How to Grow Sorrel

Planting Sorrel

Sorrel is a cool season herb in the Polygonaceae family. Getting the timing right is the difference between a strong stand and a disappointing one, so the windows below are given relative to your own last spring frost and first fall frost rather than a generic calendar date. Look up your local frost dates and count back or forward from there.

You can sow Sorrel directly into the garden 2–4 weeks before your last frost.

Sorrel can be grown by direct sowing and transplanting. Direct sowing avoids transplant shock, while direct sowing is simplest where the season is long enough.

Spacing and Planting Depth

Give Sorrel room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.

Days to Maturity

Sorrel reaches maturity in 50–60 days from sowing.

Sorrel is ready to harvest after about 55 days. Harvest before summer heat or, for fall crops, before a hard freeze, to keep quality high.

Conditions and Care

As a cool-season herb, Sorrel does its best growing in the cooler weather of spring and fall and tends to bolt or turn bitter in summer heat. It is frost hardy and can shrug off light freezes, so it can stay in the ground later into the season than tender crops.

Sorrel grows well in partial sun and tolerates some afternoon shade, which can help slow bolting in warm weather. Sow seed about 0.25 inches deep — small seed is sown shallow and barely covered, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.

Sorrel belongs to the Polygonaceae family; rotating where you grow members of this family each year helps limit the build-up of soil-borne pests and disease. Sorrel is generally grown as a single planting each season rather than succession sown.

Companion Plants

Pairing Sorrel with the right neighbors can improve growth and deter pests; a few combinations are best avoided.

Grows well with: Strawberry

Growing Notes

Perennial grown for tangy leaves.

Sources

• Cornell Extension