Editing Openai/6965a94f-024c-8006-84fe-a890ecf190a1 (section)

=== This is how people in dry mountain valleys do it when they want it to naturalize. ===

==== Do NOT dig deep. ====
Do NOT add compost.
Do NOT make fluffy soil.

Just:
• Rake the surface
• Remove big rocks
• Lightly scuff the top ½–1"

That’s it.

You want hard, gritty ground so roots grow down instead of rotting.

==== This part is CRITICAL in Blanca winds. ====

Mix:

: 

This lets you broadcast it evenly instead of clumps blowing away.

Then:
• Sprinkle it over the soil
• Press it in with your hand or a board
• Do NOT bury it — thyme needs light to germinate

Then:

: 

==== This is where most people fail in SLV. ====

Seeds need consistent surface moisture for 10–14 days.

Do this:
• Water daily (light spray, not soaking)
• Morning is best
• If it’s windy → also in late afternoon

Once you see green fuzz:
• Go to every other day for 2 weeks
• Then 2x per week

After 6 weeks, thyme becomes drought-tolerant.

==== Do NOT baby it. ====

Do NOT fertilize.

Let it:
• Spread
• Self-seed
• Creep
• Fill gaps

In your climate thyme behaves almost like a native groundcover.

==== When it flowers: ====
• Bees will go crazy
• Let it bloom
• After flowers fade → trim it back ⅓

That forces:
• More side shoots
• Denser mat
• Stronger roots

You’ll get a purple carpet every year.

==== Leave it shaggy. ====
Don’t cut it short before winter.

That dead growth:
• Blocks wind
• Traps snow
• Protects crowns

In spring it greens back up.

==== Once you have thyme: ====
You’ll see it popping up in cracks, rocks, paths.

That’s not weeds — that’s a self-repairing groundcover.

Exactly what you want for off-grid land.

If you want, tell me:
How many seed packets do you have and what species?
(Some thyme seed is upright thyme — we want creeping.)