How Much Light Does Thyme Need Indoors?

January 14, 2019

Thyme is a must have herb for your indoor kitchen garden, but it favors longer periods of light. Thyme will produce more essential oils under longer days (and longer photoperiods delivered with grow lamps). BUT, longer days also encourage flowering - and what you want to harvest is the foliage. So it's good to balance out your indoor lighting periods. You can grow thyme under 12 to 13 hours of light to delay flowering, but you may have slower foliage growth - or commit to keeping flowers pinched regularly and harvest leaves regularly under longer photoperiods of 14 to 16 hours.

PC: Ball Horticultural Company

In the outdoor garden, thyme needs to be in full sun with 6 to 8 hours of direct light. Indoors you can maintain healthy thyme indoors using cool-spectrum HO T5, CFL, or LED lamps.

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