Sorrel is a leafy green vegetable grown for its pleasantly tart, lemony flavor. It sometimes gets classified as an herb and sometimes as a vegetable.
Description
Sorrel plants have smooth, arrow-shaped leaves that grow from a center rosette. The plant will send up a tall flower stalk as the temperature warms, but it's best to remove this to promote leaf growth for a better harvest. The red flowers are rather insignificant whorled spikes, like rhubarb.
Additional Info
Sorrel only gets about 12 to 18 inches tall, although the flower stalks (if left on the plant) will get taller. It does spread out though, easily taking up 2 feet in width. Sorrel is typically planted in spring and has a moderate growth rate; young leaves are ready to harvest in a little over a month.
You can start sorrel from seed, cuttings, root division, or transplant, in either spring or early fall. Seed can be started indoors or out, but since you can direct sow as early as two to three weeks before your last spring frost date, it is easiest to simply sow in the garden. Sow the seed 1/2 inch deep, spaced about 3 inches apart. When the plants are 1 to 2 inches tall, thin to a spacing of 12 to 15 inches.
Watering
Give your sorrel plants regular water; at least 1 inch per week. Mulching will help conserve moisture and keep the leaves clean.
Fertilizing
Sorrel is happiest when started in a rich soil, but you should amend the soil each year with more organic matter and possibly side-dress with compost or granular fertilizer applied mid-season.
