Rocket

Meet rocket, the green that is on the table in the time it takes to boil the kettle. A pinch of seed sown into a raised bed in October is a patch of tender, notched leaves by mid-November, and a handful of cut leaves with olive oil and lemon makes a salad.

Its character is bright and quick, a little peppery and a little bitter. It likes cool weather, even moisture and a sunny spot with some shade in the afternoon. It is in a hurry, so it is also the first plant to bolt when the weather warms.

What it brings is the satisfaction of picking dinner in the garden: sow a short row every two or three weeks and there is always a basket of leaves. Jarjeer salad is a Middle Eastern favourite (An Edible Mosaic), and a row of your own means it is always fresh.

Rocket is jarjeer (جرجير) on a Gulf table, where it is eaten raw; An Edible Mosaic notes the word also names the salad, salatet jarjeer, commonly enjoyed in the Middle East and dressed with lemon juice, sumac and olive oil, with onion and mint. Arabic Wikipedia says it is eaten raw in salads, rarely cooked, and widely grown in all the Gulf countries. UAE shops sell it as 'Arugula Leaves (Jarjeer)' and 'Arugula Leaves (Gerger)', and Talabat lists a pack labelled UAE. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment's Undersecretary named rocket leaves among the crops residents should grow at home when Plant the Emirates began in October 2024, as Khaleej Times reported.

The Ministry's calendar lists arugula for field sowing from February to March and from September to December, with no nursery stage, and gives 45 days to harvest. Dubai Garden Centre's horticulturist told The National that 'garden roquette' can be sown straight into the soil in November or December, with results in February and March. UF/IFAS says seed is planted in the fall and leaves are ready about six weeks later: cut individual leaves from plants 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm) tall, and sow again every two to three weeks from fall through spring for a continuous harvest. Arabic Wikipedia says to pick before the flower buds appear.

Heat is the end of the crop. UF/IFAS says high temperatures make arugula flower, and once it flowers, or becomes leggy, the leaves may be too bitter to eat. Dubai's average high is 34°C in April, so sow little and often and finish by April. A Gulf News piece on winter gardening names arugula among fast-growing greens for late starters, and the Emirati agricultural consultant Mariam Saeed Al Jenaibi, quoted in The National's guide with Grow Your Food, recommends rocket among the easy first crops because the results show quickly. FAO's salinity table has no entry for rocket, so use clean water and sweet soil in a raised bed.