Thyme is a very fast-growing herb that can be easily grown from seeds or cuttings.
How do you sow thyme correctly?
When sowing thyme, fill a seed tray with potting soil and sand, moisten the substrate, scatter the seeds evenly, press them lightly and cover the tray with cling film. Place it in a bright place and keep the substrate moist.
Thyme is a light germinator
The seeds of thyme are extremely fine - a single gram of thyme seeds alone contains around 4000 grains. It is best not to sow such fine seeds directly into the bed, but rather to grow them in small pots or seed trays. This is also advisable because the grains only germinate at around 15 °C - a temperature that is rarely reached between March and May in many areas of Germany. Furthermore, thyme is a typical light germinator, i.e. H. The seeds must not be covered with soil or only covered extremely thinly.
Sowing thyme
When growing small thyme plants, you can proceed as follows:
- Fill a shallow seed tray (€35.00 on Amazon) or small pot with a mixture of potting soil and sand.
- Lightly moisten the substrate using a spray bottle.
- Now scatter the seeds as evenly as possible.
- Press the seeds lightly.
- Cover the bowl or pot with cling film (secure with a rubber band).
- Place the nursery pot on a bright windowsill.
- Keep the substrate evenly moist.
- Be careful not to wash away the seeds.
Alternatively, you can also cultivate in a cold frame - i.e. under glass - from April / May
Prick out young plants and plant them out
The thyme seeds will germinate quite quickly within a maximum of two weeks. The young plants can be transplanted after just four to five weeks. To do this, plant several plants (maximum three to four) in a larger pot. After another four weeks, the now larger plants can be added to the bed - provided there are no more night frosts to be expected. Ergo, they can be planted in the garden from mid to late May, provided you have already brought them forward in March. Plant the young thyme approximately 25 x 25 centimeters apart.
Tips & Tricks
When planting the thyme, make sure that the top edge of the ball is approximately at the same height as the top edge of the bed - thymes planted too deeply can in particular die. By the way, this planting advice also applies to purchased thyme plants.