Rocket in bloom: is it still edible when it is in bloom?

Rocket, also known as mustard or salad rocket, can be grown in the garden without any problems. Leaves are mainly used in the kitchen. But is rocket still edible when it blooms? Maybe even the flowers are edible?

Hot and Spicy

You can harvest arugula just four to six weeks after sowing. As a rule, a harvest is possible until October. During the entire growing season, leaves usually sprout again and again. The leaves and stems are mainly used in the kitchen. The taste is very spicy, nutty, still very tender and mild when young. With increasing age, they then become sharper and bitter in taste. The rocket is often used in salads and as an accompaniment to main dishes. Older leaves are good condiments. The harvest takes place:

• with a leaf length of 10 to 15 cm
• Cut leaves 2 to 3 cm above the ground
• so drive out again
• on sunny afternoons
• then low nitrate content

If the young, tender leaves are not processed immediately, they can be kept fresh for three to four days in a damp cloth in the refrigerator.

Note: It can be differentiated into two types of rocket, on the one hand in the annual garden, - oil or mustardrocket (Eruca sativa) with white flowers and perennial wild rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) with yellow inflorescences.

Flowering time from June

The rocket blossoms from June to September. The flowers themselves, as well as the buds and seeds, are also edible. The blossom is a true delicacy among connoisseurs. In the taste it is:

• spicy, slightly sweet
• milder than the leaves
• slightly reminiscent of watercress

The flowers should be harvested either at the bud stage or immediately after they have bloomed, then they are very mild and tender. Can be used fresh in

• Salads
• Spreads
• Desserts or
• Cocktails

take place. At 2 to 5 degrees, the flowers keep fresh for up to five days. They can also be dried. The plant needs all of its energy to form the flowers. In other words, no leaves are newly formed at this time. However, the existing leaves are still edible when arugula flowers. You are then:

• narrower and smaller
• harder in structure
• bitter and hotter in taste and
• contain high levels of nitrates

Note: The leaves owe their pungent and sometimes bitter taste with age to the mustard oil glycosides they contain. These have a health-promoting effect.

Four-fold flowers

Depending on the type of rocket, it blooms in yellow or white. However, their structure is the same:

• fourfold and hermaphroditic
• initially umbrella-like
• grape-shaped with increasing age
• many single flowers
• Sepals 4 to 7 mm long
• partly downy hairy with a white border
• Petals 7 to 15 mm long and 5 to 8 mm wide
• six stamens
• Ovary with 20 to 32 ovules

The seeds are in elongated capsules, these are on the side of the stems. The seeds are also edible.

Prevent flowering

If it is only desired to harvest leaves over the entire growing season, it is important that the plant does not bloom. To prevent this, the inflorescences are simply removed at the beginning. A simple switch off is sufficient. However, if seeds are also to be harvested, it should be noted that not all inflorescences are removed, but some remain. The dried seeds are then harvested, then dried and threshed out of the capsules. It is stored in airtight containers, cool and dark.

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