Orange thyme
Originally from the Mediterranean region orange thyme is ideal for duck, dessert & carrot recipes.
It has a strong citrus flavour with no after taste.
It is very easy to grow but takes a long time to grow – from seed to harvest take about 365 day (1 year) and will be about 20 to 30 cm high –
More info in our ‘Where to buy Thyme‘ article
This article will cover:
- How to grow orange thyme at home
- What is orange thyme used for in recipes
- Examples orange thyme recipes
Taking them in turn:
1. How to grow orange thyme at home
The plants & seeds are very easy to grow and look after.
The plants will grow to 20cm tall and makes good ground cover and for border edges. It will also looks good in containers and hanging baskets.
There are 2 ways to grow orange thyme at home:
Option 1 – grow from seed.
This is a very cheap option but takes a bit of time.
The first step is to get the seeds. Not often mentioned but if you simply add the seeds into a bowl of water for 30 minutes to 1 hour they will start quicker then simply putting them in soil.
The next stage is to put the seeds in the soil. A very simple way is to fill a plant pot (or a few) with soil, then add the seeds and sprinkle a bit of soil on top. The seeds will germinate 7 to 21 days.
Thin to 30 cm between plants. Then simple put them somewhere warm and sunny and wait for them to grow.
Option 2 – get plug plants or a whole plant.
This is a lot easier and quicker.
If you buy plug plants (You can order them online ) then simply repot them when they get bigger.
And the advantage is that they are far quicker to use.
Thyme tends to be best suited to well drained soil and full sun. But once established it just keeps going & going.
How to grow orange thyme using Hydroponics or Aquaponics.
Thyme is one of the most popular herbs to grow using hydroponics – as it will be ready to be harvested quicker than planted in soil.
New to hydroponics? – Top 5 hydroponic kits for beginners
When using a plug plant it will take about 5 to 7 weeks before harvesting
In addition, whether using hydroponics or aquaponics you will be able to grow it all year around
2. What is orange thyme used for in recipes
It will have small aromatic green leaves with a lovely citrus smell. And can be used in any recipes to give a lovely citrus thyme aroma.
For example the citrus orange scented leaves can be used in roasts, stews, soups. Anywhere you would use Thyme
3. Example Orange Thyme recipes
For example it is lovely for use in recipes like:
Or below are some of the recipes we have used it for – we will be adding more in a short while.
Lactose free lemon thyme sauce
Orange thyme sauce
.
More information
Both the plants and seeds are Available from Amazon
Lovely flavour and a great ingredient. Only reason I haven’t scored it higher is that it takes such a long time to grow