Growing thyme seedlings: how to get strong and healthy bushes
If you want to harvest the aromatic Provencal herb as quickly as possible, try growing thyme seedlings. This method will accelerate the development of the spice and allow you to cut off the fragrant twigs a month earlier. Although thyme reproduces well as seeds, it grows rather slowly at a young age. Having grown the seedlings first, by the summer you will have already grown bushes, ready to be transplanted into the garden.
Garden thyme is a perennial plant, but in the northern strip it requires shelter, as it often freezes out. The seedling method will save you this hassle. You can sow the spice every year without worrying that it will hatch.
When and how to sow thyme for seedlings
Start sowing seeds at the end of March. It is not worth doing this before, because the plant has increased lighting requirements. The February seedlings will stretch very much, especially if there is no way to supplement them. And in April-May it is already quite sunny enough, so there is every chance to grow lush bushes.
Prepare a light soil mixture and small pots for seedlings. Thyme has a well-developed root system, but it is superficial and loves to “breathe”.
It is not difficult to prepare such a substrate. To do this, mix:
- leafy ground;
- sand;
- peat crumb;
- vermiculite;
- some ash.
Fill the pot with soil and scatter the seeds over the surface. You can lightly sprinkle them on top with a substrate, but it is better to sprinkle them abundantly from a spray bottle. If you cover with earth, there is a risk of not calculating and deeply "bury" the seeds. And under the stream of water, they themselves will sink to the desired depth. Now it remains only to cover the crops with a jar or film and put them in a warm and moderately lit place. At this stage, they do not need a lot of sun, moreover, it can harm - the soil will dry out quickly.
Do not forget to ventilate your greenhouse and moisten crops in time.
Growing thyme seedlings: caring for seedlings
As soon as shoots appear, remove the film and move the pot to the south window. Now the seedlings need a lot of light so that they don't stretch out. Water the seedlings as the topsoil dries out, but without fanaticism - the culture does not tolerate an excess of moisture.
After about a month, dive the grown seedlings into separate cups. Do this carefully, lifting the plant with a stick and separating it from the total mass. Place the bush in the hole in the center of the glass, cover with earth and compact. You need to water along the edge of the container, preferably from a special thin nozzle. Further watering spend in 2-3 days.
Grown thyme seedlings can be transplanted to a permanent place in the garden in late May - early June.