Thai Basil 'Siam Queen'

Pinch terminal shoots to encourage branching.
Harvest leaves before flowering occurs, or they will be bitter.

Enjoys a full sun position in your garden and remember to water moderately. Keep in mind when planting that Siam Queen is thought of as half hardy, so remember to protect this plant from frosts and low temperatures. Ideally plant in loamy soil and try to keep the ph of your soil between the range of 6.0 and 7.5 as Siam Queen likes to be in weakly acidic soil to weakly alkaline soil.

Cover with finely sieved compost.

Will germinate in a week. Keep soil moderately moist during germination.

Try to aim for a seed spacing of at least 0.5 inches (1.27 cm) and sow at a depth of around 0.12 inches (0.3 cm). Soil temperature should be kept higher than 10°C / 50°F to ensure good germination.

By our calculations, you should look at sowing Siam Queen about 20 days before your last frost date.

Plant out when frost risk has passed.

Ensure that temperatures are mild and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Siam Queen is a half hardy plant.

By our calculations, you should look at planting out Siam Queen about 21 days after your last frost date.

The young shoots of this basil can be harvested as needed when plant is about 5 inches tall. This will encourage bushy growth.

This variety tends to be ready for harvesting by mid summer.

The word basil means “king” in Greek – it is believed to have grown above the spot where St. Constantine and Helen discovered the Holy Cross.

Jewish folklore says that basil adds strength while fasting.

Thai Basil