Grow Sorrel, a Versatile, Lemony Green

Reader Contribution by Staff
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Whenever I’m giving a tour of my garden and offer visitors a taste of sorrel, their faces light up and they usually say, “Wow. That’s wonderful.” Sorrel has a lovely lemony-tart flavor that makes a superb addition to all kinds of salads. I use it in all my green salads and also in tabouli (Middle Eastern bulgur wheat salad) where it substitutes nicely for lemon juice. Recently I made a coleslaw and included sorrel and kale along with cabbage, and dinner guests all gave the combo an A+.

There are many reasons to grow sorrel. Not only does it give you a unique flavor to work with in the kitchen, but the plants are perennial, coming up in early spring. In my book, this is an essential, easy-to-grow crop for any food garden. To read more about sorrel, including tons of information on recommended varieties, read Zesty Sorrel.

If you grow sorrel from seed in the summer, it tends to “bolt” (shifts from growing leaves to sending up a flower stalk). Removing the stalks helps keep new leaves coming, or you can order a non-bolting variety called ‘Profusion’ sorrel from the world-renowned mail-order herb company, Richters. We asked Conrad Richter to tell us a little more about ‘Profusion’ sorrel; here are his comments:


What can you tell us about the background of ‘Profusion’ sorrel?

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