Wasabi Arugula

ANNUAL

Spring/summer/fall harvest
Frost hardy

EASIEST TO START OUTDOORS

Plant in spring (or late summer for a fall crop) directly into the garden in well-worked soil in full sun, or a spot that receives partial afternoon shade. Sow 1 inch apart and barely cover.

Keep the seed bed evenly moist until seedlings emerge in 10 to 12 days. Begin harvesting individual young leaves in 4 to 5 weeks. In hot summer areas, wait to sow again in late summer for fall use, as extreme heat makes leaves extra pungent.

GROWING NOTES

Harvest early by thinning seedlings to use in salads when they are several inches tall, leaving remaining seedlings to grow to maturity 4 to 5 inches apart. Pick individual leaves when they are 3 to 4 inches long, or snip each whole leafy rosette about 1 inch above the crown and let plants regrow for extended harvests. This long-lasting arugula stays leafy so you can use it all season. Pick the little edible flower stalks of dainty white blossoms off the plants to keep seed heads from forming as this diminishes leaf quality.