Arugula is a versatile leafy green that adds a pop of flavor to dishes ranging from fresh salads to pizza to pesto. Its fast growth rate also makes it a satisfying plant for beginner gardeners to grow. While arugula thrives when directly sown into garden beds, it can also easily be grown in containers. Pots enable raising arugula on patios, balconies, and other small spaces.
Growing arugula in containers has some unique care requirements. Our gardening site frequently gets questions about successfully cultivating potted arugula. If you want to enjoy homegrown arugula without an in-ground garden, here are our tips for caring for arugula in pots
Choosing the Right Pot
To allow proper airflow and drainage, opt for containers with drainage holes. Plastic, wood, terra cotta, and other materials all work well. Make sure the pot is deep enough to accommodate arugula’s long taproot. A 10-12 inch deep container is ideal, but shallower ones down to 8 inches will suffice.
For mature plants select at least a 10 inch wide pot. You can use smaller containers down to 6 inches wide for growing baby greens. Match pot size to expected plant size. Bigger varieties like Italian cress need more root room than low-growing wild rocket.
You can plant multiple arugula seeds together in one pot. Space them 2-3 inches apart and thin seedlings to 6 inches between plants. For succession planting, sow new seeds every 2-3 weeks.
Choosing the Right Soil
Arugula thrives in nutrient-rich, well-draining soil. A quality potting mix formulated for veggies is the best choice. You can make your own by blending compost with coir or perlite. Or add compost and perlite to regular potting soil to improve drainage.
Test drainage by watering your soil mix and letting it drain for 15 minutes. There should be no water left in the container bottom. Soil pH between 6-7 yields best arugula growth and flavor.
Caring for Container Arugula Plants
Sunlight
Arugula grows best with 6+ hours of full sun daily. Rotating pots helps maximize light exposure. Providing adequate sunlight prevents leggy, weak growth.
Water
Arugula has a shallow root system. Check soil moisture daily, watering when the top 1-2 inches of soil are dry. Avoid soil extremes of bone dry or soggy. Letting plants wilt badly damages roots and leads to bolting.
Temperature
Arugula prefers cool weather under 70°F. It can withstand light frosts. Growth slows in hot weather, causing bitter flavor and bolting. In very hot climates, grow arugula in partial shade.
Fertilizer
Every 2-3 weeks, use a balanced liquid fertilizer formulated for leafy greens. This supplies vital nutrients in the confined potting mix. Too much nitrogen causes excessive leaf growth rather than fuller roots and greens.
Pruning & Pinching
Trim outer leaves regularly to encourage bushy growth. Pinch off any flowers that emerge to delay bolting. Remove any yellowing or decaying leaves promptly.
Support
Tall varieties may need staking to stay upright in pots. Use small cages or trellises suitable for containers. Try to avoid damaging shallow arugula roots.
Troubleshooting Common Problems
Growing in containers, arugula can face challenges like:
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Leggy or weak plants – Insufficient sunlight, overcrowding, and incorrect soil can lead to spindly, stunted plants.
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Poor flavor – Extreme temps, overwatering, bolting, and inadequate nutrients cause bitter or bland taste.
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Quick bolting – Hot weather, erratic watering, and crowding trigger premature flowering.
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Diseases & pests – Fungus, mold, and insects may attack. Improve air circulation and promptly remove affected plants.
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Small leaves and harvests – This results from using too small a container. Transplant into a bigger pot.
With attentive care focused on providing optimal sunlight, temperature moderation, frequent fertilizing, and consistent soil moisture, growing arugula in pots can be very rewarding. Avoid stressors and you will be harvesting abundant fresh greens.
Best Varieties for Containers
While all types will grow in pots, some arugula varieties are better container candidates:
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Astro – A slow bolting heirloom with rounded leaves and mild peppery flavor. Stays compact.
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Selvatica – Withstands heat well. Fast-growing with deeply lobed leaves. Very aromatic.
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Slow Bolt – As the name suggests, selected for resistance to premature flowering in warm conditions.
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Sylvetta – A wild arugula cultivar slower to bolt. Deeply cut leaves have very intense spicy flavor.
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Ice-Bred – Specifically bred for growing in cold conditions, making it a good early spring choice.
Harvesting Arugula from Pots
Begin harvesting leaves once they reach 3-4 inches long. Use scissors to cut greens off just above the soil line. Taking only a few leaves from each plant allows for cut-and-come-again harvesting.
For mature heads, cut the entire plant down to 1-2 inches above the soil. It will regrow smaller leaves for additional pickings. Time final harvest before hot weather causes bolting.
Enjoy your homegrown potted arugula within a day or two for best flavor and nutrition. Store leaves in the fridge in breathable containers.Freeze or dry excess.
Don’t let lack of garden space stop you from raising your own delicious arugula. With reasonable container size, quality potting mix, ample sun, and attentive watering, arugula thrives on patios and porches as readily as plots. Careful site selection and prompt harvesting give potted plants their best chance at avoiding premature bolting.
If you choose appropriate varieties, provide needed TLC, and keep environmental stressors in check, growing arugula in containers can be just as productive and tasty as sowing directly in garden beds. With so many culinary uses for fresh arugula, pots enable any gardener to make the most of this quick-growing and health-promoting green.
Arugula Is the Easiest Leafy Green to Grow
Not only is it a popular green that restaurants seem to put on everything, arugula is also super easy to start from seed and grow at home. After living and growing in many different climates, I can attest that arugula is one of those super greens that just keeps producing until the ground is frozen. Plus, you can harvest a ton from every little plant.
If youre not sold yet, read up on the 15 benefits of growing your own arugula, before scrolling down to learn how to plant, grow, and harvest your own peppery arugula leaves.
When to Plant Arugula
Arugula is a member of the brassica family, along with kale, broccoli, cauliflower, mustard, and several other dark leafy greens that are so good for you. This family is a cool-weather bunch, but arugula is that one member of the family that tends to do its own thing—every family has one of those, right?
Even though your seed packet might tell you to grow arugula in the cool season when the temperatures are above freezing but below 75 degrees Fahrenheit, Ive found you can stretch arugulas growing season well into your colder and hotter months of the year. Arugula is just not very picky about temperature. It’s way more heat-tolerant than most salad greens, and it can even withstand some frost.
All that to say, you can grow arugula far outside of its optimal growing time, and in warmer climates, you can actually grow this green year round.
My Rooted Garden clients in Houston, Texas, are harvesting arugula leaves from their gardens even when the temperature spikes over 95 degrees and all other leafy greens have long since bolted and gone to seed. Few other plants can stand the heat quite like this little green, and this characteristic alone makes arugula a must-have when you’re missing that garden-fresh taste of salads in the hottest months of the year.
If youre somewhere warm, wait until temperatures are at least below 90 degrees to plant your arugula. A mature plant will be able to better withstand higher temps than a seedling. I typically planted arugula in September in Houston so that I could harvest leaves all fall and into the winter. If I planted seeds in June or July, I would put them in the shade under larger plants like tomatillos and peppers.
If you live somewhere a bit colder, you can plant arugula before your last frost date, as soon as your soil is workable. Using frost cloth or cold frames will protect your little arugula seedlings from frost damage.
In the Chicago area, I plant arugula seeds as early as February. Arugula leaves from seeds I plant in early February are among the first cool-season plants I get to harvest by late March. My goal is to continue growing the plants throughout the spring, summer, and fall, for at least eight months total of arugula leaf production. Ill continue planting arugula all the way until Im four to six weeks out from my anticipated first frost date of the fall. That means I can keep going until late November or so, especially if I use a frost cover over my beds.
Growing Arugula From Seed to Harvest
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