Rocket
Brassicaceae
Arugula
No photo yet · Tap Generate to create one
AI-generated botanical watercolor illustration of Arugula.
Get a month-by-month arugula growing summary texted to your phone — sow windows, harvest timing, and what to do this week. No app, no account.
We'll text you a one-time summary. Standard message rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.
Rocket (Eruca sativa) has been cultivated since Roman times — it appears in Virgil and Pliny. It was traditionally used as both a salad green and an aphrodisiac. The name "rocket" comes from the Latin "eruca."
Arugula is a PNW rockstar in spring and fall. Our cool weather produces mild, tender leaves. Direct sow as soon as soil can be worked (February with row cover). Two main windows: March-May and September-November. It self-sows enthusiastically — once you grow arugula, you will always have arugula.
Direct sow in early spring (March) and again in late summer (September). Arugula germinates in cool soil and grows fast — 21 days for baby greens, 40 days for mature. Sow 1/4" deep, scatter seeds (9-16 per sq ft). Keep moist — drought stress makes leaves intensely peppery. Harvest by cutting outer leaves or whole rosettes. Arugula bolts quickly in heat and long days — spring plantings are done by late May. Fall plantings overwinter under row cover. Succession sow every 2-3 weeks for continuous harvest. The flowers are edible too — peppery-sweet, beautiful on salads.