Your guide to waste-free gardening

Sow: Early spring or late summer, direct into final growing space; early spring or autumn, under cover

Plant: N/a

Harvest: Four–six weeks after sowing

Eat: Fresh in salad, or make into pesto for freezing

Rocket

Eruca sativa, E. versicaria

Salad rocket and its cousin wild rocket are super easy to grow and a great fresh addition to salads and pizzas. If you like a bit of kick to your leaves, then go for wild rocket. You can allow it to flower — the blooms are edible, beautiful and the insects love them.

Growing tips

• Rocket is really one of the easiest plants to grow. It germinates very quickly.

• Sow seed 1–5cm apart in rows. After germination, thin the plants out, eating the thinnings, of course, and leaving one plant every 10cm. Alternatively, you can sprinkle seed over a patch, aiming for complete coverage. This helps reduce weeding.

• Harvest by cutting with scissors or a sharp knife. Don’t go too low or you will cut out the growing point — aim for 3–5cm above the