They should be completely brown ie fully ripened. Immature seeds will not make babies. To catch them, tie a bag made from pantyhose (or similar) around the stems - this way the light still gets in and excess water out, but you stand a chance of collecting the ripe seeds as they drop.

Thank you Daisy

hi karnyah, I planted rocket for the first time not long ago and Im hooked! it grows so quickly and its delicious. happy rocket growing :)

Let it go to seed and you'll have lots of little seedlings pop up forever. Delicious!

Thank you, it is lovely though isn't it.

karn

There appears to be different kinds of rocket - a more delicate small variety which flowers very quickly .. and a more robust variety which grows huge, and the leaves get very peppery as they get older.

I've had the latter, which tends to take over the garden, and currently have the former which is appearing to go to seed already, after only a few weeks in the ground. Is this the variety I should leave to seed and self sow, or should I whizz out and get the more robust type??

I didn't know that Jennie, I must have the more robust type, it stands about 4 feet, have to stake it up, white flowers, and had seed pods like little beans, I must get the one you are talking of as well, I just love herbs, they look so lovely in the garden flowering and going to seed.

karn

I didnt know there were different types either. mine has only been growing for a short time and its flowering already too but the leaves are also quite peppery? I wonder which one it is. Ive been cutting the flowering stalks off but maybe I should just let it go to seed. does anyone know how long rocket grows for or when you should let it finish?

Rocket can start to shoot up and flower very quickly if the weather is too hot. Even very sturdy Rocket will do so. I normally don't have Rocket during summer due to the above reason. Come autumn, when the weather gets cooler and the rain starts, I have tons of Rocket springing up. They grow far slower and have very tender leaves. All through winter you can harvest tender Rocket leaves. It starts flowering when it gets warmer towards spring.

thanks spatzbear, it sounds like Im going to have a short rocket season this year :)

I had the taller variety, actually, mine was over a year old before it fowered and went to seed, I have new little ones coming up so hope they last as long as the parent plant.

Karn

hi karn, mine were only a couple of months old when they flowered. Ive got seed pods forming on them now so if you want some seed when theyre done, just let me know, that way you could see if its the same as the one you have or a different one? Im going to try the rocket again after summer when its a bit cooler :)

Hi All,

I've got some rocket plants that sprinted through the leaf stage and flowered almost overnight. Then came the seed pods of which I now have many (still attached and light brown in colour). My questions are how do I harvest the seed pods so as not to damage the plant? How do I store the seeds so that I can plant them in Winter? And, is the main plant still of any use after removing the pods?

Many thanks,

John

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the whole planting thing and have very little experience. I decided to get two already planted rockets and have them in a deep pot in my balcony. Its quite warm and sunny lately and as the temperature increased, I noticed that the plants grew rapidly but then suddenly started looking odd. I thought that i am not watering them enough due to water evaporation during the day and so increased it to 3 huge jars of water everyday instead of 1.. the leaves look really dry and are actually crispy at the edges and turned into a light beige color. i was told to keep them in direct sunlight all day but now i'm a bit worried..

Should i put them in slightly shaded conditions?

Are the plants just dry or do they have a disease?

Should i harvest them? I have had them for almost a month now and only took a few leaves for a salad. I don't seem to have the heart to harvest them all the time in case it isn't good for them. However, if this is healthier for the plant, how often am i allowed and should harvest the leaves.. and do i leave a small part of the stem outside of the soil for regeneration?

thanks,

Mariam