What to Do When the Arugula is Flowering Too Soon

Did you plant the arugula plants and other salad vegetables at the same time expecting them to be ready for harvest at a similar period? Unfortunately, gardening doesn’t always go as planned and you might be finding yourself in a situation where the arugula is flowering too soon.

What Does it Mean When the Arugula Flowers?

Flowering can be seen as a signal that the season is soon to end for the arugula plants. Generally, people will start harvesting the arugula leaves as soon as the bloom stalk starts to appear from the center, but it’s still possible to harvest in a later period if you are fine with the stronger taste.

What to Do When the Arugula Flowers

There are a couple of things you can do. First, do a quick taste and pull the plants with leaves that are edible and matches your taste. The garden bed spots where the arugula grew can then be replaced with cool season crops, such as kale and collard greens.

Alternatively, if you want to keep the arugula plants for longer then you could cut off the stems with the flowering buds. The arugula should then start to grow new side shoots. Arugula is one of many vegetables that is great for succession planting.

We would also suggest letting a few arugula plants to bloom completely. The flowers will play an important role in attracting pollinators like bees and hummingbirds. Some people also enjoy using the arugula flowers in their culinary dishes.