Sorrel Volare Vegetable/Fruit - 280 (1g) Seeds

Packet Content (approx.): 280 (1g)

Sorrel Volare also known as lemon spinach

With its sharp citrus flavor, Sorrel is a great addition to salads, soups and smoothies, and can be harvested as a baby leaf or at full maturity. Also delicious when cooked, its arrow-shaped leaves give off a delightfully acidic flavor that pairs well with a number of dishes. This fast-growing, vigorous perennial herb is rich in vitamin C and is easy to grow. It shoots up from the ground even earlier in the spring than asparagus or rhubarb! Make this gem your first taste of spring for years to come. Plant in average, well-drained soil with access to full sunlight. It's great for container gardening, too; try it with your favorite containers, or give our Grow Tubs® a try. If you raise chickens, plant some extra to share since chickens adore these fresh greens. 60 days to maturity.

Position: 
Sorrel prefers a sunny (or partially-shaded) spot with a reasonably-fertile and moisture-retentive soil, but thrives even in heavy soil. It may need partial shade in very hot areas.
If you don't have space in the garden, a large pot filled with good quality compost will make a great home for your plants. Just remember that pot-grown plants will need more watering and feeding than those in the ground. 
French sorrel may also be cultivated indoors for use during the winter months.

Sowing: Sow in Spring or in Autumn to overwinter.
Seeds can be sown at any time of year but are best sown in spring once the temperature warms a little.

Sowing Indoors: 
If the weather is against you and it's just too cold for planting seeds outside, they can be sown into small pots indoors. Use modular seed trays filled with seed compost and keep them in a greenhouse or cold frame until the seedlings are ready for transplanting outside.
Modular-raised sorrel seedlings should be moved from their trays to the vegetable garden in the late spring. Space 30cm (1ft) apart and plant to the same depth as in their original containers. Water well to help them establish.

Sowing Direct: 
A week before sowing the seeds outdoors, fork and rake over the ground several times to establish a soil surface with a fine and level tilth free of all weeds and large stones - and scatter a general organic fertiliser over the site. 
The tiny seeds are best sown in 5mm (¼in) deep seed drills (rows). Lightly water the base of the drill, sow the seeds thinly inside and cover with soil ? and label the site so you know which crop is where. Space the drills 45cm (18in) apart. Once the seedlings have germinated and they are large enough to handle, thin them to 7.5cm (3in) apart. A few weeks later, thin the remaining seedlings again so there is 30cm (12in) between each one.

Cultivation: 
Once sorrel plants are established and growing happily, they need very little further attention beyond a bit of weeding, and watering during dry spells, especially if they are growing in a pot. One thing sorrel plants really don't like is to be hot and dry. 
If your plants start to form flowering shoots the leaves will become tougher and have less flavour, so cut off flowering stems as they appear. On the other hand, if you decide that sorrel is a plant you would like more of, simply allow it to flower and set seed. 
Sorrel plants should be divided every three years or so to keep them growing vigorously. Dig the plant up in spring or autumn, gently pull it into smaller pieces, each with roots attached and replant in fresh soil. Water the new plants well, and keep the soil around them damp in the following weeks.

Harvesting: 
Leaves can be harvested any time after the first couple of months of spring growth, but they tend to be almost tasteless early on, gradually gaining their characteristic and desired acidity and flavour as the season wears on. 
The tender, young basal leaves are the best ones to pick for culinary purposes as they are less bitter than the course, older foliage. To guarantee a constant supply of young leaves, lightly harvest the plants on a regular basis throughout the main growing season. For the best flavour, use them on the same day, although they can be frozen. 
The young leaves are suitable for picking on a regular basis from March until November. They can also be gathered through the winter if the plants are covered with protective cloches from late-autumn to the early spring. In the kitchen, break the stems off backwards before using. This will draw out any tough string that continues up the middle of the leaf.