Saflax - Common Thyme - Thymus vulgaris - 200 seeds - Healthy through every season of the year – a blessing to your bronchial tubes. A nice gift for good friends - or for yourself. A small gift box (10 x 10 x 10 cm) with a pot, a dome lid made of biodegradable PLA for the ideal greenhouse climate, germ-free dried growing substrate and of course the seeds you have selected. Worth knowing: The Common Thyme is a perennial, low-growing spice, herbal and medicinal plant that grows not more than 40 cm. Its leaves bring out a strong aromatic fragrance when ground. From May until October it produces light-purple coloured blossoms. Thyme is used as a spice in the Mediterranean kitchen and as a medicinal herb to help with coughs and sneezes as well as stomach trouble. Historically, it is mentioned by Plinius in the antique, and later also by Hildegard of Bingen. . Active agents: A Thyme tea is recommended with colds - just douse either three teaspoonsful of fresh, or one teaspoonful of dried leaves with 250 ml of hot (but not boiling) water, let the brew simmer for about 10 minutes, strain the tea and take it in with small gulps. A tea-mix with English Plantain and liquorice root has proven to be effective as well. A stronger tea is nicely suited for inhaling. A cup of tea before or after meal will also facilitate the digestion of fat-laden dishes, and it is even better to spice up the meals directly with Thyme. Especially meat will get a strong aroma with Thyme added. For using the herb in the kitchen, it doesn’t make too much of a difference, whether you use fresh or dry leaves since the Thyme leaves become even more aromatic when they are dried. Natural Place: Originally, the Common Thyme comes from the western European Mediterranean region. Cultivation: Seeding directly outdoors can be done between mid April and end of June. Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. The Common Thyme is a light germinator and only needs to be slightly pressed onto moist potting compost or herbal earth. Usually it takes two to three weeks until germination. From beginning of May, the small seedlings can be planted out, preferably in soil mixed with about 40% of sand. Place: Thyme prefers a dry, warm and sunny place for cultivation. Care: The Common Thyme develops deep reaching tap roots, and needs a rather tall pot for tub cultivation. Fertilizing with fluid organic fertilizer is only necessary in matured plants. The Common Thyme usually endures longer dry periods without a problem. However, the plant should be watered plentiful during very hot and sunny days. The leaves develop the strongest aroma close to blossoming and contain the most essential oil when harvested during midday. The herb can easily be stored through drying or freezing. During Winter: The plant needs some frost-protection on the root area during winter. The Common Thyme will sprout anew from the lignified parts in next year. It is recommended pruning the whole plant back rather strongly in spring until the lignified parts. This will facilitate budding of the new fine shoots. Bonsai: No Picture credits: Because of technical limitations links are shown as text. 55220-thymus-vulgaris-seed-package-front-german.jpg - © Greenmars - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 15220-thymus-vulgaris-cultivation-instruction-german.jpg - Frank Laue - © Saflax - saflax.de/copyright 15220-17-Thymus-vulgaris.jpg - Greenmars - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -