Buy salad rocket or Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa rocket 'Salad': Delivery by Waitrose Garden

rocket - salad

salad rocket or Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa

Eventual height & spread

rocket - salad

salad rocket or Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa

approx 1000 seeds
£2.49
In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

Delivery options

Seed Packets (only) £2.99
Named Day £10.99

Position: full sun or partial shade
Soil: fertile, moist but well drained

Not for nothing is this called rocket: it shoots out of the ground in no time and you'll be picking your first delicious peppery leaves within a matter of weeks. You can keep picking the large, lobed leaves as a cut-and-come-again crop over a long period; they look gorgeous picked young, adding a spicy edge to mixed-leaf salads. The flowers are edible too and look great as a garnish.

Garden care:

Keep well watered in dry weather to prevent the leaves becoming too peppery or bitter. Pick leaves regularly to encourage fresh growth, and sow every few weeks for a continuous harvest. Cover with fleece if the appearance of small holes in the foliage (flea beetles) become a problem.

Sowing Instructions:

Choose a sheltered spot and sow sparingly direct where they are to grow from March to September. Keep well watered and thin seedlings to 10cm (4in) apart as they emerge.

Pick leaves over regularly to keep the plants from bolting (running to seed) but don't pick the central crown so that more can re-grow. Rocket tends to bolt quickly in hot conditions, so in dry summers stop sowing in July and August and start again in autumn for a late crop.

Protect autumn/winter crops with a cloche or fleece.

Sow outside - March to September

Harvest: May to November