Rocket, aka Arugula, Do you grow it?

[flowerbug]

i haven't yet. sounds interesting.

Eruca vesicaria - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

@digitS' seems to be the person here who grows a large number of greens each year so i hope they will chime in and give me some details.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I used to. Many salad seed mixes contain it. It is a vigorous grower and can kind of take over it you let it. I thinned it out so the others could grow better.

We all have our own tastes and preferences. My wife liked it, I thought the flavor was too strong. I think it's one you should try growing yourself, either you like it or you don't. I think it helps to use only the very young tender leaves. You can get a lot of worm food out of the older leaves.

 

[digitS']

I'm very inclined towards @Ridgerunner 's opinion - too strong! Different tastes. I have a friend in Colorado who says, "I don't like any green, too bitter!"

She loves to garden, used to have a career at a garden center until she flew the coop (literally, after a divorce she joined the airline industry). I wonder if she has ever eaten mache, mildest green imaginable.

Mustard greens are about as strongly flavored as I can go. Always believed Mom that greens were a healthy food. I'd try to slide under the table at dinnertime. "Eat half of them." That helped but I kinda needed to discover what was grown in other countries and uncommon in American gardens in the 1950's. (Okay, I doubt if Mom ever ate arugula. .)

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

I thought this was interesting. I remember a conversation on here a few years ago about whether it was spelled with a ck or qu.
https://www.theeasygarden.com/javascript:void(0)
There are a couple main theories behind the name rocket in regards to arugula. The first one is that the name refers to how quickly arugula grows. But the more detailed theory posits that it came from the word “roquette,” which was what arugula is called in France.

 

[flowerbug]

I thought this was interesting. I remember a conversation on here a few years ago about whether it was spelled with a ck or qu.
https://www.theeasygarden.com/javascript:void(0)
There are a couple main theories behind the name rocket in regards to arugula. The first one is that the name refers to how quickly arugula grows. But the more detailed theory posits that it came from the word “roquette,” which was what arugula is called in France.

i was brought to this plant by the word rucola.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

I think the flavor is too strong on it's own or if it's the main green in a mix. I like it in a salad that has other greens and veggies. Its pack full of nutrients and easy to grow.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

I grow it for my mom. I don’t like it it’s way to strong for my. She loves it. Makes salads with just arugula. I can’t stand it.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

I grow it and mix with lettuce and sometimes DS finds it and says there is something wrong with his salad. lol I think it is too strong, but I also never liked kale and forced myself and also mustard is strong but I eat it. The red mustard to me is good. I will grow a row of arugula and use a little, give some to rabbits and then it just goes to waste. I was planning on planting some this spring again. When I was a kid in Oklahoma I do not remember anybody eating a salad and never heard of kale, but my mother was a nut for turnip greens, mustard greens, spinach and I have had to learn to eat these and collards.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

way too peppery for me

 

[digitS']

Curious what the difference might be between a strong flavored green (arugula) and a more mild green (Chinese cabbage), I checked the USDA nutrient database. I still don't have much of an idea but, since I went to the bother , here's a look at 3 nutrients for which arugula is said to be a good source.

Arugula
Vitamin A 119 micrograms
Vitamin C 15 mg
Magnesium 47 mg

Chinese cabbage
Vitamin A 45 micrograms
Vitamin C 45 mg
Magnesium 19mg

per 100 grams, raw vegetable

Steve
wondering about plant pigments, age at harvest and other complexities