Rocket is one of the fastest, laziest crops to grow — ready in weeks, and it keeps giving if you pick leaves rather than pulling whole plants.
Rocket is about as low-effort as vegetables get, scattered straight onto the surface of a mulched, undisturbed bed rather than needing any real preparation. It’s best treated as a cut-and-come-again crop, picked a few leaves at a time rather than harvested all at once.
Sowing & growing calendar
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sow | Sow in March | Sow in April | Sow in May | Sow in June | Sow in July | Sow in August | Sow in September | |||||
| Harvest | Harvest in April | Harvest in May | Harvest in June | Harvest in July | Harvest in August | Harvest in September | Harvest in October |
Care details
- Sow March – September
Sow thinly and direct every couple of weeks; avoid the height of summer when it bolts fastest.
- Harvest April – October
Pick young leaves regularly — the more you cut, the more it resprouts.
Growing tips & common problems
- Sow a little and often rather than one large batch, for a continuous supply of young, mild leaves.
- Grow it somewhere with a little shade in summer — rocket bolts and turns bitter fast in hot, dry weather.
- Cut leaves with scissors rather than pulling the plant, and it will keep resprouting for weeks.
Grows well with
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