The Rocket Microgreen with its tangy and peppery flavor will make any dish stand out. This tasty green leaf is extremely popular at restaurants used as a garnish and now you can enjoy growing this in your home.
What Are Rocket Microgreens?
Rocket microgreens (also known as Arugula) are the mini versions of the spicy mature leaves. Growing rocket as microgreens gives the same delicious peppery taste as the full-sized grown ones. These small leaves are full of nutrition and add a fantastic tangy flavor to any salad and pasta dish and they are great to put on your sandwich.
Rockets are easy and quick to grow. They are rich with a wide range of vitamins and contain up to 25% protein.
Growing period | 10-14 days |
Flavor | Tangy and peppery flavor |
Growing difficulty | Easy |
Buy seeds | Rocket (Arugula) seeds from True Leaf Market |
Description
Rocket is known with other names such as Ruchetta, Rucola or Arugula (even though the last one is different in taste being more peppery and sharp). Botanically, it belongs to the Eruca genus in the family Brassicaceae.
With a Mediterranean origin, it was traditionally collected in the wild or grown in home gardens along with other herbs such as parsley and basil. Nowadays the adult version of the vegetable can be bought rinse-ready in supermarkets.
Rockets as microgreens are commonly used by chefs in restaurants to add the tasty flavor to culinary dishes.
General Nutrition & Benefits
These spicy leaves are filled with health benefits and are low in calories. The Rocket microgreens contain a good amount of vitamins A, C and K.
It’s high in several key nutrients for bone health, including calcium. They are also packed with Calcium which is necessary for bone health, tooth health, muscle function, and nerve function. Other vital nutrients are Potassium and Folate.
RELATED: The 14 Most Nutritious Microgreens to Grow and Eat
How to Grow Rocket Microgreens
Growing Rocket Microgreens are quick and easy. One thing you may notice when growing these microgreens are that the seeds are mucilaginous which means they can stick to the top tray if you are using one of those.
Growing timeline (estimated) | |
Presoak | No |
Preferred medium | Soil/coconut coir |
Avg. seed weight (10/20 tray) | 1 oz |
Germination period (blackout) | Day 1-5 |
Growth time (sunlight) | Day 6-9 |
Harvest | Day 10-14 |
One thing about the Rocket is that it will put out roots quickly. This means that you will see spawn hundreds of little root hairs. You should not confuse them for being mold. While they look similar, you can identify root hairs by their even distribution and clustering around the taproot of your seedling.
You can benefit from adding some weight on a top tray during the blackout period. This will make the crop grow more even and speed up the germination process.
Culinary guiding
Mix your rocket microgreens with other salad leaves or add a handful of fresh arugula to an omelet or scramble, on top of a sandwich or wrap. Throw some on top of pasta or a pizza, just add at the last minute to retain the peppery flavor.
You can also just add in a small amount of extra virgin olive oil and season with freshly ground black pepper and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Simple but yet so tasty dish!