How to Grow Sorrel From Seed

Sorrel is a hardy perennial that gets going in cool weather, so it is one of the first things you can sow. Direct sow in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked, or start it in early fall in mild regions for a crop the following spring. Because it comes back every year in zones 4 through 8, you plant it once and pick from the same patch for several seasons. In hot-summer areas it may slow down and try to flower in the heat, so a spring sowing gives you the longest run of tender leaves.

Sorrel is easy from seed and does not need coddling. Sow the small seeds a quarter to half an inch deep in rich, moisture-retentive soil in full sun to part shade, keep the bed evenly moist, and expect sprouts in 7 to 14 days. Thin seedlings to about 12 to 18 inches apart so each plant has room to bush out, and eat the thinnings. You can start it indoors and transplant, but direct sowing works well since sorrel resents having its roots disturbed once established.

Sorrel is about as low-maintenance as a green gets. Keep the soil consistently moist so the leaves stay tender and mild, and give an occasional feed to push fresh growth. Pinch off flower stalks as they appear to keep the plant leafy rather than going to seed, and cut the whole plant back hard in midsummer to trigger a new flush of young leaves. It has few pests, though slugs and leaf-mining flies can nibble young leaves in spring. In cool-summer regions like the Pacific Northwest it produces almost non-stop, while in hot climates like the South it does best in spring and fall with a little afternoon shade.

Sorrel is happy in a mixed herb or salad bed, and a few good neighbors help keep pests down and pollinators around. These three make especially good companions, and you can add any of them in one click:

You can start picking young leaves about 60 days from sowing, once the plant has a good rosette. Harvest the outer leaves a few at a time by cutting them at the base, and always leave the central crown so the plant keeps pushing new growth, cut-and-come-again. Pick in the morning when the leaves are crispest, and use the youngest, brightest leaves for the mildest, most lemony flavor.

Sorrel is prized for its bright, tangy, lemony leaves. Toss young leaves raw into salads for a citrusy lift, blend them into a classic sorrel soup, or cook them down into a quick sauce for fish and eggs, where the acidity really shines. The leaves melt to a soft puree within a minute or two of heat and turn from bright to olive green, so add them near the end of cooking. Use young leaves for the freshest, mildest taste.

• Bolting and bitter leaves: sorrel flowers in heat and long days. Pinch off flower stalks and cut the plant back hard to force tender new growth.
• Slugs and snails: they chew ragged holes in young spring leaves. Hand-pick in the evening and clear damp hiding spots near the plants.
• Leaf-miner trails: pale squiggly tunnels inside the leaves from tiny fly larvae. Remove and bin affected leaves and cover young plants with a light row cover.
• Tough, sour older leaves: normal as leaves age. Harvest young and often, and use the milder new growth for salads.