Rocket (Arugula)

Rocket, also known as arugula (Eruca vesicaria), is a fast-growing leafy vegetable with a distinctive peppery, nutty flavour, popular in salads and on pasta. Sow it directly in the bed from April to September in short intervals — it grows very quickly and the first leaves can be picked after just three to four weeks. It loves a sunny to partially shaded spot and light, free-draining soil with plenty of moisture; drought pushes it into premature flowering and the leaves turn bitter. Harvest continuously by cutting the outer leaves so the plant keeps regrowing. It is also well suited to window boxes on a balcony.