The arugula, about a month from seeding, is looking lush and…TASTY. While fiddling with macro focus and tripod (I’ve been using a borrowed one lately for indoor pics), I reached around to pluck a leaf. And another… I’ve been wandering back all morning for quick tastes. You either like arugula, or you don’t (can you be MADE to?)… It’s an easy, not subtle, veggie rush: first the familiar arugula flavor with that hint of mustard, slowly building as you begin to chew, and suddenly—wait for it—BAM, a little peppery explosion. I’m fairly new to this treat, it’s only since tiny farming that I paid attention, though I knew the taste, and only last season that I grew it out of salad mix, as a separate crop. It’s still a bit of a novelty. Here, the two varieties, somewhat generically named Rocket (smoother-edged), and Skyrocket, have quite different leaf shapes, but so far, I don’t think I could tell the tastes apart. These are two to a cell, and heading out to the greenhouse in the next week or so… (I should note, arugula grows fast, you can usually start harvesting 30-35 days from seeding, so planting this early indoors wasn’t exactly necessary, just a pre-season experiment.)
sounds like something I should look into , I like mustard and a little bite to my food so will may be give a try one of these days
i love arugula. i planted first seeds in feb 22nd. so i hope i will have some for easter. i only have one problem. they still have only 2 leaves no real ones yet and they are tall and skinny.
I’ve grown several kinds of arugula from different sources and haven’t really noticed a difference in taste. They do sort of have different textures, though, and the lobed leaves have more leaf area… mainly an aesthetic value in salads.
One thing I’ve *definitely* noticed is the change of taste when the weather changes. I grow mine year round (under a shade cloth in summer – works great). The taste is different in dry vs wet times, and in warm vs cool. Mine never get bitter, but they definitely get spicier in the summer! And in the winter it’s sort of a sweet spicy…
Melinda: The way veggies vary in taste across the season and different conditions is really fascinating. I get a little, well, annoyed, when, say, a planting of Bloomsdale spinach, which usually has a really earthy, minerally taste that I love (too strong for some), tastes just like the milder Spargo hybrid beside it. I’ve noticed fairly big taste variation most in spinach, arugula and radish, beet greens (this being different from just sweeter melons, or more bitter lettuce)… It’s also great letting people try side-by-side varieties of the same veggie, where the tastes and textures are quite different. Most people’s eyes light up as they realize carrots or toms aren’t all “the same”! So much fun with simple raw veg TASTE. It’s great, huh! :)
I just planted rocket arrugula. I love the taste in salads and I hope they’ll do fine in the shade in my garden. Any tips?
Apartment Garden: Watch out for flea beetles! Around here, the little monsters especially, particularly love arugula, and can chew up the leaves in no time. I use floating row cover right from the start, with edges tightly held down.