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Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-200
Arugula
Eruca vesicaria
Arugula is the fastest food crop in the collection, germinating in about a day and giving a first harvest of strongly peppery leaves within six weeks. It fills the gap between two other crops rather than serving as a staple, and it self-sows readily, so a patch left to go to seed at the end of one season often reappears on its own the next. Its flowers are edible as a garnish, and the seed presses into an oil and a mustard, though the wild-type oil is high enough in erucic acid that it belongs with lamp and industrial uses rather than the table unless a named low-erucic variety is confirmed. Beyond the food value it also works as an oilseed forage crop, capped like other brassicas at under half of an animal's daily intake.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 2–11
- Soil
- Sand · Silt · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Well-Drained · Moderate · Moist · Wet
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- 6–8
- Plant type
- Annual
- Mature height
- 24–36 in
- Mature spread
- 12–18 in
- Plant spacing
- 12 in
- Root type
- Tap
- Spread pattern
- Seed
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
Adzuki Bean
Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & H.Ohashi
Adzuki is the odd one out among the beans in this group: a very hot summer is actively too hot for it, since heat above about 35C damages…
Herbaceous · USDA 3–11
African Eggplant
Solanum aethiopicum
African Eggplant, also called gboma or scarlet eggplant, is a West and Central African relative of eggplant that gives two harvests from one…
Herbaceous · USDA 8–12
Agrimony
Agrimonia eupatoria
Agrimony is a slender herbaceous perennial of sunny, disturbed ground across Europe and western Asia, grown mainly for the tannin-rich leaves…
Herbaceous · USDA 5–9
Alfalfa
Medicago sativa
Alfalfa is a deep-rooted perennial legume grown worldwide as one of the richest forage crops available, its taproot running six metres or…
Herbaceous · USDA 4–11
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera
Aloe Vera is a stemless, clump-forming succulent with thick, spiny-edged leaves that store a clear gel used to soothe burns, wounds and skin…
Herbaceous · USDA 10–12
Alsike Clover
Trifolium hybridum
Alsike Clover fixes nitrogen in wet, acid ground too cold and heavy for red clover to thrive in, and its flowers keep bees working all season…
Herbaceous · USDA 5–9
The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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