November 27, 2024
Winter may be coming on but gardeners never give up—opportunities are out there iif we look. After all this is an important time to protect against the horrible germs and viruses that WE don’t spread around—-but “the others” do.
We need healthy food—vitamins and antioxidants to protect against dangers lurking everywhere.
Gardening opportunities—need for healthy food. Its perfectly clear how these things go together —grow arugula—in your own yard where you can eat it every day. It is loaded with the vitamins and minerals and antioxidants we want and need and—it honestly wants to grow here—and this is the time it grows best. We are talking now about salad arugula or garden arugula.
Its Latin name is Eruca Sativa. This is important to know when you are buying seeds or plants and this is the plant you want to grow—keep it in mind for later. This is the peppery green most often found in spring mixes available at the store. Just as the mixes contain lots of different greens you need to plan on mixing your arugula with hopefully—homegrown lettuce for salad. Pick your plants early and often using the outer leaves—the plant will just keep growing.
Salad arugula is very heat sensitive and will bolt but don’t worry the unusual and pretty flowers are great in salad and let some go to seed you will have new plants to use.. When it does get hot the seeds just stay in the ground and come up when conditions suit them you can have arugula for years.
Of course winter isn’t the only season for healthy eating. Once you realize how useful your salad arugula is—you want more you want some in summer too.
There is a plant for that! Amazingly it is called Wild or Rustic or Italian Arugula. However it isn’t arugula really it actually isn’t closely related to salad arugula although the taste is similar.
It’s Latin name is Diplotaxix Tenuifolia it is a brassica but it is a perennial native to the Mediterranean. It is far more heat tolerant and uses lots less water. So although it is a very different plant it is a very good thing.
A little in salad—especially the very young leaves will be fine. It’s flavor can be fairly intense so use carefully. Its wonderful for sandwiches no mustard needed!
For a real treat pick a nice bunch chop and dress lightly with olive oil and vinegar—pile on to a nice cheese pizza just out of the oven—you won’t be sorry.
So two different plants both called arugula and both so welcome in the kitchen garden.
Both arugula flowers pictured above are beautiful and edible and great for bees and small butterflies, however they are very different. Both plants are called arugula and we are going to acecept that and grow them both!
Susan Thornbury, Dallas County Master Gardener Class of 2008
