Plant of the Week: Arugula

Common Name: Arugula (Click for picture and for nutrition information)
Latin Name: Eruca sativa
Origin: Mediterranean

Arugula is an annual salad green that is becoming increasingly common in grocery stores. It is in many of the salad mixes, and can even be found individually at times. It has a quite strong peppery flavor which you either like or dislike. I, personally, am not that fond of arugula unless it is mixed in with lots of other things.

Arugula is a member of the Brassica family, like mustards, turnips, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. It does have a flavor similar to mustards and turnips, but I would say it is much stronger and sharply flavored than other Brassicas. It can be used cooked or raw.

Growing arugula is quite easy, really. You can plant the seeds and harvest baby sized greens in about 45 days.