All About Growing Sorrel

By Barbara Pleasant
Published on December 20, 2013
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Illustration by Keith Ward
Sorrel, a zingy, lemony green that comes back year after year, makes an interesting addition to fresh salads and is the star of fresh, lemony sauces and creamy sorrel soup.

(For details on growing many other vegetables and fruits, visit our Crop at a Glancecollection page.)

Cold-hardy and a perennial herb plant, sorrel is easy to grow in sun or partial shade. Young sorrel leaves are the plants’ edible parts, and new sorrel leaves emerge from the plants’ centers for several months, from late winter to late fall.

The zingy, lemony flavor of garden sorrel is at its best in early spring, the traditional season for making sorrel soup. The flavor of sorrel leaves is due in large part to oxalic acid, which is harmless consumed in small amounts but should be avoided by people with a history of kidney stones.

Adapted to Zones 4 to 9, sorrels deserve a place in every homestead garden.

Types of Sorrel

Garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is also called English sorrel or common sorrel. A perennial valued for its early spring greens, garden sorrel is available as a seed-sterile variety called ‘Profusion.’ Cutting off flower spikes to prevent unwanted reseeding is the biggest challenge to growing garden sorrel.

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