How to grow arugula at home on a windowsill from seeds: planting and care

Arugula is a natural doctor that can protect against problems with the thyroid or prostate gland, normalize the hemoglobin in the human body and get rid of edema. This herb has a spicy, nutty-mustard scent and can turn a simple salad or soup into a gourmet meal. If you want to enjoy fresh leaves, then you can learn how to grow arugula at home on your windowsill.

Features of growing arugula at home

Before you grow arugula at home, you should find out its features and understand some of the nuances. This is the only way to get the desired result without wasting time and effort.

A big plus of growing arugula is that it is quite easy to grow at home, as the plant is considered not to be capricious and produces a good harvest in a variety of containers: from flower pots to wooden boxes.

Growing greens at home, you should consider the following features:

• need to give preference to neutral or slightly alkaline soil;
• the soil must be decontaminated. To do this, you can hold it in the oven for half an hour;
• bottom of the container where the seeds are planned to be planted is covered with drainage. Pebbles, broken bricks or expanded clay can be taken as drainage;
• A plant needs light. For this reason, the seed container should be placed on the windowsill on the south side. In the event that there is little light in the apartment, you can use ordinary daylight lamps;
• direct rays of the sun should not fall on arugula, for which it is worth making a kind of screen around the container, which is easy to build from ordinary sheets of white paper. Such a screen can be not only around the pot, but also cover the top of the window.

The success of the business depends on how well each stage is organized, namely: the selection of seeds, sowing and caring for sprouts. Only if these requirements are met, in the end, you can enjoy a delicious product. By the way, if you break this or that rule, the beneficial properties of arugula will deteriorate.

Selecting planting material

Arugula can be found in any store for summer residents. Before packaging, all seeds are processed, therefore, after purchase, they do not need to be disinfected or dressed. However, there are some features that are worth paying attention to. So, the grown plant in the end may not be arugula.A similar name is found in two more plants from the sacral family.

That is why you should focus on varieties such as Koltivata, Poker or Rococo. These plants, if properly planted and cared for, can produce fresh greens after 25 days.

Conditions for growth

After the arugula seeds are planted, the container should be placed immediately on the windowsill, preferably near the heating battery. In the event that the seeds are additionally covered with something, they should be aired periodically. The soil should be moistened more often, but do it delicately, preferably with a spray gun.

If all conditions are met thoroughly, the first sprouts can be seen already 5-7 days after planting. In such a case, it is not worth protecting and sheltering them, and a permanent place is determined for the box. Arugula does not need to be fed with chemical substrates. If the soil is chosen correctly, then the plant will take everything it needs from it.

Lighting

In terms of lighting, the planted arugula should receive enough light. If the plant is standing on a window or on a balcony not on the sunny side, it will not have enough light. In such a case, you should take care to provide it with artificial lighting.

Typically, daylight bulbs are placed 50 centimeters above the soil or seedlings. On cloudy days, a plant located even on the south side still needs additional light. However, the main thing is not to overdo it, as too much light can cause the plant to grow tall and too thin.

Temperature

Sprouts should be protected from drafts, which, however, are a danger to any plant, but arugula is the most sensitive and tender.Do not open a window or window where the container with the planted seeds is located. As for the temperature regime, it is necessary to ensure that the air in the room does not fall below +17 degrees, even in winter.

Capacity

If we talk about the capacity where the cultivation of arugula will take place, then there are a lot of options, since the plant is unpretentious and does not need special frills. So, for these purposes, suitable: a wooden box, a flower pot, a plastic container.

Some gardeners or gardeners manage to make planting containers from incredible things, for example, from milk bags. Any container must have sides, the height of which is at least 12 centimeters. Without fail, it is necessary to make holes at the bottom of the container so that, if necessary, moisture leaves, and air enters the roots.

It is better to place the container on a stand or tray so as not to damage or stain the windowsill. It would be ideal if you choose boxes of the same length as the surface on which they will stand.

Growing arugula on the windowsill

Arugula, as mentioned earlier, is an unpretentious plant, so its planting is as follows:

• prepare the ground;
• scatter the soil into containers;
• moisturize the soil;
• spread the seeds of arugula into the soil (it is desirable that there is a distance of 3-4 centimeters between the seeds);
• top the seeds cover with a layer of soil about 1 centimeter;
• moisturize the soil;
• cover the container with the planted plant with plastic wrap or glass until sprouts appear.

Sowing period

Experienced gardeners and gardeners say that the best time to plant is March, when there are many more sunny days.

Soil preparation

Summer residents are advised to purchase soil exclusively in special stores. It is advisable to pay attention to the soil that is intended for growing seedlings, since it is this type that is rich in phosphorus and those elements that make arugula strong, and as a result, a person will have an excellent harvest.

Nevertheless, simple black soil is quite suitable for these purposes, which can be taken from the garden where pumpkins or any legumes were grown before. Arugula is suitable for slightly alkaline or neutral soil, and in soil where peat is present, it will simply die.

Those who have the desire and ability can prepare the soil at home. This will require sand, soddy soil and humus, which must be mixed in almost equal amounts (a little less sand will be needed). As a result, crumbly and loose soil should come out.

Agricultural seed sowing

Some people believe that the seeds can just be planted and wait for them to give the expected he althy and tasty plant. In fact, everything is different. The success of growing arugula at home depends on how well each stage is organized.

As mentioned earlier, the selection of seeds, sowing, care - all this must be done strictly based on the instructions. You can get a fresh and vitamin-rich plant only by adhering to certain rules, which can be found in more detail below.

Rules of care

If you decide to grow arugula at home, you need to know a few basic rules of care. So, you should make sure that the plant does not stretch too much.The color of arugula should be rich. If a particular change in the color or length of the leaves is noticeable in the plant, this may indicate that the light regime is disturbed. Most likely, the plant needs more light, which is easily solved with additional artificial lighting.

Special attention to light should be paid if growing in winter.

Irrigation

Water the plant with enough water. It is better to do this with a sprayer so that, in the end, the sprouts are not flooded. Watering is carried out daily.

Feeding

When caring for a plant like arugula, you need to know that it tends to quickly absorb all the substances that can enter the soil with water. Therefore, experts do not advise the use of any top dressing.

If you use a solution of chicken manure or certain chemical fertilizers, and all of them pose a danger to human he alth, it is guaranteed to get directly into the plant. Moreover, there is one more feature - such feeding destroys all the useful properties of arugula, and all the work on growing a useful product will go down the drain.

Thinning

As for thinning, sprouts that are already 8 to 10 days old can be thinned out. Thus, in general, plants that have withered or are weak in themselves are removed. By the way, the latter do not have to be thrown away at all, they are safely added to the soup, after getting rid of the roots.

Protection from diseases and pests

If arugula is grown on the windowsill of the house, pest problems should not arise. The fact is that, basically, the plant grows in such conditions, since in the garden it is most often attacked by the so-called cruciferous flea, which destroys the crop in a matter of time.

Harvest and storage of crops

So, if you follow all the stages of growing arugula at home, the first results can be obtained already 1 month after planting the seeds. The leaves of the plant can be safely harvested as soon as they reach 10 centimeters in height.

It is better to cut ripened arugula just before eating. If you act carefully, you can eat fresh herbs for more than a month. The maximum of vitamins and nutrients can be obtained from a fresh product.

Some people prefer to prolong the pleasure - cutting off the whole arugula, put it in a chopped form in a container, lightly sprinkle with s alt and store in the refrigerator. By the way, in this form, the plant can be stored for six months.

Some housewives argue that it is better to store arugula in dried form, but this should be done in compliance with the rules so that the plant does not lose its beneficial properties.So, you need to dry only high-quality leaves, and do it naturally in a warm dark place for 6 days.

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