For complete happiness, I decided to grow arugula in a pot on the windowsill from seeds. Now, looking at my windowsill, I realize that I won’t be able to open the window anymore… Soon it’ll be time to transplant tarragon into larger pots, dill is spreading out, thyme has sprouted well, and chive onions are slowly growing too.
I had never tried arugula, so I decided to plant it next to garden cress, just out of curiosity (or fanaticism, which I am almost ashamed to admit). The first attempt failed— a shallow tray, where garden cress grows successfully, is not suitable for the root system of arugula, and planting it as densely as garden cress does not work.
How to Grow Arugula in a Pot
Let’s start with the seeds. I got two varieties—“Patience” and “Poker.”
There’s no need to soak the seeds; they sprout literally on the second day. Choose a pot that’s at least 10 cm deep, or better yet, a box to accommodate more plants. It’s recommended to plant arugula at home with a spacing of one centimeter between seeds, and once the first two leaves appear, transplant them 4 cm apart. But I wasn’t prepared to transplant an entire army of arugula plants, so I planted the seeds as they came— I divided the pot visually into two semicircles and sowed each variety more densely than recommended.
Don’t forget to add drainage material at the bottom of the pot. I sprayed the seeds with warm water using a spray bottle and covered them with a thin layer of soil, which I also moistened. They say that arugula needs a sunny spot on the windowsill, but it turns out that it gets scorched in direct sunlight, even on the east-facing window. Mine feels perfectly fine on a shaded balcony with moderate airflow.
Use any soil you don’t mind using, but fertilize it once a week with a complex fertilizer. I recommend adding vermiculite or perlite to the soil, or better yet, both. Now I don’t plant anything without these components.
Arugula loves moderate humidity. Make sure the soil never dries out (I water young sprouts exclusively with a spray bottle to avoid overwatering or damaging the shoots).
My arugula in a pot
It’s best to harvest in about a month, giving it time to grow fully and accumulate vitamins. The stem can grow up to 40 cm tall, but you can start eating six-centimeter leaves. However, I recommend being patient.
Руккола растет и в чашке. Смотрится очень мило)))
The arugula is ready to eat
In taste, this salad herb resembles walnuts, with a very unique spicy aroma. Thanks to its unique chemical composition , arugula has a number of beneficial properties.
