Quick Reference
When to Start |
As soon as soil can be worked.
|
Crop Rotation |
Avoid planting arugula in the same spot that broccoli, kale, or any member of the cabbage family grew in the previous year.
|
How To Plant |
Plant seeds 1/4" deep in rows spaced 1 foot apart
|
Spacing and Support |
Start seeds 1" apart. As they come in thin to 6" apart by removing the weakest plants
|
When to Harvest |
When leaves are 2"-3" long. Any bigger than that they become tough and bitter. Does not tolerate heat so harvest early and often before it goes to seed
|
Storage |
Will stay good for a week or so in the vegetable crisper but it's better to only cut what you need and eat it fresh
|
A favorite of Jill's, arugula adds a nutty, peppery, tangy flavor to salads and sandwiches. It's one of the first things you'll have a chance to eat in the Spring, long before you have any chance of seeing a tomato or cucumber.
When To Start |
Arugula is one of those "as soon as the soil can be worked" vegetables, but of course that is oversimplifying it. You can definitely plant your seeds whenever you want, but they will only germinate and grow when the soil reaches a certain temperature. Seeds will germinate when the soil is between 40-55 degrees, and optimal growing temperature is 50-65 degrees. Have we ever actually considered the soil temperature? No, we haven't. After 6 months locked inside I'm getting my garden going as soon as humanly possible.
Arugula is a cold tolerant plant that hates the heat of mid-summer. Once you get to late June/early July the plant will be sending up shoots and trying to go to seed. However since it does grow so quickly and do well in cold temps, you can plant a 2nd wave in late August/early September when the nights start to get cool again but the soil is still plenty warm from the sunny days. |
Crop Rotation |
Avoid planting arugula in the same spot that broccoli, kale, or any member of the cabbage family grew in the previous year.
Click here to read about crop rotation and why it is so important It's important to not only avoid planting the same crop in the same spot 2 years in a row, but you also have to avoid plants in the same family as they typically draw on the same nutrients and have issues with the same pests. Click here to learn more about plant families and find a chart showing which ones are related. |
How to Plant |
Direct sow seeds right into the garden when the time comes. Seeds should be planted in very shallow dirt, about 1/4" below the surface.
Even if you don't have a garden it's easy to grow arugula indoors. Arugula grows quickly and has shallow roots so it will do well in containers as long as you have natural sunlight or an artificial grow light. |
Harvesting |
Leaves will be ready for harvest when they are 2-3 inches long, which should be about 2-3 weeks after planting. Since it grows so fast, you could plant your arugula in waves so that it doesn't all come at once. If you have room for a few rows, plant them 1-2 weeks apart. The smaller the leaves are the better they taste, so once your first row becomes overgrown and starts to go to seed, you'll still have a row or 2 of young leaves to pick from.
|
What to do with way too many of them |
Once arugula becomes overgrown the best place for it is probably the compost pile. Older/larger leaves are tough and bitter.
If you have a lot to harvest and want it to last longer than a week in the fridge, you can actually make a version of pesto where you substitute arugula for basil. |