Rocket Wild
Classy, massively productive and easy to grow. Everyone should include rocket in their veg garden.
Like mizuna and mustard leaves it's a cut and come again plant - regularly harvest by cutting all the leaves off and it'll keep resprouting for up to 3 months.
It's best to wait until July before you sow rocket, otherwise it will attract flea beetles, which will fill your leaves full of holes.
Time from seed to plate: 6 weeks
Sowing Calendar
Sow
If you want lots of leaves use a grow bed. Fill with compost and make a shallow groove along your grow bed where you're going to sow the seeds. It needs to be about 1cm deep. Then sprinkle in the seed - about one every 2cm and cover with a thin layer of compost. Water well.
Alternatively sow the seed sparingly in a wide pot.
Grow
Once the seedlings are growing start thinning out the smaller ones so you end up with a plant every 10cm or so. Plants in trugs can be left closer because they've more room to bush out.
Keep an eye out for caterpillars and pick them off by hand.
Harvest
Rocket leaves are at their best when they're about 10cm long.
In the summer when it's growing fast, pick by chopping everything off to leave behind a stump 2cm above ground. This will quickly regrow.
In the winter when it's growing more slowly it pays to be a little gentler. 'Pick round' by pulling off the outside leaves, letting the centre ones carry on growing uncut.
Like all salad leaves immerse them in cold water for five minutes after picking to plump up the leaves.