Oregano and Thyme...

[suziquzie]

Help!
How will I tell the difference? Does it matter?
Just finished planting my herbs and things, started from seed.
I let my 2 year old (the infamous LegoGirl) finish watering them the other day while they were still in thier little paper pots on the table outside. I ran inside for something, I came back and she had all me tags taken out of the herbs!!!!!!
I have 4 types of basil, I know which are the genovese, the other 3 I can tell once they are big enough to taste I'm sure. But how will I know the oregano from thyme? They look just about the same, no?
Boy I'm glad the others look so different.....

 

[GB]

They look different, but more importantly they smell and taste different. Thyme typically has much smaller leaves than oregano. There are so many different kinds though that what is true of one type will be not true of another. Once they start to grow though it will be obvious by taste and smell.

 

[suziquzie]

Thanks, I really shouldn't ever take my eyes off that kid!

 

[GB]

I know the feeling!

 

[Andy M.]

Suzie, go to google images and enter the specific plant name for photos of them.

 

[Jeekinz]

I grow both, so if you need a side by side pic, let me know.

 

[GB]

This is my thyme




and this is my oregano

 

[Andy M.]

Wow, GB. That looks great! Did you start that from seed this year?

 

[GB]

Nope. The oregano was started from seed about 4 years ago in my brothers garden. He gave me a small clipping that I planted and each year it comes back nice and strong. It is amazingly fragrant and flavorful.

The thyme I bought already started last year. It came back very well this year.

 

[Jeekinz]

Nope. The oregano was started from seed about 4 years ago in my brothers garden. He gave me a small clipping that I planted and each year it comes back nice and strong. It is amazingly fragrant and flavorful.

The thyme I bought already started last year. It came back very well this year.

Same with me. You just cannot beat fresh oregano. In the spring, if the plant looks a little thin, I just trim it down to about an inch tall. Then it comes back like crazy. I can't even remember when I planted them.

 

[suziquzie]

Beautiful GB.
You guys just made my day. I was under the impression they were both annuals!!!
I should look again though, because it may not weather well here in the frozen tundra.... I''m in zone 4. I know rosemary doesn't come back for me..... unless I get a very mild winter.

 

[GotGarlic]

Beautiful GB.
You guys just made my day. I was under the impression they were both annuals!!!
I should look again though, because it may not weather well here in the frozen tundra.... I''m in zone 4. I know rosemary doesn't come back for me..... unless I get a very mild winter.

Yeah, their natural habitat is around the Mediterranean Sea - not exactly tundra, if I recall correctly

You could plant them in containers and bring them in for the winter, or covering them with a thick layer of straw might insulate them enough to help them survive till spring.

 

[suziquzie]

Just looked it up in my book.... Hardy in zone 5. Sorry, I refuse to move to Iowa.
Guess I'll just have to spend a penny or 2 on planting a seed every year.

 

[GB]

If they could survive the winter we just went though then I do not think you have anything to worry about.

 

[kadesma]

Suzie,
each herb has a fragrance all it' own..When shopping for plants and the tag is gone, take several leaves and crush them between your thumb and pointer finger, then smell them, basil has a distinct smell that we all know, thyme has it's own milder sweeter smell. In time you will know by their look but your nose will pull you through when they are small and young.
kadesma

 

[Jeekinz]

Just looked it up in my book.... Hardy in zone 5. Sorry, I refuse to move to Iowa.
Guess I'll just have to spend a penny or 2 on planting a seed every year.

You could put them in a small container and bring them indoors for the winter. Then you can still use them.

 

[Maverick2272]

Just looked it up in my book.... Hardy in zone 5. Sorry, I refuse to move to Iowa.
Guess I'll just have to spend a penny or 2 on planting a seed every year.

And just what, pray tell, do you have against my home state?????

DW says the oregano should be fine as long as it is in the ground and not a pot for winter, but the thyme might be a little iffy so if you cover with straw as previously suggested it should do fine.

 

[Dave Hutchins]

My what a good little helper you have. Reminds me of my son when he was young

 

[pugger]

Oregano & Thyme

GB that Thyme is nuclear - awesome! Our oregano grows like weeds but thyme is always kind of ragged, do you keep the flowers pruned from your plants?

 

[GB]

do you keep the flowers pruned from your plants?

I try to, yes. I am not always on top of it like I should be though.