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Skirret (Sium sisarum)
Skirret was a reasonably well known plant in Europe from the middle ages into the 19th century. It has names in many different European languages and most of them appear to translate into some variation of “sugar root”. It can be prepared similarly to carrots. We love it simply fried in some butter. It is sweeter than carrots and beautifully creamy and soft when cooked.
You will receive a seedling with some storage roots and shoots (see image further below). Simply plant into your garden as soon as you receive it and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
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Skirret (Sium sisarum)
Grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
Skirret is in the Apiaceae family alongside carrots, parsnips, parsley and celery. It grows to be a bit under one meter and can flower in its first season. It is a true perennial and will come back year after year. It forms a small clump of thick storage roots, producing a kind of squid like appearance.
Being a member of the Apiacea (carrot) family, the flowers are very attractive to beneficial insects such as lacewings and ladybirds.
Skirret is a powerhouse of nutrition, packed with high levels of vitamin C, potassium, and dietary fiber. These nutrients not only boost your immune system but also support overall health.
Additionally, skirret contains antioxidants that may help reduce oxidative stress in the body. This means it can play a role in protecting your cells from damage caused by free radicals.
You will receive a crown with some storage roots and growing shoots similar to one of them in the image below.
Growing Conditions
Skirret grows wild in Europe and Asia. It is a fairly adaptable crop. In the wild, it is largely a streamside plant, but it does just fine row cropped in a garden as well. It produces best in full sun but will tolerate shade at a small cost to root production. It makes a fine understorey plant in a food forest and can be used around the edges of orchards or in a transition zone between a cultivated area and native trees and shrubs.
It can handle a fairly wide range of temperatures, given sufficient water. If temperatures will climb above 32°C for long, it will benefit from afternoon shade and will need regular watering.
It can survive fairly cold winters as it goes dormant and can manage with frozen ground, making it suitable for growing everywhere in New Zealand.
We don’t have experience growing skirret in posts, but skirret can be grown in large pots of 20 litres or larger. As is always the case with containers, keeping it well watered is the tricky part as root growth is greatly slowed by dry conditions.
Planting and Management
Skirret performs well in acidic to neutral soils. Well drained soils are best, but skirret grows well even in heavy, swampy soil. Skirret loves soil rich in organic matter and is very responsive to applications of compost at planting time.
Choose a sunny spot in your garden or food forest. It will die back each autumn and reemerge in spring, so make sure to mark the spot so you can find the plant in order to harvest the fleshy roots in winter.
Prepare area with compost, well rotted manure or vermicast and if planting more than one plant space them 30-45 cm apart. They can stay in the same spot for years. Mulch with compost and autumn leaves every winter to feed the plants. Water deeply and often until the plant is well established, especially during dry spells and during summer.
As basically a wild plant, skirret doesn’t need much attention during the growing season. Make sure that the soil doesn’t dry out. Otherwise, skirret fends for itself.
Please also see our video below about planting skirret:
Harvest
Skirret is a true perennial. Skirret is ready for harvest at the end of its first year, once the top of the plant has died back. The yield gets a lot better in the second year and then increases a little more in following years. If you have a lot of plants, you can harvest some and leave the others to grow larger. Once a plant has passed its first year, you can harvest any time, so this can give you a year round harvest.
Because it can survive freezing soil, you can leave it in the ground year round for harvesting whenever the soil is workable.
At KoruKai Herb Farm we harvest skirret in mid winter. We separate the crowded plants, snip off most of the fat storage roots for eating and replant them at 30cm spacing with some fresh compost added to each planting hole.
See the images below with a one-year old plant before and after harvesting some of the fat storage roots for eating. The one on the right gets replanted with some storage roots in place.
Skirret stores perfectly in the ground as long as your soil doesn’t get too wet in the winter and as long as you don’t have problems with grass grubs. If you can’t leave it in the ground, remove any plants that you will use for replanting and then store the intact, unwashed root ball as close to 4°C and 95% humidity as possible. Under those conditions, skirret lasts three or four months in storage. You can keep intact root balls in good condition for about a week at room temperature.
The young shoots can also be harvested in spring.
Nutritional Benefits
Skirret is a powerhouse of nutrition, packed with high levels of vitamin C and potassium. These nutrients not only boost your immune system but also support overall health.
Additionally, skirret contains antioxidants that may help reduce oxidative stress in the body. This means it can play a role in protecting your cells from damage caused by free radicals.
One of the standout benefits of skirret is its ability to support digestive health, thanks to its high fiber content. Fiber is essential for a healthy gut, promoting regularity and preventing constipation.
Moreover, skirret may possess anti-inflammatory effects, which can be beneficial for those dealing with chronic inflammation. Incorporating this nutritious vegetable into your diet could lead to improved overall well-being.
Uses
Skirret boasts a sweet taste that many liken to a blend of parsnip and carrot. This unique flavor makes it a delightful addition to various dishes, enhancing meals with its natural sweetness.
Skirret can be prepared similarly to carrots. The roots are very sweet and can be eaten raw or cooked. We love it simply fried in some butter. It is sweeter than carrots and beautifully creamy and soft when cooked.
They do not need to be peeled, although older roots can have some tough skin that is sometimes better removed. It is actually easier to do this once the skirret is cooked, when the skin can usually be slipped right off. Some roots also have a thread of woody material running down the center especially older roots or when they had a dry spell in summer. This is also easiest to remove after cooking. The simplest operation is to hold the root down with a fork and pull out the core, which gives no resistance in cooked roots.
Skirret makes a great addition to soups, where its soft texture will cause it to break apart and act as a sweetener and thickener.
The spring shoots are also edible. They can be blanched or eaten raw.
A thick bundle of harvestable storage roots on this 3-year old plant.
Ingredients: live dormant plant material to plant into your garden
Finally cooked some the way you suggested and they are yum! Replanted and am looking forward to a bigger harvest next season. So pleased I gave them a try. I did have a job digging up my original plant which I had left 2 seasons but got there in the end.
Both the skirret and evergreen comfrey are doing well.
My skirret took a while to sprout but was doing well until the hail storm came along last week. It seems to be recovering slowly now.<br />
Had never heard of Skirret, thought it sounded tasty, so gave it a go. Plant is growing well and I am looking forward to trying it.
My skirret is doing very well 6 months after planting, can't wait for it to be ready.
Originally wondered why I brought it, now I realise this plant offers a great return for investment. Mine have just taken off and produced so much food for little effort. Would recommend it to anyone.
My plant adapted well, didn't experience any 'check' and is growing strongly. Looks very healthy.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)
Family: Lamiaceae
This plant have been grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
You will get 3 dormant root pieces. Please find growing information and photos below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
This is a beautiful peppermint with a very "pepperminty" flavour. It is the one we grow commercially and not available in many shops. When we wander through the garden section of hardware stores the pots say "peppermint" on the label, but is more like a garden mint and not the true peppermint that we grow.
We ship it nationwide in their winter dormancy.
Frost tolerant.
They come bare rooted with some growing tips in place.
Small: enough for a 20cm wide planter/pot
Large: enough to fill 1 m2 of garden bed.
Please sign up below to get an email once they are available again (July 2026).
Echinacea (echinacea purpurea) is a highly effective and safe immune herb that helps to jump-start the immune response in the body.*
These crowns are in their 2nd and 3rd year.
Growing tips are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Hedychium coronarium
Family: Zingiberaceae
Commonly known as White Ginger, Butterfly Ginger, Himalayan Ginger. In New Zealand it is often sold as Galangal (especially on Trademe) as they are very hard to tell apart. But galangal is a different plant in the ginger family.
Emitting the scent of Gardenias, the flowers resemble a butterfly in flight. Rhizomes develop into large ginger roots that are good in cooking. It tastes like mild yellow ginger. Plant prefers moist or boggy soils and full sun.
Order is for 1 plant (see sample image below).
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)
Family: Lamiaceae
Common names: Lemon Balm, Balm gentle
Lemon Balm is an easy-to-grow, highly medicinal and very yummy member of the mint family. It grows well in a range of different soil conditions and is very generous. We do 3-4 cuts of lemon balm every season.
Growing instructions, medicinal uses and herbal preparations are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)
Order is for one dormant, bare-rooted horseradish plant with a growing tip similar to the examples in the below image.
Simply plant into your garden as soon as you receive it and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
They have been grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum)
This plant is very valuable in a food forest and organic garden system.
The roots and leaves have many medicinal uses. It contains high levels of allantoin, making it a powerful cell proliferant internally and externally. It is used to knit wounds and damaged tissue.*
Order is for 1 plant. It will be a strong crown cutting with a growing tip.
Simply plant into your garden over winter and watch them emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Helianthus tuberosus
Commonly called Jerusalem artichoke, sunchoke or sunroot. It is a type of sunflower.
Jerusalem artichokes grown at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
Order is for 3 tubers. You can choose between 3 small or 3 large ones (please choose below).
Growing instructions can be found here and below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Marshmallow (Althea officinalis)
Marshmallow leaves and roots are used for pain and swelling (inflammation) of the mucous membranes that line the respiratory tract. They are also used for dry cough, inflammation of the lining of the stomach, diarrhea, stomach ulcers, constipation, urinary tract inflammation, and stones in the urinary tract.*
Order is for 1 plant. It will be a healthy crown cutting with a growing tip. Simply plant into your garden over winter and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica)
Family: Lamiaceae
This plant have been grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
You will get 3 dormant plants with growing tips. Please find growing information and photos below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
Valerian is most commonly used for sleep disorders, especially the inability to sleep (insomnia).*
Order is for 1 plant. It will be a healthy crown cutting with a growing tip. Simply plant into your garden over winter and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
This plant have been grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, Banks Peninsula. Free from synthetic fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Curcuma longa
Family: Zingiberaceae
Turmeric is one amazing plant with numerous health benefits. Here an extract: "An M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre review of curcumin research, in the journal Phytotherapy Research in 2014, found that it regulates inflammation that "plays a major role in most chronic illnesses, including neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, autoimmune and neoplastic diseases."
Order is for 1 small crown.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Lovage (Levisticum officinale)
Lovage has long been cultivated in Europe, the leaves being used as a herb and soup ingredient, the roots as a vegetable, and the seeds as a spice, especially in southern European cuisine.
Dormant crown with growing bud/s. Simply plant into your garden as soon as you receive it and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Solidago virgaurea
Family: Asteraceae
Common names: Goldenrod, European Goldenrod, Woundwort, true Goldenrod
Goldenrod is a members of the daisy family and has vivid yellow flower heads that are made up of many, small, daisy-like flowers. It was traditionally used to heal wounds, and a yellow dye was produced from the flowers. Its a stunning plant in meadows, wild flower gardens and herb gardens.
Plant is shipped during its winter dormancy. It will be a bare rooted, dormant crown without any leaves or stalks, but with growing buds already in place (see image below). Simply plant into your garden over winter and watch it emerge in spring. Growing tips are below.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Rosmarinus officinalis
Native to the Mediterrannean, rosemary prefers a warm, moderately dry climate and a sheltered site. It is an upright woody herb with blue flowers. It flowers in late winter and spring and is loved by bees. It is a culinary herb with many medicinal uses (see below).
Order is for 1 bare rooted seedling.
Available again in July 2026. Sign up below to go onto the waiting list.
Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum
We love those leeks as they are easy to grow, need little care and attention and are very giving. They come into full production over winter and produce well into spring when our winter leek crop is finished for the year.
Easy care multiplying leeks. They grow as thick as your thumb (see image).
You will get a starter clump with 3-4 small leeks.
Planting instructions are below.
