Content
- Grow the rocket
- Fresh from the garden on the table - plant the rocket yourself
- The right location ensures lush growth
- The right care makes it
- Ground fleas, cabbages and other pests
- Harvest time - the best time
- The preparation
Grow the rocket
Rucola is a low-maintenance salad plant, which enjoys great popularity with its slightly nutty taste. Rucola is often associated with Italian cuisine, where it is used not only as a salad but also as a pizza toppings. The popularly earlier known as Senfrauke or Salatrauke Mediterranean plant can be easily grown in the garden or in planters on the balcony. With the help of a few useful tips and little effort you can soon enjoy a delicious salad.
Fresh from the garden on the table - plant the rocket yourself
Already from the end of January you can pre-cultivate the rocket plant on the windowsill. The temperature should be in the range of 10 to 16 ° C, so neither too cold nor too warm. After a germination period of approx. 5 - 15 days, the first small plantlets are found, which can be moved into the field from March on, or where they can sow the seed directly again. But remember to protect the rocket from frost damage in extreme cold. If necessary, cover the plants with a garden fleece.
The right location ensures lush growth
For the rucola perennial, choose the sunny spot possible. It is ideal if you have already prepared the site with compost in the autumn. The soil prepared in this way is an excellent basis on which the rocket develops magnificently and thanks you for the effort with rapid growth. The nutrient-rich the soil, the greater the later harvest. However, it is important to note that no other cruciferous plant has been grown in the same place in the last three years. The rocket also belongs to this genus of plants and the crop rotation requires that a cultivation break is taken in order to obtain satisfactory results. If other cruciferous plants, such as cabbage varieties such as white, red or Brussels sprouts, have been planted at the same place beforehand, it is essential to pay attention to the time interval.
The right care makes it
Arugula is a more than grateful plant in this regard. It is considered extremely easy to care for and pleases the gardener with its rapid growth. After only 4 to 6 weeks, you will be rewarded with harvest-fresh salad. It does not require any additional fertilizer when growing rocket. Sometimes this can even turn into the opposite. If rucola is given too much fertilizer, this can trigger the so-called leaf spot disease. If your plants are affected, you must cut them out completely and dispose of them. Providing well-dosed irrigation on dry days is enough and you can soon enjoy a high crop yield.
Ground fleas, cabbages and other pests
Unfortunately, rocket is not immune to pest infestation. To intervene as a precaution, however, it requires only a small effort. Loosen the soil around the plants regularly with a rake and make sure that the soil is always slightly moist. To protect your plants from annoying earth fleas. Against cabbages you can protect the plants with a simple insect net. To avoid the previously mentioned leaf spot disease, you should completely abstain from fertilizing. Further damage to the plants threatens by the so-called downy mildew, a fungus that unfortunately often appears in allotments. You can inject the plants to strengthen with Acherschachtelhalmbrühe. Usually, however, compliance with the crop rotation is sufficient. Sufficient plant spacing ensures that you can only pour the soil around the plants and the leaves are spared. This also prevents the wrong mildew. Do you have ladybugs in your garden? Then you have a double reason to be happy! Ladybugs not only look cute, but also kill this unwelcome pest.
Harvest time - the best time
The rocket is ripe for harvest when the leaves are about 10 - 12 cm long. Do not cut them too low, because then the rocker will continue to drive. The ferruginous and calcium-rich plant can then be harvested up to three times, as is sliced lettuce. If you let the Rucola perennial bloom in the garden, you can later reap the seeds from the white-yellowish flower itself. Store the seeds in a dry place so they can be used for a new sowing. If you refuse to harvest, the seed will be distributed by itself in your bed. It may happen that the rocket spreads out almost like "weeds". Since rocket can be planted year-round, you can repeat the sowing at a different location so that you can always have fresh salad on the plate until the end of September - until then, rocket can be harvested easily.
The preparation
The stalks of the rocket should be removed as far as possible, since they contain bitter substances and so the delicious, slightly nutty and pungent aroma can develop better. Let your imagination run free and compose delicious salad creations that are also very healthy by the way. Give it a try - top up a pizza with rocket. Simply enjoy the taste experience at home, which is otherwise reserved for Italian restaurants.