Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa (rocket salad, "Kibanasuzushiro")

Japanese name: キバナスズシロ （黄花蘿蔔）
Scientific name: Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa

[Overview]
A half-hardy annual.
It grows to about 70 cm tall, and the stems branch freely.
The leaves are alternate, simple or deeply pinnately lobed, with the lobes shallowly cut in a wavy pattern.
A long raceme emerges at the stem tip.
The flowers have 4 petals, which are cream-colored with purple veins.
The fruit is a silique about 3 cm long with a flat beak-like projection, and the seeds are arranged in 2 rows on both sides of the partition wall.

[History]
It is said to have been used already in ancient Roman times.

[Uses]
The leaves have a pungent taste and a sesame-like flavor, and mainly the young leaves are used in salads and similar dishes.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained, fertile, alkaline soil.
In direct sunlight in midsummer the leaves become hard, so shading is necessary.
Bitterness develops when it dries out, so water when the soil surface has dried.
Apply diluted liquid fertilizer about once a week.
It is ready to harvest when the leaves are about 10 cm long, so pick them in order, starting from the lower leaves.
Once it bolts the leaves become hard, so when flower buds appear, pick off the flower stalk together with the buds.
Pests and diseases include aphids and cabbageworms.

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