Safe to Plant

Sorrel · Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico

When to plant sorrel in Mexico City

Main outdoor window

12 Jan - 2 Feb

The window this page is built around.

Timed from last spring frost

9 February

In Mexico City, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

1 Apr - 31 Oct

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Step by step in Mexico City

Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.

Sow direct

12 Jan - 2 Feb

Four weeks before your last frost.

Harvest

1 Apr - 31 Oct

Frost tolerance
Very-hardy
Damaged below
-20°C (-4°F)
First crop
Year 1
Hardy to
Zone 3a–8a
Min soil temp
5°C (41°F)
Spacing
30 cm
Sowing depth
5 mm (0.2 in)
Sun
Partial

Sorrel through the year

Against the frost risk in Mexico City

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Frost risk Sow direct Harvest Today

Why these dates

Sow direct four weeks before the last frost, or in autumn. Cut the whole plant back in midsummer for a fresh flush of tender leaves.

Very hardy, to about -20C, and often the first green thing in the garden.

Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Sorrel are timed for direct sowing 4 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Mexico City.

Mexico City sits in zone 9b, which is milder than this crop wants, and a winter that never really arrives is its own problem. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.

Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 1, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.

See every crop timed for Mexico City →

Growing sorrel in Mexico City

When should I plant sorrel in Mexico City?

Aim for 12 Jan - 2 Feb in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 6-27 Feb - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When will sorrel be ready to harvest in Mexico City?

Expect to start picking around 1 Apr - 31 Oct, based on 60 to 80 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.

How much frost will sorrel tolerate?

Very hardy, to about -20C, and often the first green thing in the garden.