To have fresh herbs all year round: how to grow arugula on the windowsill

In winter, lovers of fresh herbs have to spend a lot of money on their favorite product. And in vain. Many types of edible herbs can be grown on your own on your windowsill by buying a bag of seeds for a modest amount of money. For example, you can grow arugula without much effort.

OBOZ.UA tells you how to set up a mini-arugula bed on the window. Experience shows that you will have to monitor the conditions in which the greens will grow, but this task is not too difficult.

How arugula can be used

The annual of the Cabbage family came to us from the Mediterranean, where this green has gained popularity in all local national cuisines. Arugula has a spicy flavor with mustard notes and goes well with a variety of salads.

Nutritionists recommend adding it to your diet because of the high content of vitamins in the leaves (almost the entire B group, vitamins C, A, K, E, T), as well as folic acid, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, selenium and other nutrients. However, it should be consumed with caution by people suffering from gout, allergies, gastritis, and a number of other diseases.

How to grow arugula on a windowsill

Some home gardeners recommend making a special mixture of standard soil and sand for arugula, disinfecting it by heating it in the oven, and preparing the soil for planting greens by adding preparations with beneficial bacteria. Of course, you can spend time on all of these procedures, and they can indeed increase the yield of greens somewhat. But in fact, the plant feels good in a universal soil mixture that can be purchased at any flower shop.

If you want, you can add a little fertilizer to the water for watering arugula from time to time. Then make sure that they are rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium - these are the elements that the plant needs most.

Arugula needs a lot of sunlight, as it comes from the southern regions. The minimum it needs is 5 hours of direct sunlight daily and 12 hours of light in total. Therefore, in winter, it is best to place a pot of arugula on the southern windowsill. The eastern one is also suitable. This light will be enough for the plant to grow healthy, juicy leaves. But it's better to equip the place where you grow arugula with phytolamps to artificially increase the length of daylight hours.

When watering the plant, it is important not to allow the soil to dry out, as this can severely damage the roots. But you shouldn't flood the arugula either. Water it as soon as the top layer of soil dries, adding a moderate amount of water.

As for the temperature regime, arugula feels good in the range of 10 to 25 degrees Celsius. That is, the usual temperature in a heated room in winter will be quite enough for it.

If you plan to grow arugula leaves until they are fully ripe, you can harvest them about 2 months after sowing. In this case, it is better to sow the plant in several pots with a break of a week or two to have fresh herbs all winter long. But this herb is also good to consume in the form of microgreen. In this case, you can simply put the seeds on damp paper towels and harvest them in a week.

OBOZ.UA previously told you more about how to grow microgreen at home and what plants are suitable for this.

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