Last edited on 2 Nov 2026. View history

Rocket

Eruca Sativa
Also known as Eruca (EN) Arugula (EN)

The mainstay of salads during spring and autumn, easy to grow and fast to the eating stage. Larger leaves are also tasty stir fried, and the nutty-tasting flowers can go in salads. Direct sow by sprinkling into prepared beds, covering while germinating to keep birds off. Repeated harvesting delays it going to seed.

4
plantings
1
harvest
3
seed packets
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Rocket facts

Lifespan

Annual living and reproducing in a single year or less
7 weeks median lifespan

First harvest expected

11 weeks after planting

Last harvest expected

11 weeks after planting

Grown for

seed harvested 1 time

How members grow rockets

Sunniness

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Planted from

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Harvested for

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Photos

Rocket plantings

IMG_20191019_122038
IMG_20191019_122038
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IMG_20191017_085108
IMG_20191017_085108
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IMG_20191013_150537
IMG_20191013_150537
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IMG_20191008_074223
IMG_20191008_074223
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IMG_20190929_175916
IMG_20190929_175916
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Ecological requirements

Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Eruca sativa Miller

Family / Taxonomy Magnoliopsida
Dilleniidae
Capparales
Cruciferae
Optimal temperature 15 - 25 °C
Absolute temperature 8 - 29 °C
Optimal rainfall 500 - 900 mm/year
Absolute rainfall 300 - 1100 mm/year
Optimal soil pH 7.0 - 8.0
Absolute soil pH 6.0 - 8.5
Crop cycle 70 - 150 days
Life form herb
Life span annual
Habit erect, acaulescent (or rosette plants)
Optimal soil depth shallow (20-50 cm)
Optimal soil texture medium, light
Optimal soil fertility moderate
Optimal soil drainage well (dry spells)
Optimal soil salinity low (<4 dS/m)
Optimal light very bright to clear skies

Licensed under CC-BY-4.0 .

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) ECOCROP, the crop ecological requirements database. Version 1. https://data.apps.fao.org/catalog/dataset/ecocrop. Accessed through the CGIAR Climate Action Data Hub, https://cgiar-climate-data-hub.github.io/catalog/ecocrop_1/.

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