Stem thickness

Hey, I'm new at growing and am probably going to be posting some questions about my grow throughout its course. I have eight plants growing right now in three different locations all with direct sunlight throughout the day. They were just transplanted into their permanent homes yesterday where i slightly buried the stems. They are each about 4 - 5" tall after burying them about 1". My first question regards to when their stems will thicken up because in all the pictures i have found online the plants have fat stems and I was wondering how long it generally takes for this thickening to take place, or when it does. They are currently only 2 1/2 weeks old. Thanks a lot. I will post pictures later and throughout the course of the summer so that experienced growers may help me on my journey to success ( i hope). Also, the area where I have planted has a wide range of wildlife including an occasional deer. There are wild strawberries everywhere and am hoping that if an animal were to munch on some food they'd probably choose strawberries over an herb plant? I hope so at least. The only concern i have is that they may find my grow patches a good place to lay down and crush the plants. Uh oh! I hope not! Please reply it would be greatly appreciated to a new grower! Thanks.
P.s. I'm in the northeastern U.S.

Pissing around the perimeter of your grow area keeps most animals away. I've also read on here somewhere that cat repellents work too. The stem thickens very slowly as the plant grows, so don't hold your breath. Can't help with the rest as I only grow indoors. Good luck.

peace :)

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it! I will start upping pics tomorrow so peopole can help me in an interactive online grow! lol! Thanks!

Pleasure :)