22 Reasons To Grow Your Own Rocket

1/ It’s an aphrodisiac. During Roman times, when it grew in Mediterranean regions, it was considered the perfect ingredient to give your sex life a boost.

2/ You don’t need a garden. A window box, or even something smaller, like the plastic packaging container that you get strawberries in, will do. Throw some stones or old wine corks in the bottom and add some compost.

3/ It doesn’t need much attention. You sprinkle seeds on wet compost, then sprinkle some more compost over the top. Water again, and you’re off. Once well established you can abandon it for weeks on end and it will manage fine. For more detailed instructions, see this guide in Gardener’s World.

4/ You don’t need to worry about soil type. Rocket grows well in most soils, so you can avoid all the effort of pH testing kits and working out whether you’re dealing with a clay or sandy patch.

5/ It grows like a weed. And it self seeds so if you plant it in your garden, you’ll find patches of it cropping up all over the place.

6/ You won’t be bound by a rigorous watering schedule. Only when the seedlings first appear, you should water every day or so, unless it rains. Later on, rocket won't need excessive watering; it is used to Mediterranean climes. Although in the height of summer, watering helps to stop it running to seed (this is when seed or flower heads form, so the plant no longer concentrates on producing leaves - it has reached the end of its growing life)

7/ It’s good for you. Especially if you minimize the time between picking it and eating it, which is easy if it’s growing metres from your kitchen. Fresh rocket leaves contain iron and vitamin C.

8/ You don’t have to be limited to salads. You can cook it, treating it the same as spinach.

9/ It’s hardy and keeps on growing all winter. Especially wild rocket, which is tougher than salad rocket. Mine is taking over a patch in my front garden, where I sowed some seeds, over a year ago.

10/ Slugs and snails don’t seem to like it. Not as much as other salad crops anyway. To anyone who has witnessed the destruction of tender seedlings or suffered the loss of their favourite plant, this is a big attraction.

11/ It doesn’t need space. It’s not fussy about being crowded in a bed like asparagus, or likely to take up too much room like courgette plants.

12/ Bagged rocket from the supermarket is a rip-off. Say you bought a £2 bag of rocket once a week from May until September, that would cost you £46. One packet of organic rocket seeds costs £1.49.

13/ You can make your own pesto. Either in a food blender, or do what I do and bash up some pine kernals, then add garlic, salt and roughly chopped rocket and grind it in a large pestle and mortar, or in a mixing bowl with a rolling pin. Add olive oil and lots of grated parmesan. It’ll keep for a few weeks, sealed in a jam jar in the fridge. For a more accurate recipe, see here.

14/ It makes you feel green fingered. Sticking with something that is easy to grow does wonders for your gardening self-esteem. A thriving bed of greens promises of success with future venture.

15/ It’ll impress friends. When you come in from the garden with a handful of freshly plucked leaves, they will gasp at your green and earthy ways, even if you only have enough to sprinkle on top of a salad made mainly from supermarket iceberg. With its peppery flavour, a little goes a long way.

16/ You can sow almost anytime. From early spring to late autumn, with the exception perhaps of the height of summer when it might run to seed

17/ It goes brilliantly with salami. Or, if you're posh about your pig products, prosciutto.

18/ It grows quickly. None of this wait-two-years-before-you-eat-it-palava that you have with rhubarb and raspberry canes.

19/ Seeds are easy to find in garden centres. Unlike obscure varieties of rainbow chard, most garden centres, however small, will stock a packet or two of rocket seeds.

20/ The more you eat the more it seems to grow. This is because most types of rocket are ‘cut and come again’

21/ If your rocket is attacked by a pest, the leaves won’t be inedible. The holes you might see in the leaves are caused by a tiny pest called the flea beetle, so called because it leaps like a flea when disturbed. There is no problem with eating the leaves, although you may wish to wash them first to remove any traces of flea.

22/ If you still want to cheat... you can order in young plants from Rocket Gardens, see here.

Comments

[Ben]

ok, i get the message. my path to being a happy green rocket grower starts here.

[Ruth]

anyone know how to stop cat peeing in your patch though, that's what stops me growing my own veg?

[James Russell]

Anyone who has tried to grow veg organically will know that slugs and snails will wreck any crop they like. We've lost courgettes through having the flowers munched, French beans, even daffodils and tulips (not grown for food, obviously, but that doesn't seem to stop the slugs). Rocket is fantastic in this respect, as are:

Chard (only eaten by the most desperate slug)
Onions
Garlic
Leeks
Potatoes
Sweet corn
Tomatoes (unless fruit touches the ground)
Strawberries (get fruit early)

Also dandelions, comfrey and the other 'wild leaves' beloved of urban survivalists.

[Eco Worrier]

Ruth - last year, we tried sticking in bbq sticks and then winding cotton around them to create a weird sort of maze that cats didn't like navigating. they still found ways around it though, doing their business at the edges.

James - thanks for your list. am keen to start growing sweetcorn this year, and am glad to know it won't be a target

[James Russell]

Of course, you can never be sure that the little critters won't develop a liking for your corn... They're not supposed to eat daffodils, after all. Good luck!

[Sue Burnett]

One reason not to grow rocket: it tastes foul. There's a good reason why slugs and snails don't eat it...

[Sarah Skinner]

For problems with cats and slugs; grow in a hanging basket !

[Sarah]

Apparently a ring of copper (pennies will do) around plants will keep the slugs and snails away, as they hate the taste of it. I'm trying it this year and hoping for the best...

[tim hartley]

Don't forget guys n gals. Badgers LOVE sweetcorn. They will roll on it to knock it down and scoff the lo. I love badgers and sweetcorn

[chetas]

I love strawberries!! They are berry nice

[Jack]

i'm just amused that the fact rocket is an aphrodisiac was first on the list...

shame my girlfriend doesn't like rocket...

[Alison Garnham]

I use sticks to keep cats out of my vegetable patch. It takes a lot of sticks though; sturdy, vertical sticks every 6 inches or so, and thinner, bendy sticks to weave in and out horizontally. I love rocket with other food; not so much by itself. It self-seeds in my garden but I still cannot grow enough of it. And I love cats!

[Greenfingers]

There's a small shrub that my mum grows to keep cats away. I can't remember its name but they won't go anywhere near it for some reason. I'll try to find out the name.

[Amanda G]

Cats don't like Rue - I believe it is a hardy, ever green plant but afraid I don't know much about it. Found an article about how to live harmoniously with your pets and garden (!) on http://www.plantconnection.com I've copied the link to the actual page as it tells you more. Hope this helps! http://www.plantconnection.co.uk/pets_and_plants/30288_i.html

[Hannah Phillips]

I am afraid that our garden is a bit behind this year, due to the arrival of our baby girl, last week.

[Eco Worrier]

Congratulations Hannah! That's wonderful news. Haven't you already got quite a brood?

[Hannah Phillips]

It is a girl to follow the two boys. But I am experimenting with some new washable nappies this time. I used biodegradable ones last time. But I won some washables from green parent magazine and so far they seem to be really good.
But things are hectic so any green tips for large families are most welcome.

[Eco Worrier]

Hannah, I'd love to hear about those washables you've had success with. I'm going to be braving the same seas soon enough, as I'm four months pregnant!
Any chance you could drop me an email at the eco worrier email
ecoworrier@thetimes.co.uk?

[Clive]

My problem is with the urban fox, they crap,pee and dig up my veg patch :(. So this year i have none till i find a deterrent

[Paul in NJ]

Pardon the Yank, but where does one find rocket, or its seeds, in the US? My gardener friends have barely heard of it, maybe once on Jamie at Home. Can't say I have seen it at the grocer or produce store, let alone the garden center where they sell plants.

[Miriam]

Paul in NJ -- rocket and arugala are one and the same -- so now that you know, happy seed shopping and planting!

[dawn allen]

Clive a visit to your local hairdresses may solve your problems. Foxes are deterred by human hair so try scattering it around your plot ih and peeing on the boundries also helps!

[Paul in NJ]

Ah, I should have known; I will file it with bumbershoots, boots, lifts, and other Britishisms! ;}

[Meg in KY, USA]

If you put a bowl of beer by your plants beer, slugs prefer it to plants and will crawl into it and drown. They can't help themselves... it works, have tried it myself.

[Edward Welsh]

Brilliant,trouble is it tastes crap. Bet you'll never get kids to eat it.The organic bit is crap as well-that just means expensive.

[gregory]

Sounds like the previous poster needs to eat some rocket asap, depression is directly linked to a defeciecy of several of the minerals in this awesome plant!

Vitamin C and Iron are just the start of Arugulas wealth.

Raw Rocket (or Arugula) is very high in Vitamins A, C and K, and it has very high levels of Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, and Phosphorus. Additionally, it's an above average source of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Zinc and Copper, Potassium and Manganese. As if all this wasnt enough, it has very high protein levels for a vegetable.

See here for more info on the complete nutritional spectrum of Rocket (or any other food): http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20mn.html