Companion planting is a great way to benefit your herbs, vegetables and other plants while making sure you get the best from the space that you have. Thyme is a great companion plant for several other herbs, vegetables and other plants, but it also shouldn’t be planted next to certain ones. I’ll cover more details about what companion planting is and its benefits of it before talking about what to look for when choosing companion plants for thyme. In this article, I’ll cover specifically the best Thyme companion planting combinations, what to plant with Thyme and what not to plant near Thyme.
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What is Companion Planting?
Companion planting is a relatively new concept in gardening. It refers to the concept of planting certain species together so that each plant will benefit the others. Some plants go really well together, while others don’t.
Companion planting includes planting certain species that have similar needs – like similar requirements for watering and sunlight. But it also means considering making sure that those needs are not too similar, to ensure that plants do not end up competing for resources.
It’s important when considering companion planting that you don’t choose to co-locate plants that will directly hurt other plants. For example, mint grows using sturdy, hard, underground rhizomes. You wouldn’t want to plant mint with something like rosemary which has a delicate underground root system.
In terms of gardening technology, companion planting is a relatively new concept in the world of gardening. Most of the research and experimentation that has been done has been performed on “farming” crops, which works well for us here at LetsGrowCook – as we focus on plants that you can eat!
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What are the Benefits of Companion Planting?
Companion planting is great because it allows you to grow multiple species close to each other in your garden. The idea of companion planting is also that all the species work together to support each other so that you have a better, healthier garden.
There are many ways in which companion planting can benefit your garden whether you’re using thyme or other plants:
- Certain plants (like thyme) deter pests and attract pollinators
- Ground-covering plants (like thyme) prevent the growth of weeds
- Some plants will provide extra nutrients to the plants around them
- Taller plants can provide shade to shorter plants
You can read more about the specifics of companion planting in my guide here, and read on for the detail of what to plant with thyme.
Companion Planting Thyme: What to Consider When Looking for What to Plant with Thyme
Thyme is one of the best plants to companion plant with other plants. Thyme is a very easy plant. It’s hardy and can happily grow in most conditions.
It’s used to surviving on a lack of nutrients, so it’s not likely to deprive your other plants of the nutrients they need. Really, thyme is the perfect companion plant because it gives more than it takes.
Thyme Companion Planting Guide: Pests & Pollinators
One thing that makes thyme so great is that it is a strong-smelling plant. It smells and tastes similar in a way to mint, which is a great plant for repelling pests. Similarly, thyme is also great at repelling pests.
If you’re growing plants in your garden that are susceptible to pests, plant some thyme alongside them. You just might find that your plants are protected by the thyme.
The aroma of thyme is great. It smells sweet, and it is a very pleasant smell for us as humans. At the same time, it gets rid of pests. The smell may be so strong that they become confused and are unable to find the plant they really want to feast on. Other times, the smell may be so strong that the pests simply choose to stay far away from it.
Thyme is very good at deterring animals and pests like deer, cabbage worms, corn earworms, flea beetles, and tomato hornworms.
Not only does thyme smell good to us and bad to pests, but it smells good to pollinators, too. Thyme is great for luring in bees who will pollinate the thyme as well as all the other plants in your garden.
Thyme Companion Planting Guide: Growing Conditions
For plants to work well together as companion plants, they need to have similar growing conditions requirements, but it’s also usually best if the plants aren’t too similar.
If they are too similar, they will often end up competing with each other, so then neither will thrive. But when they are just similar enough, they can grow well together.
The biggest requirement for growing thyme is that it needs well-draining soil. Thyme doesn’t do well with a lot of extra moisture in the soil or compost. It is actually better to underwater thyme than it is to overwater it.
Overwatering thyme can cause the plant to wilt and develop root rot. So, thyme probably isn’t going to work well with crops that need really moist soil.
Need to know more about the best compost for your plants and herbs, then read more in our guide to composting here.
Similarly, sunlight is very important to thyme. Ideally, thyme needs to have 6-10 hours of full sunlight every day. It can survive in partial shade, but it’s not going to grow as well as it would in full sun.
Thyme is also a low-growing plant that creeps across the ground. Because it grows low to the ground, it can be difficult to get enough sunlight when it’s planted around other crops. You should be careful to grow plants that are not excessively tall. You don’t want plants that are going to produce too much shade over your thyme plants.
Thyme Companion Planting Guide: Weeds
Plants that are susceptible to weeds will also do well with thyme as a companion plant. Thyme grows low to the ground and spreads out. Because it creates such great ground cover, it prevents weeds from popping up.
This will not only help your plants save nutrients, but it will make your garden look nicer. Instead of having to pull the weeds by hand, you can simply grow thyme and let it do the work for you.
Not only does thyme prevent weeds, but it also helps keep the soil moist. This is important for some companion plants that need moister soil to grow.
Best Companion Plants for Thyme
Thyme is one of the best plants to use in companion planting. Here is what grows well with thyme:
- Potatoes – read about growing potatoes here
- Shallots
- Tomatoes – my top 10 secrets to better tomato growing guide is here
- Strawberries – here’s how to grow strawberries in bags
- Aubergines
- Roses
- Blueberries
- Cabbage
- Lavender
Plant Potatoes with Thyme
Thyme is a great companion to potatoes because potatoes tend to attract potato beetles. In turn, thyme will attract parasitic wasps that eat the beetles, therefore protecting the potatoes. Thyme also helps potatoes to taste better.
Plant Shallots with Thyme
Shallots work well with thyme because the herb helps to enhance the shallots’ flavour. Thyme also works to deter worms that may feed on the shallots.
Plant Tomatoes with Thyme
Can you plant thyme with tomatoes? Oh yes. Tomatoes are at extreme risk of hornworms who will feast on them. Thyme works to repel these pests while also enhancing the tomato’s flavour.
Additionally, if you have a problem with white mould around your tomatoes, thyme can help get rid of them and helps the tomatoes defend themselves. Like growing Tomatoes? My guide here has 10 fabulous tips for growing tomatoes.
Plant Strawberries with Thyme
Because strawberries are so sweet, they’re often targeted by many pests. Thyme is a great companion plant because it helps prevent these pests from going after the strawberries.
Thyme also works well to suppress weeds when planted near strawberries. It also will help keep the ground moist, something that is important for strawberries. My guide to growing strawberries is here.
Grow Aubergines with Thyme
Thyme acts as a great deterrent to garden moths that like to go after aubergine.
Grow Roses near Thyme
Honestly, if you MUST grow flowers in the garden, then roses are a great option, but Roses are often in danger from pests like aphids and blackflies, but thyme works to deter these pests.
Grow Blueberries with Thyme
Blueberries need pollination, and thyme can help with that. Thyme will use its attractive scent to attract honeybees which will pollinate the blueberries.
Plant Cabbage & the Cabbage Family near Thyme
Thyme works really well with cabbage and other cabbage family crops like it. It helps to deter pests like cabbage worms, cabbage moths, cabbage loopers, flea beetles, and aphids. Thyme can be planted around cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi.
Grow Lavender close to Thyme
Thyme doesn’t necessarily offer any benefits to lavender, but it does grow well alongside it. Lavender is a herb from the Mediterranean, just like thyme is. Because of this, they both have very similar growing conditions and do well together.
What you should NOT plant near Thyme
However, there are some plants that you shouldn’t grow with thyme:
- Chives
- Basil – read my guide to growing basil here
- Coriander – you can find out how to grow coriander here
Don’t grow Chives near Thyme
Thyme does best in soil that is sandy and well-draining. Alternatively, chives need moist soil, so these two plants don’t do well together.
Don’t grow Basil near Thyme
Basil does best when it’s planted with vegetables rather than herbs. It doesn’t work well with herbs, so thyme should not be planted with it.
Don’t grow Coriander near Thyme
Like chives, coriander does best with soil or compost that is moist rather than dry. For this reason, coriander and thyme don’t work well together.
Final Words on Thyme Companion Planting
Companion planting is a great idea because different plants can work together to help each other be healthier. Chives, basil, and coriander do not do well with thyme, and they should never be planted with thyme. Still, thyme helps a lot more plants than it hurts. Thyme grows really well with potatoes, tomatoes, shallots, blueberries, roses, and others. Thyme produces a strong scent that is pleasing to us and is pleasing to pollinators as well. It helps bring pollinators into the garden to encourage plant growth for things like blueberries. And of course, thyme prevents the growth of weeds, which is in itself a major benefit.
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