Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Dai on June 17, 2013, 17:42
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Hi all.
My rocket has started flowering! (didnt know they did that) :blink:
can you eat the flowers? or shall i dispose of them before picking? also, if i pick most of the leaves will i get any more shoot up or should i be sowing more for successional picking?
Thanks!
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When it flowers, it's near the end of its life. You can still eat the leaves but they may be rather bitter. Not sure about the flowers.
I'd sow some more now.
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Some of my rocket has also flowered - I have eaten both the leaves and flowers and just as Yorkie said both are slightly bitter though not unpleasant.
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Sow some more - if you leave a plant to set seed, you'll always have a rocket patch there :)
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Yes rather too bitter to eat the flowers sadly but if u can, let them remain for evermore. Arguably the finest of all the salad leaves..and makes the most amazing pesto in place of basil.
Mine, sadly, are doing VERY slowly outside this year.....
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Ours have just started to flower too, so we just pick them off and keep them going as normal!
I've had rocket growing for ages like this, and they may be tougher to eat, but chopped up with some vinaigrette, they're still marvellous salad leaves!
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Just cut it back really hard and it will regenerate! The doctor who of the plant world. Rocket can overwinter, but many treat it as an annual.
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When my rocket is starting to get tough, I let it flower and go to seed.... and collect the seeds. Haven't bought rocket seeds for about 5 years. (Although I have read that this tends to lead to plants going to seed faster, year-on-year, as the seeds you get are from the plants genetically more susceptible to go to seed, and this effect is intensified each year you collect the seeds - but I still get 4 or 5 good pickings from each sowing before flowers appear).
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Just cut it back really hard and it will regenerate! The doctor who of the plant world. Rocket can overwinter, but many treat it as an annual.
Yep, we do this too. We stick to the wild rocket as it seems more peppery.
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I'm going to make some pesto from our rocket - maybe today even! I'm not sure how long it lasts in a sealed jar, but it's better than wasting it!
Also, we'll cut them down and get the second flush as well...
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Rocket pesto - freeze it in little boxes. I made heaps last year and it is great.
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Rocket pesto - freeze it in little boxes. I made heaps last year and it is great.
Ghosters!
We made about a litre today, from the usual suspects on the various recipes we read up on!
I just love it, and am planning so many dishes, which Mrs G will just hate, more's the pity!
Absolutely marvellous flavour (thank goodness - it could have been awful..;0)