Creeping Thyme

[vikkib]

I've got a raised step area in front of my greenhouse which at the moment is just a sandy mess! It was meant to be slabbed but that never happened.

I'd like to pop a couple of slabs directly in front of the greenhouse door and grow creeping thyme over the rest instead of having it all paved and I'm just wondering what the minimum soil depth required for a low growing creeping thyme is.

I've read on a couple of sites about 8-10" but I'm sure I've seen it growing through cracks in paving so I was wondering if I could get away with removing the top two or three inches of sandy stuff and replacing that with some MPC to grow the thyme in?

[Martin H]

Thyme likes it dry. As long as it can search out moisture deep under the sand it'll be fine.

I would just rake in a bit of MPC and sow seed direct into the ground around your slabs. Keep it reasonably well watered until the weather turns.

[Alison]

I have a section of my path which doesn't have any paving slabs and I've grown creeping in thyme in there for years. The plants had begun to get a bit iffy looking so I sowed some more this spring in modules. They look very well and I planted them out last weekend. So far so good. It is open ground but a bit iffy due to the rest of the path being laid on sand and cement but it seems to do well and only needs a bit of trimming now and again.

[vikkib]

That's great; thanks both!

I've got one plant from a local nursery which I was planning on dividing into three or four and popping into a seed tray of MPC each to get them going a bit while I sort out the area so hopefully I can give them a head start.

Will look out for some seeds too!

: )