I am comically bad at growing leafy greens. This is under a grow light, about a month in, and i waited a bit too long to up-pot. Otherwise it’s the most successful lettuce i’ve ever grown.
prlmike
I feel like people treet flowers/bolting we the worst thing ever. I just rip them off when I see them. Arugula just gets spicier the longer it grows so it’s not like you’re losing flavor. I treat my basil the same just remove flowers and it will keep growing more leaves
SvengeAnOsloDentist
The spikes on the leaves don’t mean anything, but those are flower buds in the center, so yes, it is starting to bolt. With some things like basil it works fine to just remove the flowers and the plant will keep growing, but with brassicas once they’ve started flowering they’ll put most of their resources into that and won’t produce many more leaves.
ThaiBasilBus
Hi,
Could be that the Rocket / Arugula plant’s DLI (Daily Light Integral) is too much. Leaf greens only need 8 to 12 hours of light (spring time hours), any more than this, then things like Basil, Rocket etc, will bolt, as it believes autumn / winter / death will be approaching if they are in 13 + hours of light now.
Also light spectrum plays a big part in bolting leafy greens, the more red / far red in the spectrum, mimics the red colored autumnal skies, i.e. the impending doom of the frosts of winter, so they go to seed in panic. I have a small tray of perpetual Rocket (I’m UK) / Arugula under full spectrum LED, 11 hours on 13 hours off. It has been supplying me with leafy greens for months.
4 Comments
I am comically bad at growing leafy greens. This is under a grow light, about a month in, and i waited a bit too long to up-pot. Otherwise it’s the most successful lettuce i’ve ever grown.
I feel like people treet flowers/bolting we the worst thing ever. I just rip them off when I see them. Arugula just gets spicier the longer it grows so it’s not like you’re losing flavor. I treat my basil the same just remove flowers and it will keep growing more leaves
The spikes on the leaves don’t mean anything, but those are flower buds in the center, so yes, it is starting to bolt. With some things like basil it works fine to just remove the flowers and the plant will keep growing, but with brassicas once they’ve started flowering they’ll put most of their resources into that and won’t produce many more leaves.
Hi,
Could be that the Rocket / Arugula plant’s DLI (Daily Light Integral) is too much. Leaf greens only need 8 to 12 hours of light (spring time hours), any more than this, then things like Basil, Rocket etc, will bolt, as it believes autumn / winter / death will be approaching if they are in 13 + hours of light now.
Also light spectrum plays a big part in bolting leafy greens, the more red / far red in the spectrum, mimics the red colored autumnal skies, i.e. the impending doom of the frosts of winter, so they go to seed in panic. I have a small tray of perpetual Rocket (I’m UK) / Arugula under full spectrum LED, 11 hours on 13 hours off. It has been supplying me with leafy greens for months.
Hope this helps a little.
All the best.