Growing arugula: sowing, location & mixed culture

The bitter taste of rocket gives many Mediterranean dishes that certain something. If you plant rocket salad as a salad, you can always use the aromatic herb fresh from your own garden.

The Teutons brought the wild one arugula once across the Alps to northern Italy, where the rocket spread rapidly. In German-speaking countries, however, the rocket was long forgotten. Since the end of the 20th Century he celebrates his return in our latitudes. Thanks to the popularity of Italian dishes, arugula is growing again. The name rucola comes from the Italian and is mainly used today. Some other names are Rukola, Ruke, Garten-Senfrauke, Rauke and in English rocket or arugula. In German supermarkets, varieties of salad rocket (Eruca sativa) on offer. The wild rocket (Diplotaxis tenulifolia), which can be recognized by the significantly narrower and smaller leaves. The two types also differ in taste and growth speed, because the rocket grows faster and tastes much milder and nuttier.

As already mentioned, the cultivation of arugula in the garden is becoming more and more popular, arugula can also be easily planted in a raised bed or in pots on the balcony. And if you don't want to go without the spicy salad all year round, you can grow arugula all year round in your apartment. Growing arugula yourself is very easy and recommendable. The hobby gardener only has to decide which variety to grow. As a rule, the rocket can only be grown as an annual, while the wild rocket can be grown for several years.

Growing arugula: the right location

The location, which both types of rocket prefer, should be sunny to partially shaded and, in the best case scenario, have humus-rich and loose soil that does not tend to bloom. Furthermore, an even water supply and good aeration of the soil are important for rocket. This applies regardless of whether the arugula is to be grown in a pot, in the garden or on the windowsill. We have listed some special features of the location for the various types of cultivation below.

Rocket in the flower bed

If the soil in your garden is too clay, you can add some sand and, for example, ours Plantura organic compost mix in to loosen and aerate the soil. Due to the extra portion of compost, our compost soil has a high proportion of organic matter, which also has a long-term positive effect on the soil's water-holding capacity. In the bed you should also make sure that it is best not to have any cruciferous vegetables (Brassicaceae) such as cabbage (Brassica oleracea), was grown. Rucola belongs to the same plant family and can therefore be attacked by the same diseases that often persist in the soil during the winter.

Rocket in the raised bed

The cultivation of rocket in the raised bed is usually even easier and is particularly useful in spring, as the soil here warms up faster and water can drain off better. In this case, too, ours, for example, is suitable for filling Plantura organic compost.

Rocket in a pot on the balcony or terrace

Since rocket gets by with a small volume of soil, it is well suited for cultivation in pots or balcony boxes. As in a raised bed, a humus-rich, loose and permeable substrate should be selected.

Rocket on the windowsill

If you don't want to do without the tasty herb over the winter, you can plant rocket on the windowsill. However, it is important to ensure that the plant always gets enough light, i.e. stands on a sunny window sill and the soil does not dry out. Ideally, arugula should be in a room at around 20 ° C, although it can be a little cooler for germination at a temperature of around 15 ° C.

Tip: In contrast to the rocket salad, the wild rocket usually survives the winter well and can therefore be cultivated for several years. This should also be kept in mind when choosing a location.

Sowing rocket: timing, sowing depth and Co.

Sowing rocket directly in the bed or in the pot usually works without any problems. Of course, you can also place it on the windowsill and then plant the rocket out. Since new rocket has to be sown again and again for a longer harvest period, pulling it forward is comparatively time-consuming and therefore not recommended in the domestic vegetable garden.

The right time

Most varieties can be sown outdoors from April to September. Rocket can only be harvested two to three times before it flowers. It is therefore advisable to sow them in batches every three weeks. This way you can enjoy fresh rocket from spring through autumn.

preparation before sowing

Preparing the bed includes removing weeds, loosening the soil, for example with a hoe, and creating a fine-crumbly seedbed. Also make sure that there are no other cruciferous vegetables (Brassicaceae) near the rocket bed, as otherwise problems with fleas can easily arise in spring.

sowing the rocket seeds

Make shallow seed grooves about six inches apart and sow your rocket in them. In order to be able to distribute the rocket seeds evenly, the seeds can also be mixed with sand. Then the rocket seeds should be covered with a maximum of 0.5 cm of soil and both pressed down well and poured on vigorously.

Tip: If you grow rocket in a mixed culture, it can also be sown in small clumps.

So it goes on

Keep the soil constantly moist, whereby waterlogging should be avoided in any case. At optimal germination temperatures, which are between 10 and 20 ° C depending on the variety, the first plantlets should be visible after 10 to 14 days at the latest. If necessary, you can separate the seeds after emergence to a distance of about 5 cm, but even without this measure, arugula thrives profusely.

tip: If you have bought young rocket plants in stores, they will have to go into the bed at some point. The same applies to the young plants that they can move into the bed between April and September - better protected under a fleece in spring in cold winter regions. The young plants are planted directly at a distance of 15 cm and kept moist in the first week while they spread their roots in the surrounding soil. Keep the rocket plants away from other cruciferous plants to keep them healthy.

Good neighbors for arugula

Rocket is suitable as a mixed culture partner for many plants. So are others, for example Salads, celery (Apium graveolens), Onions (Allium), basil (Ocimum basilicum) and Marigolds (Calendula officinalis) good neighbors for arugula. Planting arugula and tomatoes together is also quite possible, because arugula remains small and has low nutritional requirements.

On the other hand, arugula is less good neighbors spinach (Spinacia oleracea), coriander(Coraindrum sativum), peas (Pisum sativum) and all kinds of cruciferous vegetables, such as Cabbage (Brassica oleracea), radish (Raphanus sativus var. sativus), cress (Lepidium sativum) or mustard (Sinapis alba, Brassica spec.).

If you are looking for other fast-growing plants, we have a separate article fast growing vegetables compiled.