Kitchen Garden

Simon Courtauld

Last year I bought a small plant of Turkish rocket, not knowing anything about it or how it compares with other rockets. It may have its origins in the Taurus mountains of southern Turkey, or on the shores of the Black Sea, but I have found no information on this.

It is an interesting perennial plant which has grown in my garden throughout the autumn and, at the time of writing, is still sporting vibrant green, pointed leaves – unlike the annual rocket which we pulled up in November. I have removed the large, yellowing outer leaves which were lying close to the ground, and am confident of a lot more young green shoots in early spring.

The large leaves have a slightly bitter taste and are best cooked like spinach. But the young leaves, from the centre of the plant, have a pungent rocket

flavour and should continue for much of the winter. I am looking forward to the immature flowering stems in late spring which apparently look and taste rather like sprouting broccoli.

Like Johnny Turk at Gallipoli, Turkish rocket is tough. With a deep tap root, it doesn’t suffer in periods of drought and is resistant to frost, disease and all pests, including rabbits. It is not fussy about soil and, once established, will last and continue to grow for years.

But be aware that Turkish rocket is hard to get rid of. It will self-seed and, like mint and horseradish, will spread over a larger area.

Although I started with a plant, Turkish rocket can be grown easily enough from seed; both are available from Pennard Plants near Shepton Mallet, Somerset. Pennard also sell a perennial tree kale which is similarly resistant to pests and bad weather and can grow over two yards tall.

This Victorian walled garden has a range of unusual vegetables, including skirret, a root which used to be given to peasant workers as a cheap source of protein, and the Egyptian walking onion, so called because it moves around by falling to the ground and reseeding.