Permaculture, Homesteading, and Community Building // How to Save Arugula Seeds

Hi everyone! One of my favorite veggies to grow is arugula, and it's also one of my favorite veggies to save the seeds from. Arugula grows best in cooler seasons with partial sun. If the arugula is grown in weather that is too hot then it will go to seed very fast. You can direct sow arugula seeds in the ground, and within a week or two you will see your baby arugula plants coming up!

Once the plants are full sized, you can start to harvest the top few inches of the arugula plant with a harvest knife (or sharp, large kitchen knife). This method of harvesting ensures continuous production that will allow for future harvesting every few days-week (this time varies depending on quality of soil, water, weather, ect).

After the arugula plant has had it's fair share of living days, it will want to reproduce itself and "go to seed". You will see a long, skinny shoot come up from the very middle of the plant. That shoot will eventually start to produce beautiful little flowers. The flowers will soon wither and give way to a seed pod. The young green seed pod will start to mature, slowly turning brown. Once the seed pods are brown, you can pull the arugula plant out of the ground.

At this point, grab a colander that has holes larger than the seeds but smaller than the pod shells. Over the colander, strip the seed pods from the arugula stems. Put a bowl underneath the colander Use your fingers to break open the seed pods, allowing all of the tiny brown seeds to pop out. The seeds should fall through the holes of the colander and be caught in the bowl underneath.

You've successfully collected arugula seeds! Now, you can save those seeds in a ziplock bag, small mason jar, or any other packaging of your choice. Make sure you label the packaging with the type of seed and the date it was saved. Keep the packet in a dry and cool space out of direct sunlight. This will prolong the life of the seeds.

Plant some more seeds in the ground for the next crop of arugula and enjoy your harvest!