How to grow arugula at home?

The Mediterranean is considered the birthplace of arugula. This spice was used in ancient Rome, and later it was eagerly used by the culinary experts of French and English cuisines. Egyptians prefer to add herb to bean dishes and salads, while Italians use arugula leaves for pizza toppings, risottos and salads.

How to grow arugula on the windowsill, we will consider in detail below. Eruka, indau, caterpillar, walker - these are all names of the annual arugula plant.

Plant varieties also differ in appearance. Some of them have yellow flowers and oblong serrated leaves, others with white flowers and dissected leaves. The whole plant is used for food: seeds, flowers and leaves.

Beneficial features

The healing qualities are preserved if the eruku is torn into small particles, and not cut with a knife.

1. Arugula leaves contain a lot of dietary fiber, vitamins, essential oils, trace elements, citric and malic acids, tannins, pectin compounds, antioxidants.
2. Thanks to this chemical composition, it improves intestinal function, normalizes metabolism, strengthens immunity, reduces inflammation, strengthens blood vessels, positively affects male potency, and slows down the development of cancerous tumors.
3. Arugula salad is included in the menu by those who have decided to lose weight. The herb is low in calories, contains a lot of fiber and vitamins, the feeling of hunger disappears for a long time.
4. Arugula is a substitute for salt in many dishes.
5. The use of Indau on fasting days normalizes metabolism, removes toxins and toxins.
6. The herb leaf oil reduces brittle nails and softens the skin.
7. Provides assistance with problems with potency in men.
8. Hair masks with arugula decoction or oil reduce breakage and give hair strength and natural shine.

Healing properties

Due to its unique composition, Indau is also used as an additional agent in the treatment of certain diseases. Properties:

• promotes wound healing;
• strengthens the walls of blood vessels;
• normalizes blood pressure;
• reduces cholesterol;
• improves metabolism;
• regulates water-salt balance;
• raises hemoglobin;
• has a sedative and calming effect;
• lowers blood sugar;
• helps the body fight infections.

Harmful properties

Unfortunately, in addition to benefits, arugula can also harm the body. Due to the content of phytoncides in the grass, severe allergic reactions are possible.

You should not use eruka for diseases:

• liver;
• gastritis;
• urolithiasis;
• gout;
• colitis.

Contraindicated in Indau and pregnant women.

How to grow arugula on the balcony?

All year round, lettuce leaves can be grown on a glazed balcony if the temperature is more than 10 degrees. She grows well in such conditions. For planting, you need to take a container, box or pot and sow seeds to a depth of 1.5 cm. To properly cultivate a plant on a balcony, you need to know how to grow arugula on a windowsill.

Indau has a high germination capacity of seeds, therefore, when planting, they should not be laid out often. Seedlings appear on the 5th day. The seedling method is used to save seeds. The plantings are made more thickened, so that later they can be thinned and made a salad. The harvest ripens in a month.

When growing grass on the balcony, it is important to remember:

• do not use fertilizers, nitrates are quickly absorbed into greens;
• growing arugula requires moderate watering; excess water makes the leaves bitter;
• make the distance between plants 8 cm, then the taste will improve;
• will grow well if the balcony faces the sunny side;
• the best temperature for growing is 18 degrees;
• the leaves are ready to eat when the bush reaches a height of 10 cm.

How to grow arugula at home on a windowsill

Any kind of grass is taken as a planting material. Early ripening varieties will delight you with a harvest in 20 days, and mid-ripening and late varieties - in 30–40 days, respectively.

In boxes or trays, make a drainage layer of pebbles, broken brick or expanded clay. Take the earth slightly alkaline or neutral. The soil calcined at a high temperature from under pumpkin or leguminous plants, taken from a summer cottage, is ideal. Alternatively, you can use boiling water or a solution of potassium permanganate. After disinfection, the soil should stand for 10-14 days. You can prepare the soil yourself, for this, in the proportions of 2: 1: 2, they take turfy soil, sand and humus.

On moistened and slightly compacted soil, make rows or small holes. Put seeds in them at a distance of three centimeters and sprinkle with a layer of earth one centimeter.

Leaving, harvesting

Water from a spray bottle so as not to wash out the soil. After sowing, the boxes are covered with polyethylene film and placed in the dark. The optimum temperature at which the cultivation of arugula is considered ideal is 18 degrees. When the first shoots appear, usually on the 5-6th day, the film coating is removed. Weak and diseased plants are thrown away. The trays are transferred to a well-lit windowsill and moved closer to the glass. The herb is a light-loving plant. If the windows face the north side, then they make illumination from fluorescent lamps, which are placed at a height of 60 cm. Water it once every two days. Top dressing is not required. The eruk plant is very delicate, so it should be protected from drafts and not open the vents on the windows where the boxes are located.

In about a month, juicy greens with an unusual taste will appear in your kitchen. Leaves from 10 cm high are cut off. The size of the leaves is important, since small leaves contain a large amount of bitterness.

"How to grow arugula on a windowsill in winter?" - ask the question of lovers of this greenery. The only difference between growing grass in winter is the extension of daylight hours by 4-6 hours.

It's so easy to grow eruka at home. Greens do not stay in the refrigerator for more than six days. For long-term storage, it is washed, dried and frozen in the freezer. There will always be fresh herbs on the table if you plant small amounts of Indau every two weeks.

Pests and diseases

How to grow arugula on a windowsill to use its health-promoting properties and protect yourself from disease? You must follow certain rules for caring for her.

Indau contains a large amount of essential oils. No pests affect her.The smell of essential oils will scare away harmful insects from other plants that are near it. But it is not protected from fungal diseases that affect the roots due to high soil moisture. The disease manifests itself by wilting of the stems, and white bubbles appear on the roots. Affected greens are destroyed, the disease is incurable.

Trying to experiment

Increasingly, one can see in houses how arugula grows on the windowsill; growing from seeds does not require special conditions to obtain a harvest. This amazing plant feels equally well not only on balconies and windowsills, but also outdoors.

After the flowering of the eruka, seeds are formed, which are sown into the soil and the next year they give new shoots, so there is no need to plant it annually in summer cottages. You can try to leave the seeds, wait until the arugula sprouts on the windowsill, growing from seeds in this case will not require any effort at all.

Indau cultivation is not difficult due to the unpretentiousness of the plant. Greens have an exquisite and piquant taste that reveals the possibilities and subtleties of well-known products in a different way. How to grow arugula on a windowsill so that a green garden is always at hand is described in this article.

How to grow arugula at home

The annual rucola plant (eruka salad, rocket salad, sowing caterpillar, arugula) belongs to the early ripening vegetables of the cabbage family. This type of leafy vegetable garden, which has become especially popular recently due to its exquisite unusual taste and super health benefits, came to us from the Mediterranean coast. Today, rucola is successfully used not only in the Mediterranean, but also in the cuisines of many continents and countries (America, Asia, Europe).

Benefits of arugula

Rucola leaves spice up any dish, be it fresh vegetable salad, pasta sauce, meat dishes or risotto. The delicate nutty-mustard flavor of the plant is due to the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids and essential oils. Eating arugula in food has a beneficial effect on metabolic processes, tones the body, stimulates digestion, enhances intestinal motility and the elimination of decay products. Thanks to its unique composition, the herb increases hemoglobin levels and activates the immune system.

Not everyone has garden plots, but many would like to regularly feast on this greenery, so in this article we will try to illuminate the question of how to grow arugula at home. A trendy salad is quite unpretentious and does not require special agronomic skills and knowledge. Just follow the advice of seasoned gardeners, and you will be assured of an excellent harvest of fragrant leaves at any time of the year.

Greenery on the windowsill:

How to grow bay leaves at home

How to grow basil on a windowsill

How to grow dill on a windowsill: fragrant greens all year round

How to grow arugula on a windowsill

Arugula seeds are bought at any specialty store. Early ripening varieties Koltivata, Solitaire, Rococo give a harvest quickly enough (after about three weeks), and mid-ripening varieties - Corsica, Sicily ripen in 30-35 days. Different varieties differ not only in the emergence time, but also in the size, shape and color of the leaves, as well as the taste, which can be delicate nutty, with bitterness or spicy.

Pot and soil preparation

To grow arugula on the windowsill, a pot, like any other container, must have a drainage layer (expanded clay, broken brick) and holes to remove excess moisture. The dimensions of the container for a mini-garden are selected based on the area of ​​the window sill. The height of the pot should not be less than 12 cm. The soil layer is covered with a height of at least 6-7 cm.

Arugula is unassuming and undemanding to the soil, the main thing is that the earth is sufficiently loose, moisture-permeable and always moist. The soil can be used universal, or it can be specially designed for seedlings. Such soil contains phosphorus and nitrogen in the right proportions, which has a beneficial effect on the growth and development of any plants, including arugula.

Sowing arugula

The seeds are laid out in rows on the surface of a well-moistened earth, observing a step of 3 cm. On top of them, they are covered with a layer of dry earth (1-1.5 cm), after which the soil is qualitatively treated with warm, settled water from a sprayer. This initial watering method helps to distribute moisture evenly over the entire soil surface.

The box (container) should be covered with any film or glass and placed in a warm place, for example, near a heating battery, or directly on the windowsill, especially if it is sunny days. Rucola feels great at a fairly wide temperature range (from + 10 ° C to + 25 ° C).

Illumination

In order to properly grow arugula on the windowsill, the windows should face the sunny side, since all leafy greens love the maximum amount of light. If you do not have the opportunity to set up a mini-garden on a south-facing window, then lighting can also be created artificially, which will not affect the yield in any way.

Above the surface of the plants at a distance of about half a meter, you can attach lighting devices, such as fluorescent lamps. In winter and in cloudy weather, supplementary lighting should be carried out all day. The rest of the time, for the normal development of greenery, it is enough to increase the daylight hours by several hours.

Arugula care

Do not forget to moisten the soil with a spray bottle every day, removing the film and airing the plantings. The first shoots appear very quickly (3-7 days), which is a signal to remove the protective coating and place the container in its permanent place.

Now the whole process of caring for your green pets comes down to regular watering. The plant very quickly absorbs all substances from the soil, so it is not recommended to feed with various chemical substrates.

Arugula harvest

When the leaves reach a height of 10 cm, you can begin to actively feast on the spicy grass. Do not wait until it blooms, as in the photo at the beginning of the article :) Harvested as needed, immediately before adding to culinary dishes (this is how all the nutrients are preserved to the maximum), tearing off the green leaves of the original corrugated shape. With even, gentle cutting off, rucola can delight you with its greens for up to 45 days!

As you can see, it will not be difficult to grow arugula on the windowsill. You just have to decide on this crucial step and in a month you will enjoy the magnificent appearance and taste of this exotic spice.

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Mila Nabogova "How to grow arugula at home" specially for the Eco-life website.

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Any person's diet should include at least 70% vegetables. Fresh herbs are a good addition, the chemical composition of which is rich in valuable vitamins and minerals. Arugula is considered one of the popular salad components, but when grown in summer cottages, it is rarely possible to get a product with an exquisite spicy nutty taste. The whole secret lies in agricultural technology, the rules of planting and care, which will be discussed in this article.

What is arugula and what does it look like

The plant is a kind of salad, belongs to the Indau genus of the cabbage family. Initially, greens were considered a weed, but later they added to the lists of vegetable crops grown in our country. The demand for the product began to grow after the popularization of Mediterranean cuisine.

The culture has a short growing season, which allows you to grow greens in the open field throughout the warm period. When cultivated in a greenhouse or on a windowsill, the crop grows year-round, in spring and winter.

Arugula contains rich vitamin composition, which includes:

• ascorbic acid;
• vitamins B, E, PP, K;
• essential oils;
• flavonoids;
• vegetable acids (erucic, oleic, linoleic, etc.);
• steroids and other substances.

Arugula leaves are high in vitamins

Regular consumption of greens has the following effect on the body:

• strengthens the protective function of the body;
• normalizes metabolic processes;
• calms the nervous system;
• lowers blood cholesterol levels;
• increases hemoglobin.

And this is an incomplete list of the merits of arugula, so it is often include in dietary and medical food.

Timing for sowing rucola in the open field

You can sow arugula several times per season, starting from April to August... It is important that the earth has time to warm up to 9-14 degrees. If planted in cold soil, the process of germination and seedling development is inhibited.

In the south and in the middle lane, you can sow from April 15. In northern regions it is recommended to use greenhouse or seedling cultivation.

Grains for seedlings need to be planted from late March to early April... No preliminary preparation is required for the seeds, they already have good germination. The seedlings are grown in pots, boxes or cups.

Arugula seeds

Seedlings appear 4-6 days after sowing. When 2 true leaves are formed on the sprouts, you need dive seedlings into separate containers (plastic cups or peat pots). The grown shoots are transferred to an open bed together with an earthen clod so as not to damage the root system.

After germination of seedlings, it is necessary to thin out the planting, leaving at first 5 cm between the shoots, and then, increasing the distance to 10 cm. The thickening has a negative effect on the taste of the salad.

The most suitable varieties for growing in the country or in the garden

The assortment of varieties complicates the choice when determining the variety to grow on your site. When buying, you should familiarize yourself with a brief description of the plants and the features of their agricultural technology.

Arrows of Cupid

Plant with average ripening period, the growing season lasts 36-38 days... The bush reaches a height of 20-30 cm, forming a raised rosette of narrow long leaves. During flowering, light yellow inflorescences of small sizes appear.

Features of the variety: consistently gives a high yield, the external similarity of the culture with dandelion.

Arugula Cupid's Arrows

Curiosity

The variety ripens in about a month (vegetation 28-30 days). The height of the bush reaches 20 cm, the stem is erect with a small edge. The plant blooms in small cream-colored inflorescences.

Taste qualities of the leaves are distinguished by a sweetish aftertaste and lack of bitterness.

Arugula Curiosity

Poker

Plant early ripening period, the growing season lasts only 21-25 days... Rich green leaves of large size, in one rosette there are about 20-26 pieces. The height of the bush is about 20 cm.

The arugula is sweetish to taste with a mustard hint. The seed remains germinating for 4 years.

Arugula Poker

Olivette

Plant early ripening period, the growing season lasts only 20-25 days... The height of the bush does not exceed 16-20 cm. The leaves are lyre-shaped, slightly rounded. The variety is perennial.

The advantages of the plant: high yield, good transportability, high taste, which are distinguished by a pronounced nutty note and a slight bitterness.

Arugula Olivette

Rules for planting a vegetable in the garden

In order for the arugula to fill with a rich green color and acquire a pleasant nutty flavor, it is necessary to strictly follow the rules of agricultural technology, in particular, planting in open ground.

Seed preparation before sowing

Arugula seeds should be purchased from specialized stores. When buying from hands, you need to hold seed disinfection... For this, the grains are immersed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 15 minutes. After the procedure, rinse them thoroughly under running water and dry them on a towel.

Other treatments to stimulate growth are not carried out, as the arugula seed grows well enough.

Preparing the soil for arugula

When choosing a place for a garden bed for arugula, it should be borne in mind that the plant does not like shade or direct sunlight... Therefore, it is worth choosing a site that is in the shade for one half of the day, and in the sun for the second. Ideally, if the plants are in partial shade at midday.

Landing site should be limited from direct sunlight

The soil for the salad will do fertile, loose with a neutral medium or slightly acidic... The following predecessors are welcome: carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkin. Sowing arugula after: cabbage, turnips, daikon, radish and other cruciferous crops is not recommended.

Before planting, the soil can be enriched with calcium by introducing dolomite flour, chalk or other means into it.

What scheme to choose for planting in open ground

Sowing is carried out in prepared holes with a depth of 2 cm.The spacing between rows during transplantation is observed in 30-40 cm, between the holes - 5 cm... 2-3 seeds are embedded in each hole. A week later, it is necessary to thin out the beds, increasing the interval between plants to 10-15 cm.

Leaving after disembarkation

Temperature

The air temperature is considered optimal for the growing season. 14-18 degrees... With a reduced indicator, plant development is inhibited.

The culture will survive a sharp drop in temperature to minus 7 degrees, but on condition that the cold is short-lived. If frost occurs after sowing, then it is necessary to build a shelter made of plastic wrap.

Watering the plant

The soil should always be moist in the arugula beds, so irrigation is carried out regularly. Watering mode: 3-4 times a week.

Watering is carried out 3-4 times a week

With the established heat, you need to moisten the soil daily. Due to the lack of moisture, the leaves acquire a bitter taste, and the plant itself releases color.

Arugula loves moisture, but watering should be controlled. Water stagnation in the upper layers of the soil must not be allowed.

Weeding and loosening

For normal vegetation, the plant requires loose soil, therefore, after each watering or every other time, you should push the ground with a hoe or a horn.

Weeding is performed simultaneously with this procedure. Weeds thicken the planting, which provokes the development of fungal diseases, attracting pests. In addition, the proximity to weeds can negatively affect the taste of arugula.

Top dressing

The soil for sowing lettuce should be well fertilized. Then for the entire growing season you will need only 1-2 feeding.

Complex mineral compositions should not be introduced, because in a short time the toxins accumulated in the leaves will not have time to decompose. It is better to use a solution of chicken manure or rotted manure along with irrigation water. Nitrogen fertilizers are also suitable.

It is best to use a solution of chicken manure as fertilizer.

Pests and prevention

Arugula leaves contain a large amount of essential oils, their aroma repels many pests... However, this does not protect against fungal infectionsthat grow well in a humid environment - soil.

When the root system is damaged, the stem begins to fade gradually. On the roots with a fungal disease, small brown bubbles are formed. When the first signs of the disease are detected, it is necessary to remove the bush from the garden, and treat the soil with antifungal drugs.

Arugula leaves can only be damaged cruciferous fleas, lovers of radishes and different types of salad. If you cover the seedlings with lutrasil, then the pest will go looking for food elsewhere.

Also, for prevention purposes, it is recommended to sprinkle the beds with wood ash.

Harvesting greens

Arugula is harvested with a leaf length of about 10 cm

Those who have already had experience in growing arugula know that when the plant is overexposed in the garden, the leaves become hard and bitter in taste. Therefore, you need to harvest on time, should not be postponed.

One of the signs of ripeness is the length of the leaf, it should reach not less than 10 cm... After the ejection of the peduncle, the taste of the lettuce deteriorates.

Large rosettes are cut off completely, other bushes are cut off partially. It is better to use the leaves fresh for cooking. The harvest, wrapped in cling film, can lie in the refrigerator for only a few days.

To summarize, it is worth noting that growing arugula is fun and easy. Adhering to the general rules for caring for a plant, you can enrich the body with useful microelements, strengthen immunity and even rejuvenate the skin.

You can plant and grow arugula not only in the country or in the garden, but also at home - on the windowsill or balcony. The main thing is to familiarize yourself with compatibility with other plants, plant seeds according to the rules and maintain the required temperature at home.

Currently, among other vegetable salad crops, a Mediterranean delicacy is beginning to take a firm place - the leafy vegetable salad arugula (arugula, arugula). For a long time it was unusual for Russian cuisine. If in Italy, back in the first century, arugula was considered an indispensable vegetable on the dinner table, using it as a spice, then in Russia it was an annoying weed goose and only in the 20th and 21st centuries began to occupy a worthy place in the kitchen menus of our regions as a salad plant.

Arugula, or Sowing caterpillar, or Indau sowing, or Eruka sowing (Eruca vesicaria, syn. Eruca sativa)

At present, in Russia, the "Italian" is adequately appreciated as a food culture. It does not require special care, it grows freely in places with a rather harsh climate.

Arugula can be grown:

• in the open field by sowing seeds and through seedlings;
• in the greenhouse by direct sowing of seeds and through seedlings;
• at home on kitchen windowsills.

I invite you, dear readers, to familiarize yourself with the methods of growing arugula, its features and varieties for growing in summer cottages and vegetable gardens.

Content:

• Arugula in the plant system
• How to grow arugula
• Growing arugula outdoors
• Harvesting and storage
• Growing arugula in a greenhouse
• Growing arugula at home
• Growing arugula seedlings
• Arugula varieties for summer cottage cultivation
• Benefits of arugula

Arugula in the plant system

In the wild in the Russian Federation, arugula is found in the European part, in the foothills of Dagestan and the Caucasus. Under natural conditions, it prefers dry, light, loose soils.

In different countries of the world, it is called differently: rocket salad, rauka, rocca, rocket, arugula, rugola, ruguetta, walker, indau, eruka. In the Russian Federation, it is more often called gooseneck, indau sowing, and in some regions - wild mustard.
Arugula in the plant system belongs to the Brassicaceae family. International scientific name Eruca sativa.

Arugula is a very interesting plant. The market name "Arugula" hides two types of salad:

1. garden arugula (Eruca sativa), botanical name Indau seed, or sowing caterpillar, or sowing eruka (Eruca vesicaria).
2. wild arugula, or botanical name two-row thin-leaved (Diplotaxis tenuifolia).

Both types have an attractive taste, giving the dishes a delicate aroma of a nutty mustard hue. On a cursory examination, they are very similar, but they are still two different plants.

Species differences

Varieties of garden arugula, or indau, are annual plants. A distinctive feature is the lyre-like shape of the lower leaves with a serrated, sometimes smooth edge. Flowers in a sparse long brush of light colors (white, cream, yellowish, with purple veins). The leaves are characterized by a spicy-pungent taste with a mustard note.The seeds in the pods are arranged in 2 rows, similar to mustard seeds.

Wild arugula, or two-rowed thin-leaved, belongs to perennials... Tall, up to 70 cm plants are prone to lodging. A distinctive feature is the shape of the leaf blade of the lower rosette leaves: narrow, long, strongly dissected. The leaves are more pungent in taste than those of Indau annuals. The flowers are also located in long, loose racemes, but the color of the corolla petals is yellow, turning into orange. The seeds in the pods are very small (like a poppy), arranged in 2 rows. Fans of spicy dishes prefer wild arugula varieties.

In the Russian Federation, garden arugula, or sowing arugula (erica sowing), is more common. Breeders have bred more than 30 varieties suitable for cultivation in different regions of Russia.

Arugula garden, or Eruka sowing (Eruca vesicaria) Arugula wild, or Two-row fine-leaved (Diplotaxis tenuifolia)

Botanical description of arugula

Indau (arugula) is a 40-60 cm plant with a straight, branched, slightly pubescent stem. Taproot. Basal leaves form a rosette. They are slightly thickened, covered with hairs. They have a spicy-peppery taste with a residual mustard aftertaste. The shape of the leaf blade depends on the variety and type of arugula. The lower leaves are elongated, obovate, with a cut leaf blade, dissected into lyre-shaped or serrated lobes on long petioles. The edges of the leaf blade can be serrated, with a smooth or wavy edge.

Arugula blooms in May - July. Inflorescence is a long, loose raceme. The flowers are small, of different shades: white, white-pink, yellowish. Corolla petals with purple veins. They are inversely ovoid in shape. The fruit is an oblong pod with thickened short legs. Inside the pod, the seeds are arranged in 2 rows, compactly oval or roundly oval. Light brown, light brown in color. They resemble mustard seeds.

How to grow arugula

Arugula can be grown:

• in the open field with seeds and seedlings in southern regions and regions with a temperate climate;
• in regions with a cold short warm period - through seedlings in the open field or in greenhouse conditions;
• in cold regions - in heated greenhouses in a bed culture, on hydroponic solutions;
• year-round in a pot culture at home.

Growing arugula outdoors

Location selection

Arugula needs bright, but diffused lighting. In crop rotation, its beds are shielded from the sun by tall plants (corn, beans climbing on a trellis) or areas with partial light shading are used. In open areas at high solar temperatures, arugula goes to rapid shooting, forms coarse leaf blades with wormwood bitterness.

Soil requirement

For arugula, weakly alkaline and neutral fertile soils, water and air permeable, are optimal. Arugula dies on acidic soils, and established bushes form low-quality greens.

If the soils were fertilized for a long time only with mineral fats, then lime must be added for the autumn digging in order to remove the accumulated acidity and provide the plants with calcium.

If it was autumn liming, then in the spring before sowing, 35-40 g / sq. m. kemira or nitrophoska. If in previous years the soil was sufficiently fertilized, green manure was used, then fertilization is not necessary under the arugula when preparing the soil.

If liming was not carried out, and the soil needs fertilization, then it can be brought in for digging per sq. m of an area of ​​30-40 g of nitrophoska or urea.

During the growing season, it is better not to fertilize arugula, since the leaves accumulate nitrites and nitrates, which negatively affect human health. If there is a delay in development, you can carry out foliar feeding with microelements (you can buy them at a flower shop).

Location in culture circulation

The best predecessors are peas and other legumes, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots. After arugula, cruciferous plants should not be planted and sown for 3-5 years due to possible common diseases and pests.

Seed sowing period

Arugula belongs to cold-resistant, early ripening spicy and vegetable crops.

Seeds begin to sow when the soil warms up in a 7-10 cm layer up to + 6 ... + 10 ° C. Since arugula is an early ripening culture, you can carry out several crops with a gap of 1.5-2.0 weeks in March - April and the entire first half of summer, repeating a couple of crops in late August - early September. In warm regions, autumn crops can be harvested from September to November.

Arugula can be sown under winter sowing and get a very early harvest. Sowing is carried out in regions with the onset of a stable zero temperature without long autumn thaws, which can lead to swelling and germination of seeds (then the future harvest will die). Sowing is carried out approximately in October - November, and in the south - in February windows.

Arugula garden, or Caterpillar sowing, or Indau sowing, or Eruka sowing (Eruca vesicaria, syn. Eruca sativa)

Agricultural technology of sowing seeds

Sowing arugula seeds is carried out in an ordinary way with row spacing of 30 - 45 cm. The seeds are buried by 2-4 cm, depending on the type of soil. A feature of the culture is the extended period of seed germination. Therefore, with the emergence of seedlings, several thinning is carried out, leaving the strongest in a row every 8-10 cm. Thickened plantings form small leaves with coarse veins. Arugula seeds begin to germinate at an air temperature of + 9 ... + 10 ° C, but + 17 ... + 23 ° C is optimal for quick and friendly shoots.

Outdoor care for arugula

Protecting plants from pests and diseases

Arugula belongs to early maturing crops. The harvest of leaves, ready for cutting, is formed within 1-1.5 months. Therefore, no treatment of plants with chemical preparations can be carried out.

Changes in leaf color, the appearance of various spots, wilting of plants indicate disease or damage by pests. The main method of struggle is preventive and prophylactic:

• high-quality soil preparation;
• observance of culture circulation;
• weed control;
• use of healthy seeds prepared for sowing.

With the defeat of fungal and bacterial diseases, the use of biofungicides (phytosporin-M, gamair, alirin, etc.) is allowed. Plants are processed according to the recommendations. In case of severe damage, it is better to remove diseased plants from the garden and destroy, and spill this place with a solution of potassium permanganate.

The green mass of arugula is attractive for caterpillars of cabbage, cabbage moth and other lepidoptera, cruciferous fleas, slugs. When planting seedlings in the ground or when seedlings appear, some gardeners advise covering the plants with a covering material (but not with a film) to protect against cabbage flea beetles. Effectively sprinkling the soil and plants with tobacco dust, finely sifted ash. Treatment with solutions of herbs, especially wormwood, is undesirable. Remaining on the leaves, the solution gives them an undesirable flavor.

During the growing season, arugula of slugs and caterpillars, with their limited number, are harvested by hand. You can use the treatment of plants with bioinsecticides (bitoxibacillin-BTU-r, aversectin-C, planriz, tabazol, etc.) according to the recommendations.

Watering

Watering is very important for the formation of a quality crop. Lack of water coarsens the leaves, gives them bitterness. Watering is carried out between rows, with low pressure, so that the soil with splashing water does not contaminate the arugula leaves. Water every 2 days, preferably in the morning before 9-10 hours or after 16 hours of the day. With sparse watering (1-2 times a week at high rates), the leaves of the spicy lettuce become coarse, acquire a wormwood-bitter taste and are not suitable for use in cooking.

General care

You can save the shoots of arugula during the period of returnable spring frosts with a shelter.After the frost has passed, the insulation must be removed. Arugula is frost-resistant and can withstand short-term frosts down to -7 ° C.

The soil under the arugula is kept loose and free from weeds by constant loosening. After watering, the soil is mulched, which allows not only to retain moisture, but also to protect the leaves from soil contamination during subsequent watering. Mulch with fine humus and grass-chaff. The layer of mulch is gradually increased - from 2 to 3 cm or more. Lay the mulch under the bushes so that the leaves do not lie on the bare ground.

Harvesting and storage

The first cutting of arugula leaves is carried out with a leaf length of 8-12 cm. Subsequent - as needed. When the green mass is finally harvested, the crop is stored in a refrigerator, cold cellar, but no more than 7-8 days. The cut leaves are washed, shaken off excess moisture, wrapped in thick paper or film and placed on the bottom shelf.

Garden arugula, or Eruka sowing (Eruca vesicaria)

In greenhouse conditions, arugula can be grown year-round by sowing seeds or through seedlings.

Soil preparation

If the soil in the greenhouse has not been replaced for a long time, all the necessary work is carried out to disinfect and populate with living microbial material (Baikal EM-1, Ekomik productive, etc.), you can sow green manure and, at a biomass height of 10 cm, repopulate the soil by digging into a layer of 5-7 cm ...

If the soil is systematically renewed, digging is carried out, if necessary, kemira or nitrophoska is added at the rate of 15-25 g / sq. m area.

After digging, soil clods are crushed and form beds. Sowing is carried out after a few days.

Sowing seeds

Moisten the soil before sowing. After 15-25 cm, rows are cut with a depth of 1.0 cm.
Seeds are sown to a depth of 0.5-1.0 cm. Sprinkle with dry soil on top. Sowing is covered with foil.

Care

With the appearance of the first shoots of arugula, the film is removed. The soil is kept loose, without weeds, and does not allow the formation of a dry soil crust. Watering is carried out often (after 2 days), but in small portions (without flooding). The lighting is diffused, but bright. The first cutting of greenery is carried out with the growth of leaves up to 8-10 cm. The next ones - if necessary.

To use fresh arugula for a long time, sowing seeds can be repeated after 10-15 days until mid-April.

Growing arugula at home

You can grow this healthy crop at home all year round, providing the family with fresh greens, especially needed in early spring.

The best way to grow a spicy salad is on kitchen windowsills. Sometimes arugula pots serve as natural landscaping of a home. Culture is placed on window sills and stands and in other rooms. Spicy salad loves bright lighting. If there is a lack of light, additional lighting with fluorescent lamps or phytolamps is necessary. The optimum ambient temperature in the room is + 18… + 20 ° C. At higher temperatures, ventilation is carried out (without drafts), the surrounding space is moistened from a fine spray.

Sowing and care

For sowing arugula, the soil can be purchased in the store (soil "for vegetables") or prepared by yourself using turf, humus and sand in a ratio of 2: 2: 1. Self-prepared substrate must be disinfected using one of the generally accepted methods.

Prepared or purchased soil is filled into small boxes or containers. Moisten the soil and carry out row sowing with row spacing of 6-8 cm to a depth of 0.5-1.0 cm. Cover the sowing with foil. After 4-6 days with the emergence of arugula shoots, remove the film and place the box on the windowsill or in another fairly bright place.

Dry air is humidified through a fine atomizer. The soil is kept moist at all times.

When 2 true leaves are formed, young arugula seedlings are transplanted / dived 1-2 plants in a separate container or in boxes with free placement of seedlings.

Avoid the formation of inflorescences during the growing season.They are immediately cut off. With the appearance of flowers, the leaves of this culture coarse, acquire an unpleasant bitterness. The seedling soil box can be used for the next sowing of seeds. Re-sowing is carried out in two weeks.

Garden arugula, or Eruka sowing (Eruca vesicaria) Growing arugula seedlings

Above, we examined the cultivation of arugula from seeds in different conditions: open field, in a greenhouse and at home. Arugula bushes occupy a fairly large area and can be grown through seedlings to increase production. Growing through seedlings is more economical:

• the plant forms the largest yield;
• the seedling method saves time for harvesting when planting in a permanent place.

It is especially beneficial to grow arugula through seedlings in regions with a late onset of stable warm weather (you can lay up to three revolutions with a full harvest).

Depending on the region, arugula seeds for seedlings are sown at the end of February - early March and sowing is continued with a two-week break until mid-April.

Soil preparation, sowing seeds and conditions for seedling are the same as for growing arugula at home. Disinfection of arugula seeds is necessary when using self-collected or purchased from private traders on the market.

After the formation of 2 true leaves, the seedlings dive:

• in boxes with a planting pattern (20-25 cm - row spacing, 10-15 cm - in a row);
• in separate peat cups, which are planted with the plant in a permanent place;
• in separate pots or other containers for 1-2 plants.

The age of arugula seedlings for planting in a permanent place is 25-28 days. The soil should warm up to a temperature of + 6 ... + 10 ° C. Air temperature from + 14-16 ° C to + 18-20 ° C.

Roughly in warm regions, seedlings in separate peat cups (less injuries are obtained during planting) are planted in the ground at the end of March - the first decade of April (depending on the onset of constant spring warming).

In cold regions, arugula seedlings are laid in the first decade of April, and planting in the ground is carried out from the second half of May.

Before planting arugula in a permanent place, it is necessary to harden the seedlings. Seedlings are usually planted in a greenhouse in the evening, in open ground - in the afternoon, which helps plants better adapt to new environmental conditions.

Arugula varieties for summer cottage cultivation

In a garden culture, 2 types of arugula are grown:

• cultural (indau sowing, eruka sowing);
• the wild one, known as the wild rocket, is a thin-leaved two-rowed.

Arugula is an annual plant, but biennial crops are also among the garden varieties. The roots left in the soil after the last cut for the winter under shelters form a very early harvest of vitamin greens in early spring. For summer cottages, the early and middle varieties of annual arugula, presented below, are more suitable.

Salad variety arugula olivette - Early, from germination to harvesting greenery 20-25 days. Height 20-25 cm. The leaves are lyre-shaped, the general shape is oval. Juicy, rich green, aromatic. Mustard-nut taste with a bitter aftertaste. A pronounced nutty aroma, which is very much appreciated by culinary experts.

Salad variety arugula Spartak - Early, from germination to harvesting greenery 24-28 days. Plant height up to 70 cm, leaf rosette - 18-22 cm. Leaf rosette is half-raised. The leaves are lyre-shaped, smooth. Spicy greens. The flowers are creamy. Diet variety.

Salad variety arugula Victoria - Mid-season, from germination to harvesting greenery 28-32 days. Bushes up to 70 cm, high foliage, rich in vitamins. The socket is half-raised. Leaves are smooth, lyre-shaped, light green. The flowers are creamy. Diet variety.

Salad variety arugula Poker - Early ripening, from germination to harvesting greenery 20-25 days. Plants are branched, 40-80 cm tall. The leaves are dissected, large, rosette up to 20 cm tall, have a sweetish mustard flavor.In the greenhouse it forms up to 12 cut leaves, in the open field - up to 28. Variety for conveyor summer cultivation.

Salad variety arugula Lybid - Ultra early, from germination to harvesting greenery 8-20 days. The first leaves without dissection of the leaf blade, moderately green. The variety is resistant to shooting. Depending on the region, it can be grown outdoors and indoors.

Salad variety arugula Sicily - Mid-season, from germination to harvesting greenery 27-30 days. Bushes up to 60 cm tall. The leaves are lyre-shaped, pinnate, with a nutty taste and aroma. The flowers are yellow-white, with purple streaks. In the heat and when irrigation is disturbed, the variety quickly shoots.

Salad variety Arugula Cupid's Arrows - Medium late, from germination to harvesting greenery 35-38 days. Bushes up to 20-30 cm with narrow long carved leaves. Flowers are yellow. A distinctive feature is that the inflorescences are similar to dandelions.

Salad variety arugula rococo - Early maturing, from germination to harvesting greenery 20-25 days. Forms a high (up to 18 cm) rosette of wide leaves. The leaf blade is serrated along the edge. The leaves are characterized by a pungent taste and strong aroma. The flowers are white.

Salad variety arugula Corsica - Medium, from germination to harvesting greenery 30-32 days. Characterized by a semi-raised rosette of leaves, up to 60 cm high. The leaf blade is narrow, smooth. The shape of the leaf is lyre-shaped with notched edges. The flowers are white with pink tints. In heat and drought, the variety quickly shoots.

Salad variety arugula Koltivata - Early maturing, from germination to harvesting greenery 20-25 days. Rosette of strongly dissected leaves up to 10-15 cm in height. The leaves are very fragrant. Contains increased amounts of essential oils. They are distinguished by a sharp mustard taste with a nutty aftertaste. The flowers are creamy. Used for growing in open and closed ground.

Salad variety arugula Dikovina - Mid-season, from germination to harvesting greenery 22-25 days. Plant height up to 20 cm. The leaves are lyre-shaped, smooth, collected in a semi-raised rosette (18-20 cm). Resistant to shooting, which allows you to maintain the nutritional quality of greens for a long time.

The text contains the brightest varieties in terms of their taste, bred in Russia (with the exception of the Ukrainian variety Lybed and the Dutch variety Koltivata). Relatively young varieties of Russian selection (entered in the state register of varieties not earlier than 2005-2010) have proven themselves well when grown in open and closed ground. The raised rosette allows for a clean crop of greenery. The varieties provide more than 1.0-1.5 to 2.5 kg of greens per sq. m. area.

Finishing the article on how to grow different varieties of arugula, one cannot ignore its value as a food and medicinal plant.

Garden arugula, or Eruka sowing (Eruca vesicaria)

The chemical composition of arugula determines its medicinal properties.

Arugula contains:

• a large list of vitamins - A, C, B9 and others from the group, K, E, T, PP;
• a set of vital micro- and macroelements - iodine, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, selenium, zinc, manganese, copper, sodium, etc .;
• flavonoids and bioactive substances, have a beneficial effect on water-salt metabolism, work and health of the gastrointestinal tract, blood sugar levels, strengthen the nervous system, have the ability to burn fats, lower cholesterol and increase hemoglobin; arugula is recommended by doctors for patients with venous disease and high blood pressure.
• Italians call arugula a golden salad for its excellent medicinal properties for certain kidney diseases, predisposition to cancer, anemia, iodine deficiency, maintaining male strength (a natural aphrodisiac), increasing immunity to a number of other diseases.

Attention! The saturation of arugula green mass with essential oils and flavonoids can cause an allergic reaction. Therefore, before proceeding to taking medications containing arugula, consult your doctor.