3, 2, 1 . . . It’s blast- off time for rapid rocket
FEW edibles are as fast-growing as rocket. Sow seeds in the ground or pots now and they’ll explode into life in as little as 28 days – and the flavour will be on a different planet compared to the sad, limp contents found inside those puffed-up bags sold by supermarkets.
Despite what you might think, rocket doesn’t get its common name because it’s super-speedy. It comes from the Italian name for the salad veg, rucola, which itself comes from the plant’s Latin name of Eruca. The French know the leaves as rocquette and Americans call it arugula.
Rocket is a native of the Mediterranean basin and was popular among ancient Romans, who would eat the leaves in salads and use the seeds to flavour oil.
They didn’t just think it was good to eat. Rocket was considered an aphrodisiac: poet Virgil wrote that it ‘ excites the sexual desires of drowsy people’.
It’s been a popular salad leaf in the UK for the past few decades but has been grown here for centuries. In the past it was held in high esteem for its medicinal properties, and in his influential Herbal from 1653, Nicholas Culpeper prescribes eating boiled leaves to ease coughs and munching seeds to cure body odour.
As for growing it in the garden, most seed companies stock a handful of varieties. Wild rocket is the one you’ll recognise from supermarkets, with attractive frilly leaves and a pungent taste, while ‘ Discovery’ has smooth- edged, elongated leaves, and ‘ Dragon’s Tongue’ boasts deeply lobed leaves marked with purple-red veins.
Growing rocket in the ground is easy. Choose a sunny spot and prepare soil by breaking it up with a fork and raking until the top 2in is the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. Make a ½ in-deep groove with a cane and trickle seeds along the base, spacing them about 4in apart. Cover with soil and water.
Rocket is perfect in containers.
Fill a 12in pot with peat- free multi-purpose compost, tap to settle and press the surface with the base of another pot to leave a firm, level finish.
Scatter seeds thinly across the surface and cover lightly with finely sieved compost.
Moisten thoroughly using a watering can fitted with a sprinkler.
Shoots will usually appear in seven to 14 days, depending on variety and the weather.
Make sure rocket plants have plenty of space to develop by thinning out a crowded mass of seedlings when they are large enough to handle (about 1½ in tall).
Simply pull up with your fingers, leaving remaining seedlings about 4in apart.
Water regularly to prevent soil or compost drying out, as this can lead to plants running to seed prematurely. Flea beetles will sometimes gnaw holes in leaves and although unsightly, the damage is superficial as they can still be eaten. However, you can keep them intact by covering seedlings with insect-proof mesh.
Rocket is normally ready to harvest about four weeks after sowi ng and will provide you with pickings for a month or so.
Take a few leaves as required from around the outside of plants to ensure they produce plenty of fresh growth from the centre.
If flower stems appear, extend the life of plants by snipping them off immediately.