Growing arugula in open ground from seeds and seedlings, planting and care in the country

70% plant food and 30% animal food is the proportion of foods needed by a person developed by nutritionists. Plant foods include vegetables, fruits and, of course, greens. Its chemical composition represents a wealth of valuable vitamins and microelements. Arugula is a new, but already firmly established type of greenery. Many people buy it, and some, having plots of land, want to grow it. To do this, it is important to understand the rules of planting and care, although arugula in open ground is unpretentious.

Description of the crop: varieties and varieties

This type of greenery is quite an interesting plant. Presented in two types of salad:

• garden arugula, another designation for indau sowing, or eruka;
• wild arugula, another designation for two-row thin-leaved.

These types of greens have an original flavor, providing ready-made dishes with a delicate nutty taste with a mustard tint. Reproduction occurs through planting seeds.

Arugula is considered a type of salad; it belongs to the Brassica family, genus Indau. Previously considered a weed, it became popular after Mediterranean cuisine took hold in Europe.

There are many varieties of arugula; before planting, it is recommended to familiarize yourself with their characteristics:

1. Cupid's arrows. Greens are characterized by an average ripening period; the growing season lasts 35-38 days. The plant grows up to 30 cm, the leaves are narrow and oblong. Externally similar to dandelion, it constantly produces a good harvest.
2. A curiosity. The growing season of greenery is 27-30 days, it grows up to 20 cm in height, has an erect stem, and blooms in small inflorescences that have a creamy tint. Greens have a sweetish taste, no bitterness.
3. Poker - has an early ripening period, the growing season lasts 22-25 days. It is characterized by green leaves of a rich shade, relatively large in size, one rosette has about 25 pieces. The greens grow up to 20 cm in height. They have a sweetish taste with some bitterness. Seeds remain viable for up to 4 years.
4. Olivetta. An early ripening type, the growing season lasts 20-22 days, the height does not exceed 17-20 cm.This is a perennial variety with slightly rounded leaves. Excellent yield, excellent taste characteristics, there is some nutty flavor and a slight piquant bitterness.

The nuances of growing arugula

Arugula is unpretentious, so it is recommended to grow it:

• in open ground: by sowing seeds or seedlings;
• in greenhouse conditions: sowing seeds or seedlings;
• at home: in a suitable container on the windowsill.

Important conditions for a good harvest of greens include a suitable planting site, type of soil, watering, care and timely harvesting. To constantly have fresh greens, sowing is carried out at intervals of two weeks.

Selecting quality seeds

The subspecies is determined visually by the type of seeds. The double-row plant has small, more poppy-like seeds (up to 1.3 mm). The seeds of the Indau species are larger, about 2-3 mm in size.

If the seeds are purchased spontaneously, it is recommended to disinfect them by soaking them in a manganese solution. Those purchased from specialized sellers do not require any preparation.

Which neighbors can you plant with?

It is recommended to plant arugula next to corn, beans and cucumbers climbing on trellises. They provide light shade for her. Goes well with dill, carrots, onions, rosemary, and potatoes. But you shouldn’t plant arugula near strawberries.

Growing arugula in open ground

Arugula is unpretentious; it can be grown without problems in the countryside and garden in open ground. Growth technology includes adherence to methods of soil preparation, sowing, caring for greenery and timely watering. One of the conditions for a high-quality harvest is the choice of a site for planting. This type of greenery is planted in open ground in seedlings and without seedlings.

Good and bad predecessors

It is recommended to plant greens on pieces of land where tomatoes, carrots, pumpkins, potatoes and legumes previously grew. They are good predecessors. But after cabbage, radish, rutabaga, turnips and horseradish, it is recommended to sow after 3 years due to the presence of similar diseases.

Sowing dates and soil requirements

To grow this plant in open ground, appropriate planting dates have been determined. This period stretches from late April to mid-August.

Worth remembering! The earth should warm up to +10…+13 ^OC. When sowing in cold soil, germination processes slow down.

The plant prefers warmth, although it copes well with cold and can withstand even short frosts down to -5 ^OC. To constantly obtain fresh greens throughout the summer, it is recommended to sow seeds continuously throughout the season at intervals of 2 weeks. The most delicious and especially healthy leaves are between 25 and 45 days old. In warm latitudes, autumn harvesting is allowed from September to mid-November.

In the south and mid-latitudes, planting begins in the second half of April; in Siberia, in the Moscow region, it is recommended to use cultivation in greenhouse conditions or by seedlings. For seedlings, it is recommended to sow seeds in the last days of March or early April.

The seeds do not require pre-treatment because they have good germination. Seedlings are grown in special boxes, glasses or ordinary pots.

Arugula can be sown before winter, and then you can harvest early greens. Sowing is carried out with the onset of stable cold temperatures without prolonged warming, they will provoke swelling, and the seeds will germinate, resulting in the death of the crop. Sowing is carried out approximately in October-November.

Recommendations for the sowing site:

• lighting is preferably moderate, ideal if at noon the greenery is in the shade;
• predominantly neutral, alkaline or slightly acidic soils, it dies on acidic soils, and if the bushes have taken root, they will produce poor-quality seedlings.

Greens growing in a sunny area will become hard and have a bitter taste, and in a dark area they will lose their color and aroma.

Preparations before landing

Before sowing, you need to carry out preparatory work: loosen the soil and level it. If the soil is very acidic, it is necessary to carry out liming; to do this, you need to add crushed chalk, lime or dolomite flour. The concentration is selected based on the condition of the soil, about 25-55 kg per hundred square meters.

If liming was carried out in the fall, 35-38 g/sq.m. is added to the ground in the spring before sowing. m azofoski or "Kemira". If the soil has been thoroughly fertilized in previous years, there is no need to fertilize this plant. When the earth needs nutrition, it is recommended to introduce 35-45 g per m when digging² urea or the appropriate amount of nitrophoska.

Sowing seeds

To sow arugula seeds, no preliminary preparation is required; the seeds have good germination. Sprouts will appear on the 6th day after sowing.

Sowing is done in prepared holes up to 15-20 mm deep. The gap between the rows is 25-35 cm, it is recommended to leave 5 cm between the holes. 2-3 seeds are planted in each hole.

When two leaves have grown on the sprouted shoots, the shoots need to be planted in separate containers, and the stronger shoots are subsequently transplanted to an open area along with a lump of soil so as not to injure the roots.

Caring for arugula

When the shoots sprout, they need to be thinned out; for this, a gap of 5 cm is left between them, and then at the next thinning - 10 cm. Greens that grow too thickly lose their taste.

The optimal temperature is +15…+18 ºС. Can withstand short frosts. If a prolonged cold snap is expected, it is recommended to construct protection from plastic film.

After watering, the soil is mulched; such actions help preserve moisture and keep the greenery from being contaminated by the soil. Mulched with grass cuttings or humus. The thickness of the mulch is increased by a couple of centimeters each time. It is distributed under the bushes so that the leaves do not lie on the ground.

Organization of irrigation

The plant prefers moist soil. Watering is carried out three times a week. In stable heat, it is recommended to do it daily.

If there is not enough moisture, the plant will become bitter, lose its stalk and become unfit for consumption. Arugula prefers moisture, but when watering it is unacceptable for it to stagnate in the upper levels of the soil.

Weeding and loosening the soil

For good growth, loose soil is necessary; accordingly, after watering (you can do it every other time), it is recommended to fluff up the plot of land. At the same time, weeding is also done.

If weeds are not removed, they thicken the crops and provoke the occurrence of fungal diseases. The presence of weeds also affects the taste of greens.

Plant nutrition

The land for sowing is well fertilized. Then, during the growth period, one or two additional feedings are carried out. It is not recommended to use complex mineral preparations, since the toxins collected in the plant will not disintegrate during a short period of growth.

It is recommended to use a solution of chicken manure or rotted manure as a top dressing.If desired, you can use nitrogen fertilizers, but it is worth remembering that the green part quickly accumulates nitrates.

Diseases and pests of arugula

Arugula is classified as an early ripening plant; therefore, chemical treatment is not carried out.

However, protection against fungal infections is necessary; these diseases develop mainly in moist soil. If the roots are affected, the stem part will begin to wither. The roots themselves are covered with small bubbles of a brownish hue. When these signs appear, it is necessary to remove the affected sprout and treat the soil with antifungal drugs.

The formation of brown spots on greenery indicates a disease with peronosporosis, and yellowed leaves indicate damage by fusarium.

Changes in the color of leaves, the formation of spots, lethargy of greenery, or if there are holes in the leaf part, all this indicates disease or the presence of pests. To prevent such phenomena, prevention is carried out:

• thorough soil preparation;
• it is recommended to sprinkle the soil with wood ash;
• accounting of predecessor plants;
• weed removal;
• use of quality seeds.

When signs of fungal and bacterial diseases appear, the use of biofungicides is allowed. Processing is carried out in accordance with the instructions. In case of large-scale damage, it is better to remove and destroy arugula.

The plant exudes a lot of essential oils, their smell frightens pests. Although the greenery of arugula attracts cabbage caterpillars, cabbage moths and other lepidopterans, it also attracts slugs. Arugula greens can also be damaged by the cruciferous flea beetle; they also eat radishes and other types of greens.When covering tender crops with lutrasil, harmful insects will be forced to look for other food.

Sprinkling soil and plants with tobacco dust or fine, pre-sifted ash works effectively. Spraying with infusions of herbs, in particular wormwood, is not recommended. If left on the greens, the solution will impart an undesirable flavor to them.

During the growth period of arugula, slugs and caterpillars, if there are not many of them, are removed by hand. You can treat the plant with a bioinsecticide, in accordance with the recommendations.

Harvesting and storage

Experienced gardeners know that if you let arugula sit too long, the leaves will become hard and have a bitter taste. It is important to collect greens from the garden on time. The first indicator of maturity is that the length of the leaves should be at least 10 cm.

Important to remember! The taste properties of greens decrease after the appearance of the flower-bearing arrow.

Large rosettes need to be cut off at the root, the rest of the bushes partially. The leaves are used to prepare fresh salads. In a cold and dark place, the greens are stored, packed in cling film, for several days.

If you follow the simple recommended growing rules, arugula greens will delight you for a long time, throughout the favorable growing time. And if you master the technology of planting and care at home, you will have greens in your diet all year round.