Arugula

Eruca vesicaria
Also known as rocket, garden rocket, roquette

$5.00

In stock

Description

Arugula is a family favorite and we’ve been enjoying this seasonal delicacy in our gardens and kitchen for years. As a cold loving annual, arugula makes abundant, crisp leaves in late winter through early spring. After flowering and going to seed in the summer, new arugula plants that were born in late summer or early fall start making leaves again for eating through the cooler weather in fall.

We enjoy the peppery flavor of raw arugula leaves in salads or added on top of homemade pizzas. Cooked, arugula’s leaves lose some of the spicy bite and wilt into gentle spinach-like greens perfect stir fried with garlic or added to soups. Arugula always has a place in our gardens and hearts for her delicious leaves in the cooler shoulder seasons, for her peppy attitude and willingness to always show up season after season!

Arugula loves to volunteer after setting seeds and we find her popping up in bare earth around the garden where her seeds have landed. I especially love to shake arugula seeds and seed heads around the garden.

In fact now that we are blessed with many arugula plants we wild tend arugula in our gardens rather than direct sowing—I am often broadcasting seed throughout the fall and winter, and arugula chooses to grow where she prefers. We collect seed from the strongest, healthiest plants. So while arugula is already a great volunteer in the garden, the seeds that we are offering are especially adapted to self sowing in the garden after years of growing with arugula this way.

Details

Lifecycle: Annual
Lifespan: 1 season
Hardiness zones: 6-9 (USDA)
Habitats: Disturbed soils in temperate regions of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East
Plant size: 1.5 ft wide x 4 ft tall (when flowering)
Light: Full sun to part shade
Soil: All soils, well draining, fertile / loam preferred
Water: Moist soil
Seeds per packet: 200+ seeds

Seed Starting

Arugula is a cool germinator and does well started in fall to overwinter in milder climates or as soon as the ground as workable in late winter or spring. Direct sow by pressing the seed into the soil and keeping it moist, or just barely cover with soil.

Cultivation

Arugula is really easy to grow and doesn’t require pampering. Keep the plants well weeded while they are small. Arugula flowers, while small are very beautiful and I really enjoy them in our garden. Allowing the plants to go to seed will almost certainly ensure you have arugula volunteering in your garden for years to come!

Harvest

Harvest the larger outer leaves from the plants and they will keep making more leaves. We keep harvesting the larger leaves even into flowering as long as they are green and vibrant.

Propagation

Arugula is best propagated by seed.

Seed Saving

Harvest entire seed stalks once the pods have dried up. Take care because the pods shatter easily. Crush the seed pods, screen the seeds and winnow if cleaner seed is desired.

Additional information

Weight0.007 lbs
Dimensions4.5 × 3.25 × .05 in

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