My first attempt growing rocket from seed has been a huge success! We finally have home-grown salad and the more I cut, the more it grows.
It’s been a very hot and dry summer in our little patch of Portugal so the garden has really suffered. The land around us looks like a desert and the soil has turned to red dust. I had no luck with the lettuces I planted – those that survived the scorch bolted almost immediately. But I was determined to have home-grown salad so I tried growing rocket from seed instead.
I’m delighted with the results. In the raised bed we built it survives the harsh temperatures really well. It’s wonderfully peppery and makes a simple salad much more special.
Sewing the seeds
I finally gave up on trying to improve our soil, I think that will have to be a long-term project and will probably take a few years. Instead I filled the raised bed with good quality compost and manure. Then made a small trench and gently scattered the seeds in the bottom. I covered them with a little more soil then crossed my fingers, sat back and waited.
Within a week the seeds had sprouted. I watered them gently every day (sometimes twice a day when it got really hot) and it quickly grey into strong healthy plants. Then I thinned some of the seedlings out when they were about a couple of inches high. Other than that they were happy to be left alone.
It was rather confusing to begin with, as the leaves didn’t look anything like the rocket I was used to buying in the shops. They were thicker and rounder, and I started to think I had been sent the wrong seeds! However, after about three weeks when the leaves were about 4 inches long I decided to give them a go.
The results…
What a delight! I gently snipped off enough leaves for a small salad and mixed them with couscous, sweetcorn, carrot, fetta, tomatoes and cucumber. Then dressed it all with a homemade honey mustard dressing. I haven’t looked back since. We have rocket salad at least every other day, and I’m still a long way from running out of leaves. If you have a small space, or like me have to deal with harsh summer conditions, I would heartily recommend finding a space for this wonderful salad in your garden.
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