Thyme to Harvest
I often see people on social media who want to start gardening but are overwhelmed by all the information out there and can’t seem to figure out where to start. My advice is usually the same: plant an herb box.
When you first start gardening you need an easy win to keep you interested. My first year trying anything edible I started with cilantro not realising that it had a long taproot and my container was too small, or that I had to fertilise anything, it quickly turned pink and died in direct sunlight. The following year I tried a container of mint and a container of lemon balm which are basically impossible to kill (ask any gardener who accidentally planted them in the ground). I was hooked and the following spring ordered a big raised planter with 8 sections for herbs.
I’ve had pretty good luck with parsley, chives, chervil, lavender, and even green onions. But the one thing that keeps coming back is thyme. I wasn’t too sure it would survive to be honest. My first few sprigs came up in June 2023 and they didn’t look that hardy. But they grew and grew all through winter when everything else had died from the frost. Even the super cold snap of February 2024 (it got down to -29 Celsius where I live which is unheard of) didn’t deter the thyme from growing.
And growing.
And growing.
I was hacking down fistfuls and roasting breakfast potatoes with them daily in the spring. And still the thyme kept growing. Another cold snap and hail storm in April came, and I swear the thyme doubled in size.
By June it was getting ridiculous so I made the decision to drag out my food dehydrator and try my hand at storing some for the winter. My food guide said to spread it out on racks and set to 105 F and it should take 2-8 hours. Well, it took 14 hours. Then I spent another 3ish hours (well, 3 episodes of Bravo’s Summer House) to separate all the leaves from the stems.
All in all it was incredibly worth it and looking at the garden box outside I’m probably going to have to do another batch soon. That or come up with a ton of recipes to use it fresh. The only thing I might do differently in the future is plant a whole box to go with thyme so I could have my own Herbes de Provence blend.
English Thyme
Thymus vulgaris
Perennial
I purchased my seeds from West Coast Seeds, here is their description:
This woody little evergreen plant spreads steadily over the years and has pretty pink flowers which bees love. English Thyme seeds plants grows to heights of 30cm (12"). Plants do well in containers, and they're drought tolerant, so consider them for xeriscaping. Cut thyme back by a third at the end of the season to encourage lots of spring growth and flower set.
