daysingarden
A garden diary
Arugula in June
Arugula in June.
3 varieties of arugula were planted the first week of April. They didn’t germinate quickly, but they all grew and, once again, I planted too thick. The varieties planted are wild arugula, standard salad arugula, and wasabi arugula.
These photos were taken on June 13 and, as you can see, the arugula is blooming. Pretty. Oh, wait, I’m supposed to eat it, not admire its beauty. The yellow blossoms in front above are the wild arugula. The lovely tall Victorian-looking blossoms seen in photos above and below are the standard salad arugula. The white blossoms of the wasabi arugula do not appear in the photos.
For future reference, 1st, don’t plant so much arugula at one time. 2nd, don’t grow so much of the beautiful standard salad arugula, unless I decide to grow it in a flower bed. That would be nice, actually. But, for eating, the wild arugula, also known as wild rocket, is slower growing and more flavorful. The wasabi arugula is wonderful because it’s hot, just as its name suggests. Johnny’s Selected Seeds catalog recommends wasabi arugula for early spring and fall planting because of its tendency to bolt. So, plant a small amount of standard arugula. Plant wild arugula a little at the time from early spring on. Plant wasabi arugula for early spring, fall, and even winter under covers. That’s the plan going forward.
As everyone knows, a little arugula spices up a salad like nothing else. From left to right in the photo above are the leaves of wild arugula, standard salad arugula, and wasabi arugula. Again, I’m struck by how lovely they are.
Even though the arugula is bolting, it still tastes delicious. I’ll keep using it for as long as possible. Perhaps I’ll try replanting the wild arugula. Then remember to start wasabi arugula again in the fall.
