[Middlesexbloke]

Apologies if this has been asked before....I have a small bed of sorrel, planted in Spring last year. It's starting to grow new shoots now, some with flower spikes. What is the best thing to do with it to get decent growth this year? I'm tempted to cut it back to near ground level to get rid of last years tatty leaves but don't want to kill it! Thanks.

[ghost61]

Cut it back, you won't kill it.  I always remove the flower spikes as soon as they appear, too.

[solway cropper]

Why on earth anyone would want to eat sorrel is beyond me

Hundreds of years of plant breeding and development to give us the nutritious food we have today and some people still want to eat weeds 

[ghost61]

Well I'm happy to eat this lemon flavoured weed anytime! 

[BabbyAnn]

I found sorrel in the second year was just throwing itself into seed production mode  - no sooner had you removed one lot of flower spikes, it produced a whole load more.  Too high maintenance for what it was worth

[Kleftiwallah]

As kids we used to eat it straight from the ground.  Use to call it sour docking

Cheers, Tony.

[Mrs Bee]

Why on earth anyone would want to eat sorrel is beyond me

Hundreds of years of plant breeding and development to give us the nutritious food we have today and some people still want to eat weeds 

Because it is delicious. Tangy and lemony and fabulous with fish and chicken. makes a delicious chicken soup too.

And the chickens love it.

Cut the sorrel back to the ground it will keep coming up. It is very hardy.

[snow white]

Tried sorrel.  Hated it.  Dug it up.  Missed a bit of root.  Grew again.  Dug it up again.  Missed a bit of root again.  Grew again.  Get the picture.  You can not kill the stuff

[Middlesexbloke]

Thank you for your replies....seems Sorrel can provoke an emotional reaction lol. I love the taste of it and use it mixed with lettuce in salads. I'll have to try it with fish and chicken too, sounds yum!

[sunshineband]

As kids we used to eat it straight from the ground.  Use to call it sour docking

Cheers, Tony.

So did we and called it horses heads due to the shape of the leaves looking just like one lol