Salad leaf (brassica)
How to grow rocket
Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa
Rocket is a quick, peppery salad leaf that is at its best in the cool, shorter days of spring and autumn. Sow direct every two or three weeks from March to May and again from August to October, in moist soil in sun or light shade, and start cutting four to six weeks later. Avoid midsummer sowings, which flower within weeks, and cover the row with fine mesh to keep flea beetle off.
- Hardiness
- Hardy, overwinters under cover
- Position
- Sun to light shade
- Soil
- Moisture-retentive, reasonable fertility
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.0
- Water
- Moderate, dry soil makes it bolt and burn
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting rocket
WhenSow Mar to May and Aug to Oct; harvest 4 to 6 weeks later
Starting off
Direct every 2 to 3 weeks in March to May and August to October, germinating in 5 to 7 days at 10 to 20 °C; summer sowings bolt within 4 weeks, so sow in shade or skip June to July. September to October sowings under cloches or in a cold greenhouse crop through winter. Wild rocket (Diplotaxis) is slower, more peppery and perennial.
Spacing and planting
Sow 1 cm deep in drills 15 to 30 cm apart and thin to 10 to 15 cm, or broadcast thinly in a 10 cm wide band for cut-and-come-again. Ideal in a 15 cm deep trough, windowbox or 25 cm pot, where it can be kept shaded and damp in summer.
Varieties worth growing
- Salad rocket (Eruca sativa)
- The standard annual: fast, broad-leaved and tender, ready in four weeks. Sold simply as rocket or rucola.
- Apollo
- A salad rocket with large, rounded leaves and a milder flavour; good for those who find rocket too hot.
- Wild rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia)
- Perennial, with narrow, deeply cut leaves and a stronger flavour. Slower to start but far slower to bolt, so it is the one for summer.
- Dragon's Tongue
- A wild rocket with red-veined leaves, bred to be slow to bolt and strong in flavour.
- Wasabi
- An annual wall rocket (Diplotaxis erucoides) with a sharp, horseradish-like heat, used a few leaves at a time. Sow it like salad rocket, as it bolts quickly in hot weather.
Rocket month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Pick lightly from plants under cover. Ventilate on mild days.
- February
Sow in a cold greenhouse border or under cloches at the end of the month.
- March
Sow outdoors under fleece, 1 cm deep. Sow again two to three weeks later.
- April
Sow every two to three weeks. Start cutting the first sowing. Mesh against flea beetle.
- May
Last spring sowing of salad rocket, in a spot with afternoon shade. Water daily in dry weather.
- June
Pull plants as they bolt, leaving one or two to flower for the bees and for seed. Sow wild rocket if you want summer leaves.
- July
Skip sowing salad rocket. Keep wild rocket watered and cut it often.
- August
Start sowing again as the nights cool. This is the best sowing of the year.
- September
Sow outdoors early in the month and under cover later for winter.
- October
Last sowing in a greenhouse or under cloches. Cover outdoor rows with fleece or a cloche.
- November
Pick outer leaves from covered crops. Growth is slow now.
- December
Pick sparingly. Cut back wild rocket and leave the roots to reshoot in spring.
Feeding rocket
A six-week leaf crop that lives on what the soil already holds. On ground fed for a previous crop it needs nothing, and extra feed makes it soft and quick to rot.
Low, a fast leafy crop. Too much feed and heat make it bolt and turn fiery.
Feeding plan
Most soils
Nothing
No feed. Sow after a fed crop such as early potatoes, peas or lettuce and the residue is enough.
Before sowing, poor or sandy soil only
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
70 g/m², the bottom of the label range, raked in a week before sowing. For a band 20 cm wide that is about 15 g per metre.
After the second cut, only if regrowth is pale and slow
1 g per litre of water over the row, once. It is a tonic with very little nitrogen; if the plants do not respond, pull them and sow a fresh row.
Signs to watch
Bolting and fiery, bitter leaves
Heat, dry soil or long days, not a feeding problem
Water daily, shade and sow in spring and autumn
Pale, slow leaves after the second cut
Nitrogen short on poor ground
One light top-dress of the dry feed in the feeding plan, watered in
Lush, floppy, mild leaves that rot
Excess nitrogen
No feeding at all
Pests, diseases and problems
Leaves peppered with tiny round holes, like shot
Flea beetle, the main pest of rocket, active from April to August
Cover with fine insect mesh or fleece from sowing, with the edges sealed. Keep the soil moist. Sowings made from late August onwards largely escape.
Seedlings disappear and older leaves have ragged holes
Slugs and snails
Water in the morning, clear debris from around the row and pick them off after dark.
Yellow patches on the upper leaf surface with grey-white mould beneath, on crops under cover in winter
Downy mildew in still, damp air
Ventilate cloches and greenhouses on dry days, water the soil not the leaves, in the morning, and give plants 10 to 15 cm of space. Remove affected leaves.
Raised, chalky white pustules on the undersides of leaves
White blister, a disease of the brassica family favoured by wet weather
Remove and bin affected plants, widen the spacing and sow the next batch somewhere else.
Harvest and rotation
Harvest and storage
Cut leaves at 8 to 10 cm, 4 to 6 weeks from sowing, with scissors 2 to 3 cm above the base, and the plant regrows two or three times; or pick outer leaves. A 1 m row gives 300 to 500 g per cut. Eat within 2 days from a bag in the fridge; the flowers are edible and the plant self-sows freely.
Rotation and companions
Rotation: brassica group, though a 6-week crop usually fitted into gaps. Sow beside lettuce, mizuna and spring onions for a salad bed.
Good to knowBest in spring and autumn.
Growing rocket in pots
Rocket is ideal for containers and is easier to keep cool, moist and free of flea beetle in a pot than in the ground. Use a trough, windowbox or pot at least 15 cm deep with fresh multipurpose compost and no added fertiliser. Scatter the seed thinly over the surface, cover with 1 cm of compost and do not thin if you are cutting it as baby leaf. Water daily, and in warm weather move the pot to a place with afternoon shade. Cut at 8 to 10 cm, leaving 2 to 3 cm of stem, and expect two or three cuts before the plants tire. If you reuse the compost for another sowing, scratch in the 4-5-6 at 2 g per litre first, 20 g for a 10 litre trough.
Rocket: common questions
Why does my rocket keep bolting?
Heat, dry soil and long days all trigger flowering, so rocket sown between late May and July usually bolts within a month. Sow in March, April, August and September instead, keep the soil moist, and grow wild rocket for summer, as it holds much longer.
What is the difference between wild rocket and salad rocket?
Salad rocket is a fast annual with broad, tender leaves and a milder taste; wild rocket is a slower perennial with thin, jagged leaves and more heat. Salad rocket is ready in four to six weeks but short-lived. Wild rocket takes longer to germinate and establish but crops for months.
Can you grow rocket through the winter?
Yes, with protection. Sow in September or early October in a cold greenhouse, polytunnel or under cloches, and the plants will give small pickings from November to March and grow away strongly in early spring. Rocket is hardy enough to survive frost, but growth nearly stops in midwinter.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.