How to grow Rocket
in the UK

Rocket, it's a cracking little salad leaf, dead easy to grow on the allotment or even in pots. You get a proper fresh taste, much better than shop-bought, and it's quick as anything to harvest. Good for filling those gaps on the plot too.

Sowing

You can sow rocket from March right through to September, giving you a steady supply. I usually start a few in modules on the windowsill in early spring, just to get a head start, then move 'em out to the cold frame when they're a bit bigger. For later sowings, just pop the seeds straight into the ground, about 1 cm deep and 15-20 cm apart in rows. If you want a proper decent crop, sow a small batch every couple of weeks – that's what we call successional sowing, you know what I mean. Just make sure the soil is warm enough, like.

Growing on

Once your seedlings are big enough to handle, if you've started them indoors, you can prick 'em out into individual small pots. When they've got a few proper leaves, get 'em out onto the plot. You can buy plug plants too, which is handy if you're a bit short on time. Give them about 15 cm between plants, or if you're growing in containers, you can get a few in a decent-sized pot. They don't need any special support, just a bit of space to spread their leaves.

Looking after it

Rocket likes a good drink, especially if the weather turns warm and dry, otherwise it'll bolt and go to seed quick as a flash. Just keep the soil moist, not waterlogged, and you'll be chuffed. A bit of mulch around the plants helps keep the moisture in too, like. No real need for fancy feeds, the usual compost or well-rotted manure in the soil before planting is plenty.

What goes wrong

The main headaches with rocket are those pesky flea beetles, they make little holes in the leaves, which isn't ideal, is it? You can cover young plants with fine netting, like horticultural fleece, to keep 'em off. Slugs and snails will have a go too, especially when the plants are young and tender. Just keep an eye out for them, to be honest. Bolting in hot weather is also a thing, but regular watering helps with that.

Harvest

You'll be harvesting your rocket in as little as three or four weeks from sowing, some varieties are even quicker! Just pick the young, tender leaves from the outside of the plant, leaving the middle to grow on. This way, you'll get several pickings from each plant. Rocket is best eaten fresh, straight from the plot, as it wilts pretty quick once it's picked, so only harvest what you need.