Arugula is a leafy green from the Brassicaceae family. Plants from the same family include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, collards, common radish, horseradish, kale, and rapeseed. Its nutritional value is similar to other greens such as collards or spinach. In various parts of the world it goes by the name, colewort, garden rocket, roquette and rucola.
Arugula is a nutritional powerhouse. It has high levels or vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. This makes it a great choice to add to your family’s diet year-round and with the easy to make portable indoor growing bed I’ll teach you to make in a moment, you can keep it growing year-round, not matter what area you live in.
Image source: pixabay
Medicinal benefits
- Detoxifies the body
- Boosts the immune system
- Improves bone health
- Increases metabolism
- Prevents cancer
- Supplies Folates needed by pregnant women to prevent certain mental defects in newborns.
- Helps improve eyesight
- Inactivates cancer causing chemicals
- Increase energy and improves the bodies ability to use fat for energy.
- Increases mineral absorption
- Helps with weight loss (very low calorie)
- Reduces risk of heart disease
- High amount of vitamin K
- Good source of vitamin C
- Rich in Chlorophyll
- Anti-inflammatory properties that could help ease joint pain as swelling is reduced.
- neutralizes free radical damage
- Slows the aging process
Why you should grow indoors
Arugula needs only 3 hours of sunlight per day. If you have a window that gets are least that amount each day, you can grow it year-round, inside your house.
From the time you plant your seeds, you can begin to harvest fresh leaves within 4 weeks. So, by spacing out your planting, this indoor system allows you to have fresh greens every week for your family.
Making an indoor growing bed
These instructions will allow you to make a growing bed that is about 30 inches square. It has a drainage system so your plants don’t get waterlogged. By dividing the bed into 4 sections and planting only 1 per week, you can have a year-round supply of fresh greens.
What you need
Purchase two identical washing machine pans. You know the plastic pan you can put your washing machine in so if there is a leak, your floor doesn’t get ruined. Shop around because prices can vary greatly. I have seen them advertised for as little as $8 each, up to almost $100 each. They are mostly similar in size but not all exactly the same size. This means you may have to adjust the measurements to make it work for you.
Purchase enough 1 x 2’s to build a square that will sit between the two pans. You can attach it to the top pan to help stabilize the whole thing, but don’t attach it to the bottom pan. You need to be able to remove the bottom pan to pour out any excess water that collects there.
I would also purchase some of those little flat L brackets for the corners to make it more stable
Drill a few holes in the top pan BEFORE setting it on the bottom pan. Otherwise if your drill slips a little as it punches through the top layer, it won’t punch the bottom layer too.
That is all there is too making it. Fill the top pan with an inch or two of good soil and plant ¼ of the pan per week. Arugula likes rich, fertile soil. To get the best nutritional value from the plants, don't skip on the soil. When you harvest one section, replant it for a new crop.
Depending on your family size, you may not need ¼ of this grow pan system each week. In that case, pick only the outer leaves of the plants, leaving the inside section of each plant in place. It will grow more leaves you can pick at a later time.
Your seed supply
For the first year, you will need to have a supply of seeds to get you through the next years growing season. After that, plan on growing a few plants outside and allowing them to go to seed.
Arugula has small white flowers. Leave them alone and as they dry they will turn into a pod with seeds inside. Stop watering the plants as soon as the flowers start to dry. Let them stay on the plant until (mostly) dried, then carefully cut the pods off. If any of them still have green spots, you can set them in an airy place (indoors so they don’t blow away) and wait for them to dry. If you try pulling off the seed pods they will open and drop your seeds on the ground.
Arugula makes a GREAT plant for seed bombs
Arugula doesn’t need a lot of direct sunlight to grow. This makes it a great plant to use in seed bombs to toss near the edge for a grove of trees or near an open field.
Remember where you toss them because in a zombie invasion, you will have a food source you can go to. Arugula self-seeds, so even though it is an annual, it will continue to come up year after year. Depending on your climate and the length of your growing season, you could get two crops per year.
Arugula prefers cooler weather. It starts growing earlier in the spring and is finished before the hottest part of summer arrives. Some climates allow it to regrow in early fall and re-seed again for a spring growing season.
My other food foraging posts you might be interested in:
garlic a must have for any survival garden
how to make diy garlic oil
One big beautiful camellia bloom
food foraging chicory
food foraging flowers you can eat
Pine Needle Tea
Borage
Cattails
Wild and Mock Strawberries
Seed Bombs
Clover
Fried Dandelion Flowers Recipe
Dandelions
Food Foraging 101 – part 1
Food Foraging 101 - part 2
Food Foraging 101- part 3
Sources:
Wikimedia.com
superfoodprofiles.com
draxe.com
bonnieplants.com