Steve Yoder
I'm Steve, a 30-something urban gardener fascinated by companion planting research. Growing up surrounded by greenery sparked my passion for gardening early on. I enjoy transforming my small backyard, experimenting with companion planting techniques and eco-friendly practices. Sustainability matters—I advocate for native plants and composting.
Table of Contents
Thyme companion plants are essential for the health of your garden! But to start with, you have to know that Thyme is a versatile herb. It is suitable for seasoning and refining meat, fish, and sauces. It is mainly used in Mediterranean cuisine. Studies indicated that fresh thyme is high in antioxidants and contains active compounds to treat different diseases like gastrointestinal diseases or respiratory disorders like bronchitis and asthma. Due to the essential oils, the medicinal plant has an antispasmodic and expectorant effect.1,2
While many herbs are great for cooking, many others make great companion plants. Companion planting is a practice in gardening that encourages beneficial insects and other animals to thrive while deterring pests. You can also ask yourself the question of companion planting if you are planting thyme in your garden. So, let’s have a look at some thyme companion plants and how they benefit from each other!
Effects of Thyme as a Companion Plant
First of all, Thyme makes a great companion plant for some of the other plants in your garden. If you have pests on your plants, thyme can help. Aphids and spider mites like to hang around the stems of plants, sucking the life out of them. Thyme helps repel these pests by releasing a natural oil called thymol that kills them off.
Thyme also works well with whiteflies, which are tiny insects that live on the underside of leaves and suck sap from host plants. Thyme has a strong aroma that makes it difficult for them to stay in one place for long periods. They go looking for somewhere else to settle down instead!
Thrips are another common pest. They look like tiny black dots on leaves, causing damage by eating holes through leaves and other parts. Thyme releases an essential oil that causes thrips to move away from their host plant when they’re feeling threatened. This means less damage done by these small but destructive creatures!
If you’re growing tomatoes, try planting a few sprigs of thyme near your tomato plants. The thymol found in both plants is effective against aphids and other garden pests.
If you want to prevent these pests from attacking your herb garden, try planting some lavender or rosemary along with it. These herbs contain the same chemical as thyme and will help keep the bugs away! Thyme is also a great companion plant for carrots, parsley, and beans due to its ability to repel whiteflies while they’re still young—and tasty!
In the next section, we will have a closer look at a few thyme companion plants!
Thyme Companion Plants
Some of the best thyme Companion plants you can grow together are:
Thyme is well suited for cultivation in herb spirals together with other aromatic herbs such as lavender, rosemary, savory or other types of thyme. Since it needs dry soil, you should place it as high as possible in the herb spiral.
The reason Mediterranean herbs as great companions for Thyme is, that they do well in barren, nutrient-poor soil. When it comes to water requirements, they are rather frugal. That’s the reason why they like to stand in a planter with especially Thyme.
Bad Neighbours for Thyme
Contrary to popular belief, thyme is not compatible with marjoram and tarragon. It gets along well with all other Mediterranean herbs as mentioned above.
The best thing about thyme is that it’s so easy to grow in a garden bed, container, or hanging basket. It’s also a great plant for growing indoors if you don’t have much space! As we mentioned earlier, thyme works well as a companion plant with many types of plants. The scent from the leaves can help repel pests like aphids and flies from nearby plants.
References
- Nabissi, M., Marinelli, O., Morelli, M. B., Nicotra, G., Iannarelli, R., Amantini, C., … & Maggi, F. (2018). Thyme extract increases mucociliary-beating frequency in primary cell lines from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 105, 1248-1253.
- Taher, M. S., Salloom, Y. F., Al-Asadi, R. A. U. H., Al-Mousswi, Z. J., & Alamrani, H. A. (2021). The medicinal importance of Thyme plant (Thymus vulgaris). Biomedicine, 41(3), 531-534.