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There Was That One Thyme
May. 9th, 2017 11:47 pmI had tea and hay biscuits with Applejack today at Sweet Apple Acres. The Apple family is pretty busy this time of year, watering and weeding and Applejack told me of the time, when she was still a little filly, when she expanded their herb garden and she decided to grow thyme for the first time. She was determined to do it all herself, like a big filly, from tilling the ground, to weeding, all the way to harvest.
The expansion took over some of the old field part of the garden spot by the barn, an area the Apple family would mow from time to time, but which was mostly left to grow wild. It was pretty weedy and most of the plants that sprouted there were only fit for goats and sheep. Applejack squared out her work area, tilled those weeds under, broke up the soil, spread fertilizer and adjusted the pH of the soil. It was hard work for a little filly, but Applejack was a stubborn little filly. She planted her thyme seeds in raised rows and watered them dutifully. Soon there were plants growing.
Since she hadn't grown thyme before, she was a little unsure which plants were thyme and which were weeds. She tried to sort them by taste but she wasn't sure what thyme tasted like, or wild carrot either. So she ate quite a few of the sprouts as she weeded. Turns out that the thyme was growing well, but so were the giant asters and the wild carrots. Wild carrots are mildly toxic, and even as young plants they can make a pony feel nervous. Not the best thing for a filly to sample when she's already worried she'll fail at gardening thyme for the first time. She was well on her way to ripping out all the thyme and turning her project into a wild carrot garden when she finally straightened out what was thyme and what was weed. She ended up transplanting a lot of thyme before, she hoped, anypony had noticed.
The expansion took over some of the old field part of the garden spot by the barn, an area the Apple family would mow from time to time, but which was mostly left to grow wild. It was pretty weedy and most of the plants that sprouted there were only fit for goats and sheep. Applejack squared out her work area, tilled those weeds under, broke up the soil, spread fertilizer and adjusted the pH of the soil. It was hard work for a little filly, but Applejack was a stubborn little filly. She planted her thyme seeds in raised rows and watered them dutifully. Soon there were plants growing.
Since she hadn't grown thyme before, she was a little unsure which plants were thyme and which were weeds. She tried to sort them by taste but she wasn't sure what thyme tasted like, or wild carrot either. So she ate quite a few of the sprouts as she weeded. Turns out that the thyme was growing well, but so were the giant asters and the wild carrots. Wild carrots are mildly toxic, and even as young plants they can make a pony feel nervous. Not the best thing for a filly to sample when she's already worried she'll fail at gardening thyme for the first time. She was well on her way to ripping out all the thyme and turning her project into a wild carrot garden when she finally straightened out what was thyme and what was weed. She ended up transplanting a lot of thyme before, she hoped, anypony had noticed.
