Wild Rocket Seeds

• Wild Rocket
• The wild rocket Plant
• How to Sow Wild Rocket
• How to Grow Wild Rocket
• Tips for Growing Wild Rocket
• Diseases and Pests of Wild Rocket
• Properties and Nutritional Values

Wild Rocket

Also known as sylvetta or perennial wall-rocket, wild rocket is the hardier, more flavourful relative of common cultivated rocket. It grows wild along country paths and in uncultivated ground, and today it is highly valued in cooking and fine dining for its bold, slightly bitter, peppery taste, more intense than the cultivated variety.

The wild rocket Plant

Botanically it is Diplotaxis tenuifolia, family Brassicaceae, the same as cabbage, broccoli and mustard, but a different species from cultivated rocket (Eruca vesicaria). It is a perennial herbaceous plant, 20 to 70-80 cm tall, with narrow, elongated and deeply lobed leaves, pale green in colour; the flowers have four lobed yellow petals, gathered in corymb racemes, clearly distinguishable from the whitish-yellow flowers of cultivated rocket.

How to Sow Wild Rocket

Sowing is done broadcast or in shallow rows, during a period ranging from spring to early autumn, avoiding the coldest months. Being perennial, once established the plant can be harvested multiple times over the season through successive cuts, without needing to resow every year.

How to Grow Wild Rocket

It prefers well-drained, nutrient-rich soils, but adapts easily to different environmental conditions, even calcareous and stony ground. It is a very hardy plant, better able than the cultivated type to withstand winter cold: it in fact grows even up to 1000 metres of altitude.

Tips for Growing Wild Rocket

Leaves should preferably be harvested before flowering appears, when they are more tender and less bitter; once in flower, the plant produces increasingly peppery leaves. The yellow flowers are also edible and can be used as a garnish or salad ingredient.

Diseases and Pests of Wild Rocket

Being particularly hardy, wild rocket has few pest and disease issues; the main concerns are flea beetle attacks on young leaves and root rot in cases of prolonged waterlogging.

Properties and Nutritional Values

It is rich in vitamins A, C, E and folic acid, as well as calcium, potassium and iron, with digestive, diuretic and vitamin-boosting properties. Its intense, peppery taste, rich in sulphur compounds such as sulforaphane, makes it ideal raw in salads, pestos and mixed greens, as well as a finishing touch on meats and cheeses.