vegetables
蔌 centers on edible plants: vegetables, the leafy or root foods gathered from the ground.
蔌 combines the plant radical 艹 with 欶, which likely contributes the sound. The exact historical development is uncertain.
The plant top 艹 covers a complex lower shape 欶 that looks like a bundle of gathered greens. Picture a hand pulling up a clump of vegetables from the soil.
For ソク, imagine a sock full of fresh vegetables: sock -> ソク, and the greens spill out from under the plant top.