Sorrel

Plant family

Knotweed family (Polygonaceae)

Season Overview

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Moist

Soil

Heavy (clay)

Nutrient requirement

Medium

Light germinator

Plant distance

10 cm

Row spacing

25 cm

Seeding depth

0Not specified

Instructions

Description

The meadow sorrel, sour sorrel, sour lump (Saxony) or Suurampfere (Switzerland), belongs to the knotweed family (Polygonaceae). It is grown as a wild vegetable or medicinal plant. It grows up to 1 m tall and is herbaceous, perennial and hardy. The taste is sourish and somewhat bitter. It blooms from May and should be

Growing tips

Sow from mid-March in spring or in August for a harvest the following year. Should not be eaten in large quantities as it contains a lot of oxalic acid. Divide after a few years for rejuvenation and propagation, but sorrel also propagates itself easily in the garden. Cut back three times a year, leaving the inner leaves, but remove the flower shoots, this leads to a higher and more consistent harvest. The leaves can be harvested continuously, but are best harvested individually by plucking or cutting them off, although the oxalic acid content rises sharply from mid-June.