Arugula: how to grow, care. Breeding tips and best varieties

Arugula has several other names, some of which you have definitely heard: mustard salad, Indian or arugula). She represents salad plant, which belongs to the cabbage family, and was brought to our territory from the Mediterranean countries.

Divided by two types: annual and perennial. Popular about the type. It can reach a height of approximately 80 centimeters. She is characterized by flowers yellow color. The seeds ripen in special long pods. Only one copy contains at least 25 seeds! They are the basis for creating mustard. If you are not afraid to start growing arugula, then you should read our article, which can answer all your questions.

Short story arugula

It has been known since ancient times; arugula was added to food as a piquant spice. At first, residents of France and England knew about it, but decades later its popularity spread to other countries, thus captivating the whole world.

The plant has an unsurpassed aroma that cannot even be compared with anything. It goes well with various vegetables and is also used as a complement to meat dishes. The seeds can be put into winter pickles, they will give them more unusual taste. As for the rhizome, it has been used for many years in recipes traditional medicine.

How to properly grow arugula in the garden

In order for the plant to take root and not die on your site, you should provide it with a large area with neutral soil, also soil will do with a low alkali content. You can make less acidic soil using lime, and this is necessary, because acidic soil the lettuce will not grow. Arugula is grown in two ways: using seedlings and seeds. To obtain a rich harvest and for the plants to develop quickly, it is recommended to use the seedling method. With its help, you will also reduce your waste on seed material.

Arugula is often planted in March-April. The plant will take root faster if there was a pumpkin or beans growing on the site before it. You can use peat cups to plant arugula. Plant 4 seeds in one pot and cover them with a 1 centimeter layer of soil.

They should hatch in a week first shoots. There is no need to pick seedlings. Once the arugula has finally gotten stronger, it can be planted in the ground outside. Seedlings are grown separately (2 pieces each). To do this, cut a plastic pot or glass (depending on what the seeds were germinated in) in half. They just do it very carefully so that the lump of earth and the future are not damaged. root system.

Arugula is one of those species that can easily withstand frost down to -8 degrees. However, it is better not to rely on this property, but to immediately prepare small greenhouses from plastic containers cut in half. Cover the plant if frost is predicted. During the day, the mini-greenhouse is removed, even if the temperature does not exceed 0 degrees.

How to care for arugula seedlings

Arugula cannot be called unpretentious plant. She, like other representatives cabbage family, needs careful care, which consists of regular watering, weeding and loosening the soil.

1. Feed the plant various fertilizers it is forbidden. It easily absorbs harmful microelements.

2. To increase taste qualities plants, it is necessary to plant seedlings at a distance of 25 cm.

3. A suitable area for growing arugula is the most illuminated area.

4. To produce juicy, sweet leaves, seedlings should be watered once every two days.

5. Excellent temperature - 18 degrees above zero.

6. The first harvest is harvested when the arugula reaches 12 cm in height.

How to grow arugula at home

This question is especially of interest to those who are the happy owners of an apartment, and not own home. After all, growing arugula at home also deserves special attention. If you provide quality care to the plant, you will get excellent harvest. The first thing you need to remember is that the plant loves light, so sunlight he should have enough.

Arugula is planted in the form of seeds in the ground in which the vegetables grew. Grow arugula at home seedling method. Not later a large number of time after emergence, the seedlings are transplanted into separate containers. You can plant 2 copies of the plant in one pot, the main thing is that the distance between them is at least 25 centimeters.

Note! Leaves that have bloomed lose their taste, so they are immediately torn off and new leaves await the appearance. Arugula, which has been given proper care, will grow all year, delighting your entire family with its harvest.

Growing arugula in a greenhouse

Many summer residents and gardeners have learned to plant arugula in a greenhouse. And this is not surprising, because this event is not difficult. Before planting, the soil is carefully dug up. Then ridges are formed at a distance of 25 cm. The soil is watered abundantly. Fertilizers are not applied. Seeds are planted at a distance of 35 cm, then they are sprinkled with soil and covered plastic film. After a week, the film is removed. Subsequent care consists of high-quality watering.

Arugula is one of the plants that is resistant to diseases and pest attacks. This can be explained big amount essential oils that repel pests.

The only thing that can infect the plant is fungal infections; to prevent them, you need to carefully inspect the arugula.

The resulting harvest can be stored 7 days in a cold place , before storage it is sprayed with water.

For complete happiness, I decided to grow arugula in a pot on the windowsill from seeds. Now I’m looking at my windowsill and realizing that I won’t be able to open the window... Soon the tarragon will be transplanted into larger pots, the dill will grow, the thyme has sprouted well and the chives are stretching out little by little.

I’ve never tried arugula, so I decided to sow it next to watercress, just for fun (or fanaticism, which is scary to admit). The first attempt was unsuccessful - a flat tray in which watercress grows successfully is not suitable for the root system of arugula, and it will not work to sow as thickly as watercress.

How to grow arugula in a pot

I'll start with the seeds. I came across two varieties - “solitaire” and “poker”. There is no need to soak the seeds; they sprout literally on the second day. Take a pot at least 10 cm deep, and better box to accommodate more bushes. It is recommended to sow arugula at home at a distance of a centimeter from each other, and after the appearance of the first two leaves, plant it at a distance of 4 cm, but I’m not ready to replant an entire army of arugula, I sowed it as it turned out - visually divided the pot into two semicircles and sowed each with its own variety, thicker than recommended.

Don't forget about drainage at the bottom of the pot. Seeds sprinkled from a spray bottle warm water and covered it with a thin layer of earth, also moistened it. They say arugula on the windowsill needs sunny place, but in fact it turned out that it was simply burning under straight lines sun rays even on the east window. Mine feels great on a shaded balcony, with a moderate draft.

Take the soil - no matter what, just feed it once a week complex fertilizer and I advise you to add it to the soil, or better yet, both. Now I don’t plant anything without these components.

Arugula loves moderate humidity. Make sure that the soil never dries out (I water young shoots exclusively with a spray bottle so as not to flood or break the sprouts).

My arugula in a pot

It’s better to eat in a month, let her gain strength and vitamins to the fullest. The stem can grow up to 40 cm in height, you can eat a six-centimeter leaf, but I advise you to be patient.

Arugula also grows in a cup. Looks very cute)))

You can already eat arugula

This salad herb tastes like Walnut, a very unusual spicy aroma. Thanks to its unique properties, arugula has a number of beneficial properties.

Arugula is a salad plant valued for its spicy, pungent taste. Growing arugula is not difficult. Like all lettuces, it grows very quickly. There is no Mediterranean cuisine without arugula. Italians cannot imagine salads without it; they generously flavor pizza, pasta, and all sorts of minestrone soups with it. This is the main ingredient in almost any dish. But if local gourmets have respected arugula since the times Ancient Rome, then the Russians tried the spicy “Italian” and appreciated it only recently, for a long time In our country it was considered just a weed.

Useful properties of arugula

Green arugula leaves are not only a table decoration, but also a treasure trove useful substances. There are vitamins, especially A, B 9, C, microelements - potassium, calcium, magnesium, iodine, iron and flavonoids. The bioactive substances they contain have a beneficial effect on digestion, help strengthen the immune system, normalize water-salt metabolism, and reduce blood sugar levels. American gastroenterologists even recommend arugula as safe remedy for the prevention and treatment of gastritis, stomach ulcers. And also blooming arugula - honey plant, bees love her very much.

In Slovenia, arugula is added to cheese cheburek. In Italy they use it for pizza: usually arugula is added shortly before the end of its preparation or immediately after. It is also used as an ingredient for pestle sauce in addition to or replacing basil.

As for the gastronomic merits of the spicy “Italian”, if anyone has tried it, food without its spicy, nutty-pepper bitterness seems rather boring. Therefore, its popularity among Russian gardeners and farmers is growing every year. Rucola is in great demand among restaurateurs, supermarkets, and vegetable markets. For example, in Moscow it has already taken third place in popularity after traditional dill and parsley.

As food plant Two of its types are popular - cultivated arugula (Eruca sativa, Indau sativa) and wild arugula (two-row thin-leaved and wild rocket). In Russia, wild arugula is the most common, so we will talk about it.

Arugula is a cold-resistant plant, usually early ripening - it is ready for consumption in early spring or in the first half of summer, when other vegetables are not yet ripe.

In Kuban it can be sown already in March, because the most comfortable temperature the soil in which it germinates is from 5 to 12°C. Arugula grows well on various types soils throughout almost the entire territory of Russia. It can be grown in open and protected ground by direct sowing of seeds or through seedlings. Stepped sowings are carried out after 10-15 days. Care consists of loosening the row spacing, timely watering, and mulching the rows with humus or low-lying peat.

If you want to grow lush greenery wild arugula early or quickly, then we advise you to opt for the Solitaire variety - one of the most popular among Russian gardeners.

So, Solitaire. Variety selected by the company "Gavrish". Early ripening, the beginning of marketability occurs 20-25 days after emergence. The rosette of leaves is semi-raised, 15-18 cm in diameter, 18-20 cm high. The leaf is very textured and picturesque - medium in size, lyre-shaped with cuts along the edge, the surface is smooth, the color is green. The average weight of the rosette is 20-45 g. Productivity is 1.4-1.6 kg/m2 .

Arugula is undemanding to soil. But still, planted in light, fertile soil with a neutral reaction of the soil solution, it will reward you with a particularly rich harvest of high-quality greenery and will not accumulate nitrates.

Arugula seeds can be sown in open ground immediately after the snow melts until mid-August. The seeding rate is 30 g per 100 m2. Minimum temperature seed germination – 9-10°C, optimal – 18-24°C. The maximum sowing depth of seeds is 3-4 cm.

The distance between plants in a row is 8-10 cm, between rows - 30-40 cm. As necessary, weeding, loosening of row spacing, and thinning of plants are carried out, since seeds have an extended germination period. The emergence of seedlings is possible throughout the entire growing season.

The plant does not require special lighting, grows well in the shade, but resists aggressive sunshine by coarsening the leaves and bolting. And one more thing - arugula needs to be watered in a timely manner, otherwise its leaves will be wormwood-bitter.

In a greenhouse, arugula is grown on soil and using flow hydroponics.

When cultivated on lettuce lines in one standard growing pot green crops 30-35 seeds are sown. Shoots appear in 2-3 days. In the seedling department, the seedlings grow for 10-12 days, after which they are put on the line. The harvest is harvested after 23-25 ​​days.

Pests and diseases of arugula

Among the pests of wild arugula in open ground — cruciferous flea beetles, quite severely damaging the leaves.

When infected by the fungus Peronospora parasitica, dark brown spots appear on the leaves. And the fungus Fusarium oxysporum causes chlorosis: the leaves of the diseased plant lose color, turn yellow, and vascular system appears as brown or black stripes.

Methods to combat the scourge include crop rotation, soil preparation, and weed control.

Use of arugula - what is it eaten with?

Fresh young leaves and wild arugula shoots add an exquisite spicy note to salads, pasta and bean dishes, cottage cheese or cheese snacks. Just sprinkle boiled potatoes with arugula and it will acquire a new, unusual taste.

Arugula seeds are used in the preparation of spicy mustard, and the oil from the seeds is used in canning vegetables.

Like any green, arugula is at its best when fresh. Long heat treatment kills its taste and aroma, not to mention its vitamin set. Arugula is added to hot dishes at the end of cooking or to already prepared food.

Wild arugula can be stored in the refrigerator for several days without losing quality.

Arugula, like all salad crops, is undemanding to growing conditions. In three to four weeks you can get rid of good aromatic nutritious leaves V . What to pay attention to:

Seeds

In stores, the seeds are sold under various names: Indau, Eruka salad, Eruka forest, Rocket salad. This is a fast-growing crop and therefore you should not pay attention to the timing of ripeness (early ripening, early ripening, etc.).

Soil

The easiest way is to buy a package ready soil in the shop. It should be loose and have a neutral (slightly acidic) reaction. You can also cook it yourself. Mix turf soil (dig, for example, in a forest belt under birch trees, away from roads), humus, sand. Your own soil mixture will be “fatter”, but also denser. You will have to loosen the soil under the plants after each watering. You should not take soil from your garden because of the likelihood of infection with various fungal infections. Fertilizers cannot be used, as this salad absorbs nitrates like a sponge.

How to sow?

Any low pots are suitable for sowing, plastic containers, drawers. In a word, any container with a height of at least 8...10 cm will do. In a lower container, the soil dries out quickly, which arugula does not like. So, pour soil into the prepared container almost to the brim. She will settle down.

We outline the rows (about 1 cm deep), pour them carefully with warm water, do not make a “swamp”. Then we spread the seeds thinly and sprinkle soil on top. You can sow simply by scattering the seeds randomly over the surface of the moistened soil. To ensure that the shoots are friendly, cover the top plastic bag. We put it in a dark place. After 3...5 days, the seeds germinate.

Remove the film and place it on the brightest windowsill. Arugula loves a lot of light. When there is insufficient lighting, the seedlings stretch out and do not gain aroma. You can resort to additional lighting fluorescent lamps.

Caring for arugula

As the seedlings grow, watering is increased. After a week, the thickened weak plants are removed, freeing up the feeding area for stronger ones. If the house is hot and dry, you will have to water more often. But overwatering arugula will also harm it. The most favorable temperature for growth is 18...20°C. After 10...15 days, you can begin the first gentle pruning of lettuce leaves. This means that the growth point must be maintained. In this way, the second wave of nutritious leaves will grow.

Benefit and pleasure

Arugula leaves contain a lot of beneficial nutrients. And in winter time They will add a unique taste and aroma to prepared dishes, increase appetite, and strengthen the immune system. The leaves are especially good as an addition to salads, pizza, any sandwiches, curd spreads and cheese. Arugula goes well with fish, meat dishes, and seafood.

Arugula is herb nutty-mustard flavor, popular among gourmets and supporters healthy nutrition. In garden beds, this grass often dies due to pests that can destroy the first shoots of arugula in a matter of seconds. But it’s quite easy to grow it on a windowsill.

You will need

• Arugula seeds (the best varieties for the windowsill are solitaire and poker)
• Long pot with drainage holes or drainage tray
• Soil (any soil for seedlings or flower crops is suitable)
• Expanded clay

Instructions

First you need to heat treat the soil. There are many ways to do this, I use the following. Place slightly moistened soil (about 0.5 kg at a time) in a glass container and microwave for 4-5 minutes. Then cool the soil until room temperature.

Pour expanded clay into a layer of about 1-1.5 cm at the bottom of the pot/box. Pour soil over the expanded clay, about 6-8 cm. Moisten the soil. We make small depressions at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other to mark where we will place the seeds. Place several seeds in each hole, sprinkle with a layer of soil (about 1 cm), lightly compact and moisten with a spray bottle. Cover the pot with plastic wrap and place in a dark place until the first shoots appear. Every day you need to lightly moisten the soil with a spray bottle. My first shoots appeared after 3 days.

As soon as the sprouts appear, you need to remove the film and place the plant in a well-lit place. The soil must be constantly moist!

With certain knowledge, you can grow herbs or even vegetables on your windowsill at home without any problems. Very often, arugula is grown in such an improvised garden. Our article will tell you in detail how to grow arugula on a windowsill.

Before you start growing a plant such as arugula at home, you need to understand all the intricacies of this process. Only this will help achieve desired result at minimum costs strength, time and nerves.

What is arugula? This annual plant, which belongs to the Brassica family. Is early ripening vegetable. This is a type of leafy green. This crop is becoming more and more popular among gardeners every year due to its unusual and refined taste. It is also a very healthy green. Culture came to our country from the Mediterranean coast.

A huge advantage of growing this plant at home is its ease of care. The culture is absolutely not capricious and grows well in various containers: flower pots, wooden boxes or plastic trays.

When growing these greens on the windowsill, you need to know the following things:

In principle, these are all the nuances that you should know about if you decide to grow this plant at home. Small additions to agricultural practices may appear when growing specific varieties. However, they are usually insignificant and their ignorance will not entail serious consequences for the ripening of the future harvest.

When choosing arugula varieties for growing in a home or apartment, experts recommend giving preference to varieties such as Sicily, Rocket and Corsica. This early ripening varieties. Therefore, they will be able to please with their harvest approximately 35-38 days after the procedure of planting seeds in prepared soil.

However, we should not forget that the success of the entire enterprise here will depend on the correctness of each stage (selection of seeds, their sowing and further care for sprouted seedlings). Only if you follow all the recommendations at each stage, you will end up with tasty and very healthy greens. And from improper care it is the useful qualities greenery

Video “Useful properties”

From the video you will learn about the beneficial properties of arugula.

Sowing

The beginning of growing any crop at home or in the garden always begins with the selection seed material. Arugula seeds can be purchased at a specialty store, received as a gift from neighbors, or prepared yourself. In any case, the main thing is that the seed is healthy and disinfected. Otherwise, you can get into a lot of trouble when the plant starts to hurt.

Planting of selected arugula seeds is carried out using the surface sowing method. It is carried out as follows:

• the seeds are laid out on moist soil;
• There should be a gap of 3 centimeters between the seeds;
• then they are sprinkled with a small layer of earth. The layer of soil poured on top should have a thickness of about 1-1.5 centimeters;
• then the ground should be well watered with settled warm water. Moreover, a sprayer should be used for watering. This will allow the moisture to be evenly distributed over the entire surface of the soil.

The choice of container type must be made depending on how many plants you intend to grow. If it's a little, you can use a flower pot. When giving preference to a pot, you should choose containers with a wall height of no more than 12 centimeters. In this case, the layer of earth must be filled to a height of 6-7 centimeters. In a situation where you intend to set up a small vegetable garden at home, it is better to use oblong plastic trays or wooden boxes.

Containers with seeds should be placed in a warm place. They can be installed near batteries. This culture will do well with extensive temperature range from +10 to +25 degrees.

After sowing the seeds, it is recommended to cover the container with glass or film. Then we place the seedlings in a dark place. Under such conditions, the first shoots will appear in about 5-6 days. During this period, the film must be periodically folded back to ventilate the soil. When the seedlings have hatched, remove the film or glass from the container. In this case, the pot or box should be placed in a well-lit place. This is what will happen permanent place growing. Therefore, you need to approach his choice responsibly, evaluating all the pros and cons.

Watering

It is necessary to water the arugula abundantly. But at the same time observing reasonable limits. Therefore, it is recommended to water the plantings every day using a spray bottle. In general, almost all further care of greenery comes down to daily watering.

Care and feeding

When growing arugula at home, you need to ensure that the greens do not stretch out. Its color should always be saturated. Any changes color range or leaf length indicates incorrect light mode. Installing additional lighting will help solve any problems with lighting. It is especially important for plants grown in winter period. At this time, the additional illumination should compensate for the approximately four hours that are added to the natural light regime.

When caring for this crop, you need to understand that it very quickly absorbs any substances that enter the soil along with water. For this reason, experts do not recommend feeding arugula. After all, if they use chemical fertilizers, all toxic and poisonous substances for humans (for example, nitrates) will quickly accumulate in greenery. At the same time, everything beneficial features are leveled out. In this form, it cannot be eaten and all efforts to grow it will go down the drain. Therefore, add mineral and organic fertilizers under no circumstances is it possible.

Arugula is very easy to care for. Therefore, it can be grown without problems by any person who has nothing to do with gardening, but who loves tasty, healthy and nutritious food.

Harvesting

If the care of arugula seedlings was organized correctly, then after 8-10 days you can harvest the first harvest. After all, the plant grows very quickly and a week and a half will definitely be enough to form young leaves filled with vitamins. They will be a great addition to any salad.

You can actively pick leaves after they have reached a height of 10 centimeters. Although you can find information that the harvest of this crop must be carried out a month after sowing the planting material.

It is worth noting that when harvesting ripened greens, you should not wait until the plant blooms. Harvesting should be done as needed. If you don't go too heavy on the greens, they can last for about 45 days.

After the arugula has bloomed and most of the leaves have already been torn off, you can re-sow the empty container. With this approach, there will always be fresh greens on your table, containing a large amount of vitamins.

As you can see, growing arugula at home is a very simple process. You can even call it ideal culture, perfect for growing on a windowsill. It requires minimal care, which consists only of properly selected light conditions and daily watering. Having planted this crop in flower pot, you will always have a source of vitamins, as well as a tasty and fresh ingredient for culinary masterpieces.

Video “Growing”

From the video you will learn how to grow arugula at home.