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Post by binnylou on Apr 3, 2019 11:21:22 GMT -5
I planted Baker Creek seed on 4/1. This morning, I see that they have sprouted, without benefit of bottom heat. That is some hot shot seed.
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Post by binnylou on Apr 9, 2019 20:17:38 GMT -5
More education, please. The arugula seeds were planted in 9 packs with several seeds per cell. Can I just plant a clump of sprouted seeds or do I need to separate them into single plants? They sure do grow fast.
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Post by octave1 on Apr 9, 2019 20:23:16 GMT -5
binnylou , those seeds can be direct sowed. They grow fast and don't like summer-like heat. Arugula becomes spicier if/when grown in warmer weather. Still good and edible, but much more pungent. Also, the heat makes it bloom and go to seed. And yes, you can plant the clump as it is. If you have a shadier spot available, plat arugula there.
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Post by binnylou on Apr 9, 2019 20:31:30 GMT -5
If you have a shadier spot available, plat arugula there. I plan to put it in the raised bed with the lettuces. It will get mid-day shade from the Oak tree, and that bed has hoops for FRC. And, I've been looking for a shade cloth that is the right size. Thanks, octave1.
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Post by deckman22 on Apr 14, 2019 21:19:49 GMT -5
Mine must be bolting now as what looks like a flower is developing in the center. Still taste good and does seem a little spicier. Wilts faster than lettuce if left out. We have some sort of little black bug here that eats holes in it, about the size of a flea. Sure wish I could figure out how to get rid of them. Weird, they don't eat anything else.
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Post by binnylou on May 6, 2019 0:09:57 GMT -5
I was putting out more arugula plants and thought that since neither hubby nor I had eaten arugula, heโd better taste it. So I picked a leaf off of one of the plants and told him to taste. He liked it...said it was a little peppery and that it should taste good in a mix of lettuces. Winner. Unless it bolts.
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Post by Wheelgarden on May 6, 2019 12:29:22 GMT -5
My overwintered arugula is bolting, but my spring plantings are now at pick-able size. Direct-sown, it was sprouting in 36 hours.
When I first started gardening in earnest, it was tomatoes, peppers, okra, etc. , the usual things. Arugula was one of the first things I tried on a lark, as I had never heard of it before. I've grown it every year since then. We use it in salads, but mainly on any sandwich. Well, not PBJ, but pretty much the rest. Love that "rocket lettuce".
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Post by lilolpeapicker on May 7, 2019 8:09:39 GMT -5
I started growing arugula but I read an article awhile back about arugula not being as nutritious as other greens so I stopped planting as at the time I had limited space. Since I have several pots now I am regrowing it because I saw that it had a nutty taste. I love different textures and flavors in a salad so it is included this year.
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Post by Wheelgarden on May 7, 2019 13:21:20 GMT -5
lilolpeapicker , I notice that nutty taste along with the peppery. It's almost peanut-ty to my taste and smell. One time my Son, while pulling spent arugula, said, "This stuff almost smells like peanut butter!". Somehow those two great tastes taste great together.
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Post by deckman22 on May 24, 2019 15:04:12 GMT -5
I pulled all of mine today. Feed most of it to the chickens and saved three plants to hang in the barn to harvest the seeds after drying. It forms little pods that look like a mini pea pod, hopefully I get some seeds for fall. Once it bolts the leaves get small.
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Vokar
Blooming
 
Posts: 183
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Post by Vokar on Aug 2, 2019 18:35:31 GMT -5
Yeah, arugula is easy to direct-sow, even in my garden (some things have difficulty sprouting in it). Just as a tip, ones started indoors make excellent-tasting microgreens! I agree with the peppery peanut taste for those. For the ones I grew outside, they tasted pretty bitter to me (and not much like peanuts), and were best eaten fresh (cooked the bitterness was stronger). I don't think I've ever transplanted them. The plants don't get very big in my garden, and they seem to be better to eat when they're younger. Kind of hard to harvest, though, IMO (unless you pull up the whole plant), but easy to grow. The roots can get fibrous, if I remember. It reseeds readily if you let it.
Anyone here ever tried wasabi arugula?
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Post by gardendmpls on Aug 3, 2019 21:50:51 GMT -5
You might try growing different varieties to find the one you like the best. I like the more wild type and also the "Ice Bred". Mine reseeds itself every year and it is in a good spot, so my whole family engoys. Sometimes I put a stem of it in a flower vase which keeps it fresh. Rinsing the leaves and putting them in an open zip bag or plastic deli container also keeps it fresh longer. Closed container and you will have a mushy glob.
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Vokar
Blooming
 
Posts: 183
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Post by Vokar on Aug 15, 2019 20:09:44 GMT -5
gardendmpls , I'm not sure if you're talking to me or binnylou, but yeah. I don't grow arugula anymore. Maybe I'd like other kinds more (like the wasabi arugula). I tried a kind that was supposed to be the wild Italian arugula (Diplotaxis tenuifolia), but it looked and tasted exactly like Eruca sativa; I think maybe it was regular arugula. I just got more interested in other crops with bigger leaves instead (like chicory greens, horseradish greens, collard greens, and swiss chardโstill haven't grown collards or chard, yet, though). I love horseradish greens (they're like cabbage in the spring and like hot radishes in the summer). I love chicory, too; it's like lettuce in the spring, but later it turns bitter, but in a different way (it's bitter like grapefruit is bitter).
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Post by gardendmpls on Aug 15, 2019 21:05:54 GMT -5
Planning on trying the horseradish leaves soon.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Sept 3, 2019 18:33:37 GMT -5
Direct-sown August 31, it was sprouting September 2. Why do some call arugula "rocket"? Maybe because it sprouts day after tomorrow. "Astro" variety, heat and cold tolerant. Spicy, peppery, and and peanutty just like it should be. Perks up a salad, and try it on a burger with blue cheese. Mmmm. Love that stuff. I'm a rocket man.
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