The right approach at the right time

The right harvest time

Harvest the leaves either in the late morning or at noon after the dew has evaporated from the leaves that have leaves They have the most flavor immediately before flowering and also contain the highest concentrations of the valuable essential substances at this point in time Oil. If you Harvest blossoms, pick them at noon in dry weather when the flowers begin to open fully.

Collect seeds

Gather the seeds on a warm and dry day when they are tough and ripe. You can dry them out and keep them in a paper bag over the winter until you can eventually sow them in early spring. That way you can use your Grow thyme plants yourself and do not have to constantly buy new seeds or young plants. In addition, thyme can be propagated very well via cuttings, cuttings and also by division.

Cut thyme

Thyme is a perennial plant and, as such, lignifies over time. For this reason, regular harvesting of the plant is also a form of care that counteracts lignification and thus blinding. Therefore, make sure that

Prune thyme evenly - after all, it should keep its beautiful, bushy shape - and above all remove older shoots. Do not cut into the woody parts, as new branches will usually not grow from them. Harvest regularly, as this will keep the plants compact and bushy and also encourage new, fresh and flavorful shoots. The actual shape cut finally takes place in spring.

The best place for a herb garden

If possible, do not lay your herb garden too far from the kitchen. It is much more pleasant to simply open the window or just step in front of the kitchen door and a handful To harvest fresh thyme or other aromatic herbs than to go to the back of the garden in the pouring rain to run. Thyme makes itself also in buckets very good, because the Mediterranean plant likes the well-drained conditions in such planters. It is entirely possible to have a useful and appealing herb garden in small planters put on the herbs that are easily accessible on a windowsill in the sun all year round bring forth.

Store harvested thyme properly

You should either use thyme that has just been harvested immediately or, if you do not need it immediately after picking, Preserve as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the valuable essential oils will evaporate and the herb will lose both its aromatic and medicinal properties. Therefore, make sure that your harvested herbs are stored loosely and that sufficient air can circulate around them so that they do not dry out before use or use. Further processing squashed, crushed or otherwise damaged. Traditional wicker baskets are ideal for this purpose.

Tips & Tricks

The active ingredients that naturopaths use for medicinal purposes are perennial Herbs like thyme are usually highest in the second and third year of standing, after which the concentration decreases off again. Therefore, a thyme plant should not be cultivated for longer than three to four years if possible.

IJA