Best time to plant rocket in Melbourne
Eruca sativa
Also called arugula, salad rocket, roquette
Sow rocket in Melbourne in Feb to Mar, Sep to Nov.
Rocket, known as arugula in North America, is a fast-growing annual salad green in the cabbage family, grown for its lobed, peppery leaves. Young leaves are milder and heat sharpens the flavour. The cream flowers with dark veins are edible too. Perennial wild rocket is a separate plant, from the genus Diplotaxis.
When to sow in Melbourne
Melbourne, VIC is in the cool zone. Its months for rocket apply here without a frost adjustment.
Broadly matches local guides, with some differences.
Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.
Frost in Melbourne
Frost usually arrives in Melbourne around mid June and finishes by late August. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as late May or as late as late September, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.
From the average of its 2 Bureau of Meteorology stations, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.
On a shared plot: suits a plot
Finishes in a season and stays within its space, so it suits most plots.
Growing details
- How to start
- Sow directly or raise seedlings
- Sowing depth
- 3mm
- Plant spacing
- 20cm
- Row spacing
- 25cm
- Height
- 30cm
- Frost
- Hardy, takes a light frost
- Sun
- Full sun
- Life cycle
- annual
These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.