Can sorrel be planted in the shade or is it better in the sun?

"Are they planted in the shade or in the sun?" - this question is often asked by people who first decided to plant a given culture. Sorrel is unpretentious, grows well in the shade and in the sun. Usually, a special place is not allocated for its landing. Seeds are sown where they are free. As a rule, this is the area between fruit trees, near raspberry and currant bushes. Also, many grow lettuce near the fence and along the paths.

Unpretentious sorrel

Sorrel is a genus of annual and perennial grasses and shrubs of the Buckwheat family. There are more than 150 species, but almost all of them are considered weedy. Sour sorrel, horse sorrel, spinach and some others are grown as a vegetable crop and medicinal plant. Oblong leaves have long been used by humans for food. Among other things, it is an excellent food for geese, chickens, pigs and rabbits.

Sorrel is a cosmopolitan plant. Its habitat covers vast areas of the Earth. Its unpretentiousness played an important role in the distribution. It perfectly tolerates adverse conditions:

• frost-resistant (germinates at + 4-6 degrees);
• grows on all types of soil;
• loves both the shade and the sun.

Sorrel adapts to all conditions.

You can and should plant in the shade!

The sorrel root system branches well and is located in the upper soil layer. The plant loves the sun, fertile lands. But to allocate the best places in the garden for salad is irrational. It is better to plant demanding vegetables on them: zucchini, potatoes, pumpkin, melon, tomato.

Sorrel grows well in the shade. The leaves remain young and juicy for a long time. In the sun, it quickly reaches maturity, becomes tough and too sour. With the onset of flowering, the content of oxalic acid in the leaves increases, which is contraindicated in urinary and cholelithiasis.

Secrets of a delicious salad

The most delicious sorrel is young. The leaves are cut or pinched off in the early morning, when the maximum amount of moisture is concentrated in them.

To grow delicious sorrel, follow these simple rules:

• You can plant greens from March to November inclusive. Early spring sowing is considered optimal. In March, the soil has enough moisture, and the seeds germinate together. The minus of summer crops is in frequent watering, and winter crops are in the death of some of the seeds.
• For a rich harvest, it is preferable to use a fertile site. You can prepare the beds in the fall - dig up the ground with manure or compost (6-8 kg per 1 m²), and also add 30-40 g of superphosphate and 20-30 g of potassium chloride. In the spring, the soil is harrowed and urea is applied at the rate of 20 g per 1 m².
• Sorrel loves soil with a neutral and slightly acidic reaction. It is not necessary to lime it.
• For a quick emergence of seedlings, the seeds are kept on wet gauze for 2-3 days. They germinate on the fifth day. And with dry sowing - by the end of the second week.
• The sowing method is in-line. The optimal distance between the rows is 15-25 cm. The depth of the touchdown is 1 cm. At 1 m² 0.3 g of seeds is enough.
• Before sowing, the land is watered abundantly, and after that it is slightly tamped.
• With the emergence of seedlings, the planting is thinned out. Pluck out weak shoots. One seedling needs 8-10 cm of free space.
• The plant loves watering. In dry weather, it quickly throws out arrows.
• The main crop of sorrel is harvested before flowering. Large sheets are cut off, and small ones are left. The last time the cut is carried out in August, so that the plant has time to recover and successfully overwinter.
• In the 3-4th year, the culture degenerates. Lettuce leaves shrink, and a large number of flower arrows appear. Therefore, in the 3rd year, seeds are collected from it and transferred to another site.

There is no need to make a large bed for sorrel.From one square meter, you can collect from 2 to 7 kg of greenery.

Sorrel is the very first garden greens: young leaves appear as soon as buds hatch on the trees. Almost all gardeners grow it. With sorrel, delicious vitamin salads and light but satisfying cabbage soup are obtained. It contains a lot of vitamin C and beneficial organic acids.

For all its advantages, the culture is very unpretentious - it can grow on any land, in the shade, in the sun, it is undemanding to care for. It is worth sowing the seeds once, and you can enjoy the sour leaves for 3-4 years.