Arugula seeds for home garden

There has been a lot of talk about arugula lately. And the desire to try this exotic seasoning in your own kitchen may prompt you to buy arugula seeds and plant them in your garden or even on your windowsill.

What is arugula?

I would like to immediately warn those who decided to immediately go to the nearest agricultural store and urgently purchase the treasured seeds - there may not be a product called arugula seeds on the shelf. The thing is that this aromatic herb has many names: eruka, ruccola, rocket, arugula, indau, rocket, Eruca sativa. This is why it can be difficult to recognize arugula seeds when purchasing. In Russia, this overseas seasoning is also well known - it is a widespread weed with palmate leaves called caterpillar. But the most famous name of this annual herb with a mustard-nut-pepper flavor is still “rucola”.

Growing arugula

Of course, arugula seeds germinate well in open ground, but if you want to have fresh seeds at any time of the year, you should plant a small plantation on your own windowsill. You will need to buy a ready-made soil mixture, although you can stock up on your own. Please note that arugula loves light, fertile soils. Low acidity of the soil will avoid the accumulation of nitrates in the foliage. Lighting is not so important for arugula and your “window garden” can be set up even on the north side of the apartment.This arrangement is even preferable if you grow the seasoning in the hot summer (from heat and drought, the leaves become coarser and begin to shoot). The optimal temperature for it is 16 - 18°C. It is very important to water arugula on time, since lack of moisture makes its leaves bitter. Since arugula seeds are small, it is most convenient to sow the entire area and then plant the seedlings. And the sooner you start pinching, the more intensively the bush will grow. An adult plant is considered to be approximately 10 cm tall.