RUCOLA, SALAD ROCKET

Latvian: rukola

The spicy leafy vegetable has become an everyday thing in every

house...mostly perennial or annual arugula is sown. How to choose which arugula to

sow? Is perennial arugula really perennial? How does perennial arugula differ from

annual? Both arugula are cruciferous plants. Perennial arugula (narrow-leaved

dicotyledons) and arugula (annual arugula) can be sown with other vegetables and

lettuces to avoid diseases and pests such as carrot flies. Arugula seeds contain

substances that destroy nematodes.

The annual arugula is also called arugula, eruku or aragula. Annual arugula has

rather large, slightly wrinkled leaves with a spicy taste. The leaves of young arugula

plants are often used in salads. Annual rocket seeds are sown in previously

prepared soil or substrate at a depth of 0.5 cm. Arugula seeds germinate in 7-14

days. To ensure a continuous harvest, arugula is sown every ~10 days. Annual

arugula will grow best in cool weather in moist soil. No special care is required.

When harvesting - if you pick the young, small leaves, arugula does not need

thinning. If you grow larger arugula seedlings, you should thin the plants at a

distance of 10 cm from plant to plant. It is especially important not to let the plants

dry out, as this encourages the arugula to bloom. In hot weather, arugula blooms

quickly and the leaves become hard. In winter, perennial arugula will also grow well

in greenhouses and pots. Arugula can also be sown and grown on the windowsill, in

balcony boxes and flower pots. As an annual, arugula is edible at any stage of

growth – seeds, sprouts, young leaves, buds and flowers. 4-5-day-old sprouts taste

pleasantly spicy, as well as young buds and flowers mixed into leafy salads. The

duration of picking the leaves depends on how spicy each person likes the taste.

Perennial arugula is also called narrow-leaved dicotyledon or oak-leaf arugula. The

leaves of perennial arugula are quite large, they are strongly split. The leaves form a

dense rosette, few leaves on the stem. The leaves are 5-15 cm long, tufted, divided

into linear or lanceolate tufts, the edge of the tufts is smooth, the tip blunt or pointed,

the transition of the leaf into the stem is wedge-shaped. Perennial rocket forms a

dense rosette of leaves. Arugula has bright yellow flowers arranged in a spiky bunch

- flowers in a spiky bunch at the end of the branch. Perennial arugula is sown 3 mm

deep from April to August. Perennial arugula germinates in five weeks. The taste of

perennial arugula is much spicier, sharper (bitter and aromatic, with a nutty and

mustard taste) than annual arugula, but perennial arugula forms its flower heads

later and can be eaten for a longer time. For perennial arugula, you can pick new

leaves 5-10 cm long, which can be used fresh or processed.

Both arugula are occasionally damaged by fireflies - the fireflies make holes in the

new leaves. Sprouts can be limited, or cruciferous sprouts can be combated by

watering and regularly loosening the soil.

It is preferable to grow arugula in one place once every four years.

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