Home › Vegetables › Rocket

Vegetables

Growing rocket

Eruca vesicaria. A fast, peppery leafy crop of the cabbage family, sown where it grows. It likes cool weather and steady moisture and takes frost, but heat, dry soil and long summer days make it run to flower. These steps work anywhere: they go by soil and weather, not by month. Also called arugula (US, Canada), rucola (Italy), roquette (France).

How rocket grows

1. 
   SowSeeds in a shallow row, where it will growDay 0
2. 
   SeedlingsTwo notched, heart-shaped seed leavesUp in 5–8 days
3. 
   ThinThinned to 15 cm (6 in) apartAbout 2 weeks
4. 
   GrowA loose rosette of lobed leavesAbout 3 weeks
5. 
   Pick leavesA few leaves from each plantFrom about 4 weeks
6. 
   CutCut above the soil to regrowAbout 5–6 weeks
7. 
   BoltingA stalk rises from the centreIn heat, or about 6–8 weeks
8. 
   FlowersCream flowers, edible, then finishedSoon after bolting

Times run from sowing and vary with the weather. In warm weather rocket grows fast and bolts sooner; in cool weather it crops for longer. Kinds sold as slow to bolt stand longest.

Growing it, step by step

1. Is it right for you?

   • Rocket likes cool weather: days around 10–18°C (50–65°F). It is one of the quickest crops: young leaves can be picked about four weeks after sowing, sooner in warm weather.
   • It takes frost: most kinds survive about -5°C (23°F). Heat is the problem. Hot, dry weather and long summer days make it bolt, sending up a flower stalk, and the leaves turn hot and tough.
   • It needs little room, copes with part shade and grows well in pots at least 30 cm (12 in) wide.
   • Wild rocket is a different plant: a perennial with narrower leaves, yellow flowers and a hotter taste. In South Australia, where it is called Lincoln weed, it is a declared weed that may not be sold or moved, so check local advice before growing it.

2. When to plant

   Sow once the soil is at least 5°C (40°F). Seedlings come up in about a week, even in cool soil. Rocket takes frost, so spring sowings can start as soon as the soil can be worked. The aim is to pick it before the heat and long days of summer, or to sow again as summer ends, so it grows while the weather cools.

   Cold winters: sow from early spring, and again from late summer. Under fleece, a cold frame or a greenhouse it crops on into winter. Mild climates: sow from spring to autumn, and through winter where frosts are light. Give summer sowings light shade; they bolt fast. Hot or subtropical places: sow from autumn to spring; summer is usually too hot. Tropics: the coolest, driest months or the highlands, in a little shade.

3. Prepare the bed

   • Full sun in cool weather, light shade in summer. Fertile, well-drained soil that holds moisture: dig in compost before sowing. Heavy, waterlogged soil rots the roots.
   • Slightly acid to neutral soil suits it, pH 6.0–7.0. See soil pH.
   • Rake the surface fine and level, and pull out weeds. Rocket is small and can't compete.
   • Avoid a bed that grew cabbage, broccoli or other cabbage-family crops last year. They share the same pests and diseases.

4. Sow and plant

   • Sow thinly where it is to grow, 5 mm–1 cm (¼–½ in) deep, in rows 15 cm (6 in) apart. Or sow in trays or small pots.
   • In hot weather, sow in the cool of the evening and shade the row until the seedlings are up.
   • Seedlings raised in trays can be planted out at about 10 cm (4 in) tall, 15 cm (6 in) apart, at the same depth they grew. Harden them off first.
   • Rocket is short-lived, so for a steady supply sow a short row every two to three weeks instead of one big sowing.

5. Get it started

   • Keep the surface moist until the seedlings are up, then water daily for the first two weeks or so. Water new transplants daily for their first week.
   • Thin when seedlings have two or three true leaves, to 15 cm (6 in) apart. Crowded plants bolt sooner. Eat the thinnings.
   • In warm weather, cover the row with fine insect mesh from sowing day, tucked in at the edges. It keeps out flea beetles and caterpillars. Guard young plants against slugs and snails.

6. Keep it growing

   • Water: keep the soil evenly moist: in dry weather, a good soak about three times a week, more in pots. Dry soil makes the leaves hot and tough and brings on bolting. Water at the base, in the morning.
   • Shade: in summer, grow it in light shade, or put shade cloth or a taller crop on the sunny side. Kinds sold as slow to bolt help too.
   • Feed: a quick crop that needs no feed in reasonable soil: compost dug in before sowing is enough. In pots, an optional liquid feed after each big cut.
   • Mulch: not needed for such a quick crop. In hot weather, a thin layer of compost once seedlings are 5 cm (2 in) tall keeps the soil cool.
   • Weed: pull weeds by hand or hoe very shallowly. Weeds take the water rocket needs.

7. Watch for problems

   The common ones, with a Garden help page each where there is one:

   BoltingFlea beetlesCabbage white caterpillarsAphidsSlugs and snailsDowny mildewRoot rotBacterial leaf spot

8. Harvest

   • Start picking about four weeks after sowing, sooner in warm weather. Young leaves are the mildest and most tender.
   • Pick a few leaves from every plant each week, leaving the centre to keep growing. Stripping one plant slows its regrowth.
   • Or cut the whole row 3–5 cm (1–2 in) above the soil with scissors. It regrows for another cut or two.
   • A flower stalk rising from the centre means it is finishing, and the leaves turn hotter. Pick the lot. The cream flowers are edible too, with a peppery taste.

9. After harvest

   • Rocket wilts quickly. Pick it just before you eat it, or keep it in a bag in the fridge and use it within a few days. Older leaves can be cooked like spinach.
   • Pull out plants once they flower and finish. Leave one or two to set seed if you like: rocket self-sows readily.
   • Next in that bed: almost anything. Rocket is quick, so it often fills a gap before or between slower crops such as tomatoes or beans. Grow the next rocket, or any cabbage-family crop, somewhere else.

All vegetables

Sources

• RHS: How to grow rocket
• Cornell Garden-Based Learning: Arugula growing guide
• Illinois Extension: Arugula, a new trendy green from the old world
• UF/IFAS Extension Leon County: Arugula, planting and care
• Gardening Australia: Rocket
• Landscape South Australia: Lincoln weed (wild rocket) fact sheet

Facts checked Friday 23 October 2026. General guidance only: local advice comes first.