Takes a light frost. Sow outdoors 2 to 4 weeks before your last frost; sow in fall 4 to 12 weeks before your first fall frost. First harvest 21 to 60 days from sowing.
Photo: “Arugula” by Peter Burka, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.
Full sun to part shadeSome afternoon shade is fine
3–9 in apartRows 10 in
21–60 daysFrom sowing
Soil 40 °F +pH 6.0–8.0
Half-hardyTakes a light frost
Your dates
Put in your ZIP code to see when to start, plant and harvest arugula where you live, from your own frost dates.
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From seed to harvest
SowSeed goes inWeek 0
SproutFirst shoots showWeek 1
True leavesFirst real leavesWeek 1–2
Thin or plant outGive each plant roomWeek 2–3
Leaf growthLeaves fill outWeek 2–4
HarvestReady to pickWeek 3–8
How to plant and grow
Sow early
Sow outdoors 2 to 4 weeks before your last frost, as soon as the soil can be worked. Seed sprouts in cool soil, around 40 to 55 °F.
Sow shallow
Cover seed with about 1/4 inch of soil. Thin plants to 3 to 9 inches apart, or leave them thicker for cut-and-come-again picking.
Sow every two weeks
Make a new sowing every 2 to 3 weeks for a steady supply, and stop about a month before your first fall frost.
Keep it cool and moist
Water evenly so plants never dry out. Heat, long days and dry soil make arugula bolt; light shade helps in warm spells.
Cover the seedlings
Flea beetles chew tiny holes in young leaves and can wipe out small plants. Floating row cover keeps them off.
Pick young leaves
Start picking leaves a couple of inches long 3 to 4 weeks after sowing, or cut whole plants an inch or two above the soil to regrow.
What you'll see: Many tiny round holes and pits in leaves, as if hit by buckshot. Tiny dark beetles jump when disturbed.
Prevent
Cover seedlings with row cover and seal the edges.
Plant a little later, so warm weather carries plants through the damage.
Sow radish ahead of the main crop as a trap crop.
Clear weeds and old crop debris.
Organic options
Spinosad, or OMRI Listed pyrethrins (without piperonyl butoxide).
Conventional options
Carbaryl, malathion or permethrin, if the crop is on the label. Older plants seldom need treatment.
Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.
Photo: “Aphids on Kale leaf” by Sanjay Acharya, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.
AphidsPest
What you'll see: Clusters of small, soft-bodied green, black or gray insects on new shoots and under leaves. Leaves curl, and a sticky film may coat them.
Prevent
Check leaf undersides each week; a few aphids do little harm.
Pull nearby weeds, such as wild mustards, that feed aphids.
Grow flowers for lady beetles, lacewings and hover flies, and avoid broad sprays that kill them.
Organic options
Knock aphids off with a strong spray of water.
Insecticidal soap or horticultural oil on leaf undersides, repeated as the label allows.
Neem oil, or OMRI Listed pyrethrins (without piperonyl butoxide).
Conventional options
Malathion or permethrin, if the crop is on the label. These also kill the insects that eat aphids.
Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.
BoltingGrowing problemNo spray helps
What you'll see: The plant sends up a flower stalk early, and the leaves turn small and bitter. Long days and heat set it off, and in bok choy and other cabbage-family greens so can a late frost or a week of nights below 50 °F.
Prevent
Sow in the cool, shorter days of spring and fall.
Sow small amounts every few weeks rather than all at once.
Choose varieties sold as slow to bolt.
Give afternoon shade in hot spells.
Organic options
Harvest as soon as a stalk starts. Let a few cilantro or dill plants flower for seed and for helpful insects.
Conventional options
None. No spray stops bolting.
Read and follow the product label: it is the law. It sets the rate, the crops it is for, and the days between spraying and picking. Products registered vary by state; for organic growing, look for products allowed under the USDA National Organic Program (OMRI Listed). We name active ingredients, not brands or rates.
The link opens this growing guide, so anyone can read it and look up their own planting dates.
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Sow
Sprout
True leaves
Thin or plant out
Leaf growth
Harvest
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