I’m so pleased with my wild rocket this winter, and I thought I would just share how much better it has done for being planted in the greenhouse. In previous years, I’ve planted it outside along with other winter leaves like mizuna, frills mustard and land cress, but it never grew very fast. In fact, it wasn’t until around now, in February, that it would finally start to grow.
This time, I planted it in the greenhouse in October, and I’ve been enjoying a steady harvest since December. The plants are already a good size, and I’ve been able to add rocket leaves to salads every week as they’ve been growing so reliably. I don’t know how they would have done outdoors this season, as it has been generally mild (apart from the very cold spell in December) but I feel sure that growing them in the greenhouse has been the magic ingredient. I will certainly be planting them indoors again next autumn.
Now, with all that said, it is better NOT to plant them in a greenhouse when growing wild rocket during spring and summer – in fact, I find it better to plant them outside in a shaded part of the veg garden as they are less likely to bolt.