Thyme
Thyme is one of the herbs I use the most. Its strong flavour it can transform a myriad of dishes.
Grow your own and you'll have plants that will live for at least 3-4 years, providing you with pickable leaves all year round.
Time from seed to plate: 8 weeks
Sowing Calendar
Sow
We find Jiffy 7s the most convenient for sowing, because you'll only need a few plants, but modules also work well.
Unless you have a greenhouse, this windowsill propagating kit, which includes jiffy 7s is the ideal for getting them started.
Sow 2-3 seeds in each Jiffy, then thin out the weaker plants if more than one comes up.
Grow
Once seedlings are established plant them out leaving 6in between plants.
The strong fragrance, coupled with the woody nature of the stems makes thyme plants unattractive to virtually all pests. Happy days!
Harvest
Snip of sprigs as you need them. The plant will grow on right through the winter, giving you a steady supply of leaves all year round.
Strip the leaves off the woody stems with your thumbnail before you use them. Otherwise add a whole sprig to a dish and remove it before serving.