Content
- Thyme grows on sandy and lean soil
- The optimal garden floor
- Prepare garden soil for thyme
- The optimal substrate for pot thyme
- Tips & Tricks
Thyme grows on sandy and lean soil
Like so many Mediterranean plants, thyme is a true hunger artist. Perfectly adapted to the conditions of his homeland, the subshrub develops very deep and widely branched roots, with which he gets the necessary amounts of nutrients and moisture out of the earth. However, the plant is quickly overwhelmed with nutrient-rich or acidic soils.
The optimal garden floor
Commonly, thyme thrives everywhere where other herbs surrender due to nutrient deficiency. The plant loves as thin as possible, permeable soils with a neutral to basic pH between seven and eight. Ergo, you should not necessarily put your thyme plants in humus rich soil, but mix them with proper amounts of sand or gravel. Like other Mediterranean plants, thyme is wonderful for planting an easy-care pebble bed - in such a case, you have very little work to do with the removal of weeds.
Prepare garden soil for thyme
If you have in your garden a little suitable for thyme soil, you can prepare it accordingly before planting. You can do this as follows:
If the pH of your soil - which you can easily check with commercially available test strips - is not yet within the optimum range, add some lime.
The optimal substrate for pot thyme
Pot thyme also needs loose and sandy soil, and you still need to ensure a good drainage. Waterlogging should be prevented in any case, as this leads to root rot and thus to the death of the plant. You can achieve a good drainage by filling small pebbles or expanded clay into the pot as the lowest layer. In addition, the pot - if possible clay or ceramic - should have a drain hole in the bottom and stand on a saucer. Plant the thyme once a year in fresh substrate.
Tips & Tricks
Fertilize your thyme with lime once a year. However, if possible, do not use a fertilizer that is heavily nitrogen-containing, as this causes the plant to become contaminated - nitrogen primarily stimulates growth.