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How to Grow Arugula: The Complete Guide

Photo Credit
vaivirga/Shutterstock
Botanical Name
Eruca sativa
Plant Type
Vegetable
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Part Sun
Soil pH
Slightly Acidic to Neutral
Bloom Time
Spring
Summer
Fall
Flower Color
White

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Arugula Lettuce

Catherine Boeckmann
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Also known as “rocket” or “roquette,” arugula is a fast-growing, cool-season, leafy green that adds a tangy, mustard-like flavor to salads. Though popular on gourmet menus, arugula greens are quite easy to plant and grow in your home garden.

About Arugula

Arugula stems from the warmer parts of Europe—namely Italy and along the Mediterranean, through Turkey, and into western Asia. A member of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), it’s a relative of other common garden plants such as cabbage, broccoli, and kale. 

Arugula is often found in mesclun seed mixes, as it grows quickly and has a bolder flavor than most greens. Many people love the spicy, peppery taste in salads or as an accompaniment to sandwiches. Plant in early spring or early fall, and you can harvest young leaves 6 to 8 weeks after sowing. The seeds will germinate quickly in cool soil, and seedlings can tolerate a light frost, but consider protecting plants with cloches or row covers nonetheless! 

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Planting

Where to Plant Arugula

Arugula does best in nutrient-rich, well-draining soil but will tolerate a wide variety of conditions, making it a great choice for containers, raised beds, or traditional garden beds. It prefers slightly acidic soil with a pH between 6 and 7.

Plant in a spot with full sun (6 or more hours of sunlight) for the best results. Arugula will grow in partial sun, but not as well.

Avoid planting arugula in areas where its relatives (other Brassicas) have recently been planted, as pests and disease may persist. 

When to Plant Arugula

  • Arugula seeds will germinate in soil temperatures as low as 40°F (4°C), so sow them outdoors as soon as the soil can be worked in spring. See local frost dates.
  • Sow in late summer or early fall for a fall or winter harvest.

How to Plant Arugula

  • Sow seeds ¼-inch deep and about 1 inch apart in rows 10 inches apart. Alternatively, broadcast arugula seeds alone or mix them with other salad greens.
  • Seeds germinate in about a week (or slightly longer in cold soil). Speed up germination by soaking seeds in water for a few hours prior to planting.
  • According to Susan Mahr from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, “Seedlings have two rounded cotyledons, each with an indentation on the end, while the first young leaves are entire and elongated. Older leaves have lobes of varying degrees, so these leaves look like dark green oak leaf lettuce—often deeply pinnate with 4-10 lobes.”
  • Sow new seeds every 2 to 3 weeks for a continuous harvest later on!

Growing

How to Grow Arugula

  • Keep soil evenly moist, especially in warmer weather when bolting may occur. (Bolting is when the plant skips right to producing flowers and seeds without developing much foliage first.)
  • Thin seedlings to about 6 inches apart, using the thinnings for salads.
  • To reduce heat stress and prevent bolting, provide some shade for warm-season plantings.

Arugula salad greens

Varieties
  • ‘Runway’ – Very fast growing plant with large-lobed leaves.
  • ‘Garden’ – Fast growing plants produce leaves with a mild, radish-like flavor.
  • ‘Italian Rocket’ – Also known as ‘Wild Italian Rocket’. Finely cut leaves with sharp flavor.
  • ‘Sylvetta’ – Small-lobed leaves. Slow growing and slow to bolt.
  • ‘Astro’ – Fast growing with a mild flavor.

Harvesting

Arugula leaves taste best when young. Older leaves can be tougher and will have more of a bite!

  • Harvest leaves when they are about 2 to 3 inches long.
  • Pull up the whole plants or cut individual leaves as needed.
  • The white flowers are also edible, try them in salads or to making your plating more interesting.
  • Once the plant bolts, the leaves will taste bitter.
Gardening Products

Pests/Diseases

Arugula Pests and Diseases

Pest/DiseaseTypeSymptomsControl/Prevention
Cabbage wormsInsectLeaves have large, ragged holes or are skeletonized; dark green excrement; yellowish eggs laid singly on leaf undersides by white butterflies with two or three black spots on each wingHandpick; use row covers; add native plants to invite beneficial insects; grow companion plants (especially thyme); spray Bacillus thuringiensis (a beneficial bacterium)
Downy mildewFungusYellow, angular spots on upper leaf surfaces that turn brown; white/purple/gray cottony growth on leaf undersides only; distorted leaves; defoliationRemove plant debris; choose resistant varieties; ensure good air circulation; avoid overhead watering
Flea beetlesInsectNumerous tiny holes in leaves, as if leaves have been hit by birdshotUse row covers; mulch heavily; add native plants to invite beneficial insect predators
White rustFungusChalk-white blisters mainly on leaf undersides; small, yellow-green spots or blisters, sometimes in circular arrangement, on upper leaf surfaces; possible distortion or galls; stems may also be infectedDestroy infected plants; choose resistant varieties; weed; destroy crop residue; rotate crops

Wit and Wisdom

Recipes

Arugula and Watercress Salad with Orange-Poppy Seed Dressing
Fettuccine with Arugula and Mushrooms
Cherry Balsamic Chicken Salad With Spinach, Arugula, Fennel, and Grapes

Cooking Notes

Packed with vitamins and minerals, arugula is often used fresh or in cooked dishes. Toss arugula into…

  • Salads
  • Soups
  • Omelettes and eggs
  • Sandwiches
  • Grains
  • Pizza toppings (Dress arugula lightly in a lemony vinaigrette.)

pizza with arugula and tomatoes

Vegetables
About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann
 

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Comments

DKM (not verified)

2 weeks 3 days ago

I live in NE Ohio, zone 6a, last frost date (2025) being 27 April. I’m fairly certain I’ll be picking arugula by then. I planted ‘wild arugula’ (as depicted in the first photo to this article - thin, pointed leaves) five years ago and I have routinely let it go to seed, and as it is wildly prolific, I pull up plants from where I do not want them and move them. Consequently, I have arugula most everywhere in my back yard; it has become one of those 'pesky weeds' some speak of, except in my and my wife’s case, it is a Job Well Done. We love arugula, you see, and last year, e.g., I probably harvested 10-pounds of it if not more, gave away more than a few pounds, and even dug up some plants for an exterminator (something weirdly ironic there perhaps). We simply grow more arugula now than we 2 can eat, so the neighborhood gets some tasty free greens too. Win-win. I let it seed because the bees and other bugs love it. I have had pretty much no problems with it in terms of pests or disease, and it is one of very, oh so very few things those #$%^ deer will not eat. This naturalization is so ideal to me because now when I find arugula where I do not want it, I can just harvest it to the ground. Odds are it will come back, but if not, that’s fine because I have it in numerous places where I do want it, and as said, for the past five years, it has not diminished but rather multiplied, exponentially. Put it this way: this arugula is more pesky than any mint (or anything else) I have grown. And it is deliciously wonderful stuff (and makes a very fine tart, I should add).

Grow it; let it seed; eat well.

And fyi, I have grown carrots, potatoes and other crops with it; works fine. Will shade heavily after a few months growth so keep that in mind, but it also seems to deter pests, perhaps more so due to its hiding/burying the other crops. But again, just eat it down to the ground, thin heavily (once well established), and odds are it will simply return. An amazing plant.

Pat Miller (not verified)

2 years 5 months ago

I planted a packet of mesclun in a flower bed. The rabbits ate all of the lettuce but did not touch the arugula. It grew big and beautiful. I cut the tops and put them around the lilies and iris and hosta to stop the rabbits from eating them. It seems to have worked. I think I will plant arugula on purpose next summer.

Michele (not verified)

3 years ago

I live in Billings, Montana and every year for the past 5 years, I have been unable to find Arugala seeds or plants.
Any suggestions for finding them here? If not, then I have to order online again.
I like that you included the names of some types of Arugala to get.
Thanks!

I believe these to be the best for mail ordering. Fedco
https://fedcoseeds.com/

Christine Mac Millan (not verified)

3 years 1 month ago

Hi, I would like to plant in pots. How big a pot should I use? Can I put other items in the same pot? Thanks

Lettuce greens, which include arugula, are fairly shallow rooted; they do not need but a couple or few inches of depth. More is fine but not necessary. See here for examples: https://www.almanac.com/how-grow-your-own-salad-greens

So you can use any size container but if you are growing other things, you might want depth to satisfy their root needs. You can search for individual vegetables on this web site (go to the top of this page for the search box) and learn more about each one’s needs.

Cheryl (not verified)

3 years 7 months ago

Responding to Mary's question about harvesting seeds. I just finished this about 2 minutes ago! When one of my arugula beds was determined to bolt, I let it. I let the seeds dry in the pods on the plant. Tonight I went and cut them off and captured the tiny seeds on white paper and saved in an envelope. I left out the ones that were still a little green for fear they might mold the dry ones. Waiting for slightly cooler weather to replant.

Mary (not verified)

3 years 9 months ago

I would like to grow my Arugula again and have let some seed pods grow on a flowered plant. At present the seeds inside are green. What is the quickest way to dry them to brown so I can plant again this season? Or will I need to wait till next season?

Corie Feiner (not verified)

4 years 10 months ago

Hi, Let’s say you pull your arugula out. What do you do with the soil afterwards? What is recommended to plant next?

It’s great to keep planting greens. They have quick harvests. This is called “succession planting.” You don’t want to plant ALL your seeds at the same time! You don’t need to do anything different. Plant every 10 to 14 days in between for an extended harvest. We would just fluff up (aerate) the soil a bit and replenish nutrients by forking in some compost and/or granular organic fertilizer.