it because it holds it's flavor well in cooking and it blends great with other things like garlic, tomatoes and my favorite oil, olive. It also goes well with cheese, eggs, meat marinades and bread. Thyme weathers the winter well with a little bit of straw around it for protection. Thyme likes to be almost neglected, the more you tend it and mess with it, the worse it does. Thyme prefers to be drier than everything else and grows well dry. Damp soils make mold and rot the roots. It also likes poor soil to the richer potting soils or nutrient heavy composted garden soil. A full sun lover, it thrives in containers in sunny windows. The only pest I have in southern Illinois is those tiny little red ants. They seem to like the Thyme and nest in and around the plants occasionally killing them off. I suspect some root disturbance or maybe they are eating the plant.

The only other trouble I ever have with Thyme is when the soil is too wet like it is now with all the rain we've had this past week. Sometimes it makes it, sometimes it doesn't. Thankfully, Thyme starts easily from seed, just sprinkle it on some soil and barely cover it. Lightly mist the soil and sprouts in about a week if kept in a warm, sunny spot.

Hope this covers growing Thyme... happy gardening!