Feeding my redworms. You can see one on top of the blended green matter. The rest are hiding from the light.

Sorry to divert from the focus on micros but I have a question on thyme.
I must not be using the right soil as I kill my potted thyme every year by drying it out during last summer, hence no desired indoor grow for me. Based on your success with enriching your soil, maybe something not so "lean" is in order here.
Any idea what variety you are growing? I've tried what was labeled as common thyme and also a purchased generic plant in 4 inch pot. Both gave it up under my care :(


- Lisa

[QUOTE=greenthumbomaha;719357]Sorry to divert from the focus on micros but I have a question on thyme.
I must not be using the right soil as [B]I kill my potted thyme every year by drying it out [/B]during last summer, hence no desired indoor grow for me. Based on your success with enriching your soil, maybe something not so "lean" is in order here.
Any idea what variety you are growing? I've tried what was labeled as common thyme and also a purchased generic plant in 4 inch pot. Both gave it up under my care :(

- Lisa[/QUOTE]


This has nothing to do with your type of soil. You have to keep it watered and not let it dry out to the point where you kill the thyme.

I have often brought a thyme plant in for the winter, and they did really well. These were from the garden and I didn't bare the roots, just took the whole scoop and potted with fresh compost around it. Never had a problem with drying out - thyme and rosemary and sage all seem pretty tolerant of the dry indoor conditions, but the lack of light (no artificial just windows at the time) does produce a lot of leggy growth. The tender thyme shoots were actually great for cooking with, and overall the plant had bulked up quite a bit by the end of winter when I retired them back to the garden.


I managed to grab one this fall which is down in the greenhouse, so will see how well it adapts to indoor when I've cleaned up a spot for them inside. (Mrs. Rosemary is out there too, and needs a BIG space:roll:).

[QUOTE=Nan_PA_6b;719361]This has nothing to do with your type of soil. You have to keep it watered and not let it dry out to the point where you kill the thyme.[/QUOTE]




I have been amending the soil with sand to keep it lean and flavorful. Other herbs nearby -stevia, rosemary, marjoram, etc were planted in straight potting mix. So I basically starved it of water apparently with the sand and sometimes extra perlite too.


- Lisa

Not to sidetrack the thread too much, but I started work on my aphid purge today - what a terrible mess! :no: Not to mention the carrot tops, the container soil itself literally covered in aphids, and they were not immobile either at 40 F. Both winged and walkers.

I tried several methods to put them down before handling stuff (worst thing that could happen is to bring live ones perched on me into the house). First I tried hot water drench (140 F tap water). That may have killed a few, but the warmth actually did speed up the activity level afaict... Tried hot soap spray then and if it killed any I couldn't tell, they seemed to be more active too.
So heat (at least, tap hot) was a bust for killing. And soap did little or nothing, whether hot or cold. I went online and read that vinegar (diluted 1:3) could be sprayed or baking soda sprinkled on them... Decided to try baking soda since the soil is doubtless acid enough.
Well, baking soda sprinkled on was the most effective thing. Even a light dusting (no gear, just rubbing it between my hands) seemed to stop them in their tracks.. and they were making tracks! Major exodus from the tub within a few minutes of removing those carrot greens.
They seemed to be most interested in chasing everything carrot. I hope so.



I was planning on using that container soil for several purposes including cycling some in for my greens, but I'm worried about bring them in. I read that their eggs are laid on browning foliage, not in the soil? Not sure...

Anyway - baking soda for aphids.

Will take another look at that when I finish up tomorrow morning.

That's really good to know Bower! Thanks!

[QUOTE=greenthumbomaha;719357]Sorry to divert from the focus on micros but I have a question on thyme.
I must not be using the right soil as I kill my potted thyme every year by drying it out during last summer, hence no desired indoor grow for me. Based on your success with enriching your soil, maybe something not so "lean" is in order here.
Any idea what variety you are growing? I've tried what was labeled as common thyme and also a purchased generic plant in 4 inch pot. Both gave it up under my care :(


- Lisa[/QUOTE]

Lisa, I'm no expert on growing thyme. Where I live in upstate NY at higher elevations it grows wild. Only in areas where the soil drains fast. I'm grow this variety in a 50/50 soil/sand mix. It does not grow in areas with heavy clay soil.

Thanks for the tips on the Aphids bower. I might add a few tsp. of worm casting to my thyme after reading your posts Nan and bower. Feel free to post anything you want here. I was just looking for an indoor grow area to learn and share.

A quick update.I'm picking fresh tomatoes now.

[QUOTE=bower;719387]Not to sidetrack the thread too much, but I started work on my aphid purge today - what a terrible mess! :no: Not to mention the carrot tops, the container soil itself literally covered in aphids, and they were not immobile either at 40 F. Both winged and walkers.

I tried several methods to put them down before handling stuff (worst thing that could happen is to bring live ones perched on me into the house). First I tried hot water drench (140 F tap water). That may have killed a few, but the warmth actually did speed up the activity level afaict... Tried hot soap spray then and if it killed any I couldn't tell, they seemed to be more active too.
So heat (at least, tap hot) was a bust for killing. And soap did little or nothing, whether hot or cold. I went online and read that vinegar (diluted 1:3) could be sprayed or baking soda sprinkled on them... Decided to try baking soda since the soil is doubtless acid enough.
Well, baking soda sprinkled on was the most effective thing. Even a light dusting (no gear, just rubbing it between my hands) seemed to stop them in their tracks.. and they were making tracks! Major exodus from the tub within a few minutes of removing those carrot greens.
They seemed to be most interested in chasing everything carrot. I hope so.

Great to hear!

I was planning on using that container soil for several purposes including cycling some in for my greens, but I'm worried about bring them in. I read that their eggs are laid on browning foliage, not in the soil? Not sure...

Anyway - baking soda for aphids.

Will take another look at that when I finish up tomorrow morning.[/QUOTE]

They look great, TT. Those plants are loaded! :D

[QUOTE=bower;719387] I was planning on using that container soil for several purposes including cycling some in for my greens, but I'm worried about bring them in. I read that their eggs are laid on browning foliage, not in the soil? Not sure...

Anyway - baking soda for aphids.

Will take another look at that when I finish up tomorrow morning.[/QUOTE]

Last fall I brought in one small pepper plant after I had cut it back to about 5" and washed the roots totally free of any soil. Fresh pot, fresh soil....aphids arrived in December. I used diatomaceous earth to spray it with in the bath tub. Afterward finding lots of bodies in the bowl around the plant. Also good to have another room to keep it in away from other plants.

One summer I had a bean beetle infestation on a potted cuphea. Having read that they lay their eggs in the top of the soil, while it was dormant I took the shop vac and vacuumed off the top layer of soil. No beetles the following year though I don't know if was due to the vacuum or not!

Thanks bower, we are happy with our first indoor tomato grow.

I'm in the final cooking process of building an organic soil for my next grow. I discovered from another site the claim that using crab meal and neem seed meal in the soil mix eliminates thrips, aphids and fungus gnats from your grow. Both are now in my new container mix so we will see if it really makes a difference. I'm not sure I'll actually notice a difference though. I've been fortunate enough to never really had issues with any of these. I like taking the preventative approach over that act now or my plants will die approach.