Description
Sorrel is a leafy green vegetable, grown for its pleasantly tart, lemon flavor. It sometimes grown as an herb and sometimes as a vegetable.
It is a hardy perennial herb grown for its leaves. Sorrel has large, light to dark green, oblong-shaped and spinach-like leaves. It comes as fresh or frozen and chopped or whole.
Its taste ranges from a refreshing, sharply acidic, or astringent spinach-like taste with bitter notes to a milder, lemony taste. The younger leaves are less acidic. The dried leaf loses its citrusylike flavor.
Seeds Specifications
Common Name |
Spinach dock and Narrow-leaved dock. |
Height |
12-18 inches. |
Flower Colour |
Yellow-Reddish |
Bloom Time |
Summer |
Difficulty Level |
Easy to grow. |
Planting and care
- Water the sorrel plant regularly
- Mulching will help conserve moisture and keep the leaves clean
- Apply any organic fertilizer every year
- Cut the seed stalks to the ground and remove any declining leaves
- The plant should re-sprout with more tender leaves
- Sorrel will self-seed if you leave the seed heads on the plants
- To keep your plants healthy and vigorous, divide them in spring or early summer every 3-4 years
Sunlight |
Full sun. |
Watering |
Moderately. |
Soil |
Well drained soil with lots of organic matter. |
Temperature |
12-25 degrees C |
Fertilizer |
Apply any organic fertilizer during growth. |
Harvest Season |
Summer |
Sorrel Herb uses
Medicinal Use:
- Sorrel helps in maintaining healthy vision, skin, immune function, growth, and reproductive health
- Sorrel plant have fiber which may also help ward against certain health conditions including cancer, obesity, and type 2 diabetes
- Sorrel is a primary ingredient in Essiac tea, a propriety blend of herbal tea that was rumored to cure breast cancer and prevent other diseases including HIV/AIDS and diabetes
Culinary Use:
- Its pungent and sour leaves are used as a vegetable, as a flavoring in omelets and sauces, and as the chief ingredient of creamed sorrel soup
- The young leaves are used in salads