Winter Savory and Thyme: What's the Difference?

 SPICE IT UP   

 SAVORY VS THYME

Often there’s a couple of herbs that look alike and even have similar flavour profiles.

If you had them growing together in the herb garden, you may even confuse the two because of how closely they look to each other.

Thyme is the better known herb in Australia, which from the 1950's was commonly used in soups, stews, scones and casseroles.

For some reason, savory is not very well known in Australia, but it’s commonly used America and England.

In England, and America, it's quite popular and in the US, winter savory is a key ingredient in the stuffing for the 'Thanksgiving Turkey.'

If you rubbed both herbs without knowing which was which, you would most likely think they both were the same herb.

• Winter savory, unlike thyme, is not sold as a cut herb in the produce aisle of your supermarket.
• Confusingly there is a 'summer savory' which tends to die off in winter and usually not come back.

Looking after both herbs

With their tiny leaves, both herbs are adapted to the dry regions of the mediterranean. 

Both herbs are in the mint (Lamiaceae) family, but unlike mint, don't  feel you need to give either thyme or winter savory heaps of water with the exception of the hottest days in Australia's summers.

• I've never seen the seeds of savory being sold however if you have a pot of winter savory that's overgrown and become leggy, follow these tips to refresh it.
• Dividing the roots  in spring, will rejuvenate the plant.
• Start off by trimming about a third of any wrapped or circling roots.
• Divide the root ball into thirds or quarters, making sure that each section has a healthy piece of root and stems with green leaves attached.
• Remove one-third of the top growth, and trim away any dead or damaged stems and leaves.
• Re-pot into new containers and gift some to your friends.

But can you substitute one for the other?

Thyme has the volatile oil: thymol which is a strong natural antiseptic.  

Wild thyme growing amongst a rocky outcrop

You only need to use a small amount to get the flavour, and is a key ingredient in mixed herbs.

• Did you know there are over 100 varieties of thyme?
• The wild thyme of Provence is known for its strength of flavour. Think 'herbs de Provence' is a blend with this wild thyme.
  

The answer is yes, both herbs are interchangeable, but savoury is less pungent than thyme.

• You will find winter savory, Satureja (sat-you-rea) montana, as a plant sold in most garden centres.
• So time to get some of your own.

Let’s find out more by listening to the podcast.

I'm talking with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au


If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

What's The Difference: Dibbler and Planter or Garden Snips and Secateurs?

 TOOL TIME

What's the Difference?

Dibbler or dibber vs bulbs planter

Ever wondered if there’s a difference between two garden products, tools or ways of doing something? Tool time will look at some of these differences over the next few months.

• Today, it’s about the difference between a tool that’s used to mainly plant bulbs.
• Planting bulbs is a lot of fun, but can quickly turn into a chore if you have quite a few different bulbs that need to go into the garden.
• Just imagine planting out the scene pictured, at Keukenhoff in the Netherlands.
• Every type of bulb will have a preferred depth and spacing so to get it right you will need a special tool.
• This is where those bulb planters of plant dibbers come in handy.

Dibbers are those carrot shaped bits of wood with a pointy end, that are used to poke holes in soil.

They will have graduated markings showing depth and sometimes have a metal tip.

Some come with a T-shaped handle, others just a rounded knob at the top.

Dibbers are great for quickly planting up lots of small bulbs, seeds and transplanting seedlings.

Bulb planters are mainly for bulbs, big ones and little ones, but especially big ones.

• This is a heavy duty implement that acts much like an apple corer with either a short or long handle. Bulb planters have the ability to push through hard soil because of their serrated edge and also have a spring-loaded handle that dumps the ‘core’ of soil you pushed through. 
• This also makes it a handy tool for digging out bulbous weeds such as oxalis and onion weed, and it can be used to planting small seedlings and tubestock, too.
• Depth markings are along the side taking the guesswork out of planting.  

High quality carbon steel ones will keep their edges sharp and not get coated with rust if you are forgetful about cleaning your garden tools.

Let’s find out more: I'm talking with Tony Mattson, General Manager from www.cutabovetools.com.au

Garden Snips vs Secateurs

You would think that gardening tools would have all the same name pretty much all around the world.
What else would you call a spade ?
Perhaps a trowel may have a few different names, but what about secateurs and garden snips?
Are they the same thing?

• Secateurs are sometimes called  pruning shears or hand pruners .

  

  My Toolkit: Felco No8 secateurs 

  
  
• Secateurs can be bypass style, where the cutting blade passes a curved non-cutting 'anvil.'
• Secateurs can also be anvil style where the cutting blade cuts into a 'anvil.'
• Good quality secateurs will cut easily, feel comfortable to hold and spare parts are able to be purchased.
• Secateurs are used for the  'green' wood on plants cutting easily up to the diameter of a person's fingers.

Garden snips ( bottom of picture) are closer in appearance to scissors, with two cutting blades. Unlike scissors, they have a spring to make repeated cutting of plant material easier.

• Garden snips are best used for trimming off spent flowers on plants such as calibroachoa, petunias, and other annuals and perennials. Light trimming of soft 'green' plant material is OK as long as the stems or branches are not too thick. Garden snips don't have the cutting power of secateurs.

Let’s find out more

I'm talking with Tony Mattson, general manager of www.cutabovetools.com.au

Like me, a lot of gardeners would have both types of secateurs-anvil and bypass as well as a pair of snips.
After all, not everything can be pruned with the one tool.

If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

go for cheap and the bulb planter rusts, there’s no amount of elbow grease that will get it off. So give it a good clean and dry thoroughly after each time you use it.

If you have any questions or feedback for me or Tony about tools, why not write in to realworldgardener@gmail.com