Skirret: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
Outdoor sowing: Skirret
Use seeds clearly labelled Sium sisarum for your skirret sowing. Check the supplier's germination instructions before choosing the date: a period of moist cold treatment may be needed before a spring sowing. Stratification means exposing moist seeds to cold under suitable conditions, rather than simply storing a dry packet in a cool room. Follow the duration specified for your seed lot.
Prepare a sunny bed with deep, fertile soil that retains moisture but drains well. Remove weeds and break up large clods to create a fine surface. Sow thinly in a marked row and cover lightly according to the packet instructions. The eventual space between mature plants is not the spacing required between every seed.
Water gently with a fine rose so the seeds are not washed away. Keep the seedbed evenly moist while waiting for emergence, without saturating it. Germination may take several weeks; leave the row labelled and avoid disturbing it too soon. Remove weeds carefully as you distinguish the seedlings.
Once the seedlings are established, thin them to give each clump room to develop, following the recommended final spacing. Keep the strongest plants and continue watering in dry weather. Treat this as the establishment of a perennial crop: substantial roots often make a more worthwhile harvest in the second autumn.
How do you harvest skirret?
