Gadenin日本語Get the appThe shape of the sorrel year
Sorrel is a hardy perennial, so unlike an annual leaf crop there is no sowing-to-clearing arc. There is a crown in the ground that wakes very early, produces leaves, tries to flower, is stopped from flowering, produces more leaves, and then goes dormant. Once you see the year in those terms the jobs are obvious and there are not many of them.
The pivot point of the year is the arrival of the first flower stem in late spring. Everything before that is easy picking of the best leaves of the season. Everything after it is a matter of keeping the plant vegetative. Gardeners who lose their sorrel to toughness by midsummer have almost always simply missed that pivot.
| Season | Main job | Also worth doing |
|---|---|---|
| Late winter | Clear old leaves and debris off the crowns | Mark crown positions, top-dress with compost |
| Early spring | First picking as leaves reach 4 in (10 cm) | Feed lightly, divide old clumps, sow new seed |
| Mid spring | Pick heavily; leaves are at their best | Mulch 2 in (5 cm) around crowns |
| Late spring | Start weekly flower-stem removal | Watch for slug damage on soft growth |
| Early summer | Keep cutting stems; hard cut-back if coarse | Feed and water after the cut-back |
| Midsummer | Water deeply in dry spells | Pick lightly; do not sow |
| Late summer | Sow for next year, or divide | Second hard cut-back for an autumn flush |
| Autumn | Pick the late flush | Stop feeding; let growth harden |
| Winter | Nothing; leave the crown alone | Review your notes and plan divisions |
Late winter into early spring: the earliest crop you have
Before anything else happens, clear the previous year's collapsed leaves off each crown. They shelter slugs and hold wet against the growing points. Then top-dress with an inch or two of compost around, not on top of, the crown.
Sorrel starts into growth at soil temperatures around 40F (4C), which in most gardens is weeks before any sown crop is ready. Start picking once leaves reach 4 inches (10 cm), taking the outer ones. This is the sweetest, most tender sorrel of the whole year and it is worth using generously.
Early spring is also the main division window and the main sowing window. If a clump is three or more years old with a woody center, lift and divide it now. If you want more plants from scratch, sow now into cool soil.
Late spring and early summer: the flower-stem season
From late spring the plant tries to flower and everything depends on your response. Walk the row weekly and cut every thick, round, upright stem out at the crown. Missing two weeks in warm weather is enough to let stems get away, and once the plant is committed to flowering the leaves toughen quickly.
If the plant has already gone coarse, or has flowered before you got to it, do the hard reset: cut all growth off an inch above the crown, remove the material, feed and water. Two to three weeks later you have a full flush of tender leaves and the plant is back to vegetative growth. Doing this deliberately in early summer, even on a plant that still looks passable, is a good routine.
This is also the point where self-seeding is decided. Every stem you cut is seed that never drops.
- Weekly stem patrol Once a week from late spring, walk the plants and cut any flower stem flush with the crown. It takes a minute per plant and it determines leaf quality for the rest of the season.
- Midsummer hard cut-back Cut everything to an inch (2.5 cm) above the crown, clear the material away, feed and water thoroughly. Expect a new flush in two to three weeks.
- Deep watering in dry spells In heat, give each plant a gallon (4 L) once every week to ten days rather than daily sprinkles. Dry roots are what make leaves leathery and harsh.
- Mulch and leave it A 2 in (5 cm) compost mulch around the crown holds moisture and keeps weeds out of the center of the clump where you cannot hoe.
Late summer and autumn: the second crop
Once the peak heat has passed the plant grows well again, and a second hard cut-back in late summer produces an autumn flush that is nearly as good as the spring one. Feed and water after cutting, and pick through autumn until growth stops.
Late summer is the second window for sowing and for dividing. Seed sown now germinates in cooling soil and makes a small crown that overwinters and crops properly the following spring. Divisions made now have enough warm weeks left to root before winter.
Stop feeding by early autumn. Soft nitrogen-driven growth going into cold weather is what gets damaged; a plant that hardens off properly comes through better and starts earlier next spring.
Do not cut a plant back hard in the last few weeks before hard frost. It needs some leaf to build reserves for winter, and a bare crown going into cold weather starts the following spring behind.
Winter, and the notes that make next year easier
Sorrel is hardy to about minus 20F (minus 29C) and needs no protection in most gardens. It dies back to nothing above ground, so the bed looks empty. Leave the crowns alone and resist tidying with a fork.
Before the leaves disappear, mark each crown with a cane or a label. This is the single most useful five minutes of the sorrel year: it stops you digging through the crowns in late winter and it tells you where to clear debris.
Winter is also when the notes pay. Look back at the date of your first pick, the date the first flower stem appeared, the date you cut back, and which plants bolted earliest. From those four things you can write the following year's plan exactly: when to start clearing crowns, when the weekly stem patrol must begin, and which clumps to lift and divide in spring.