The Arugula Machine: A Salad Green with a Schedule
The Arugula Machine: A Salad Green with a Schedule
Let’s pull back the curtain on one of the hardest-working crops at Blue Heron Farm: arugula. It’s fast, it’s spicy, and it’s got a mind of its own. While it may just look like a humble bag of greens in your CSA box, behind the scenes, it runs on a tightly scheduled weekly cycle. This isn’t a “plant it and forget it” kind of crop. Around here, arugula is on a high-efficiency, no-days-off, rotating three-row system. Every week, without fail, something is happening in the arugula beds; we seed, harvest, and repeat. And when things are really humming, we’re harvesting one bed while replanting another—all while trying to stay a step ahead of the heat, bolts, and the occasional irrigation tantrum. Here’s how it works.
It’s not just planted and picked—it’s choreographed.
The Basics:
We run three continuously rotating rows of arugula.
Fridays: If we are planting that week, this is our day.
Every Thursday: we harvest a row.
Arugula grows FAST here—three weeks from seed to first harvest, and we usually get 2–3 harvests per row, depending on how spicy the summer sun decides to be. Typically, three cuts on the shoulder seasons (spring and fall) and two cuts during the heat of the summer.
A Sample Calendar:
To help you see how it all works, here’s how our arugula rotation looks in action:
The goal? Keep arugula coming without ever overwhelming the farm (or you).
Why This Works:
This kind of schedule lets us:
Stay ahead of the summer bolt drama
Keep fresh greens in your CSA box weekly
Avoid the dreaded “oops-we-have-an-extra-74-pounds-of-arugula-at-once” scenario
Farming is as much about planning and timing as it is about planting. Keeping track of what was seeded, when it’s ready to harvest, and when to turn over a bed takes consistency, focus, and a clear system that keeps everything moving forward. A mistake made—like skipping a planting or losing track of timing—might not show up for three weeks, but when it does, there’s no quick fix. That means no arugula for the CSA, no greens at the stand, and a big gap in the rotation. So we take our schedule seriously. It’s what keeps the farm—and the salad greens—running smoothly.
So next time you see that crisp bunch of arugula at the stand or in your CSA box, just know… it’s part of a finely tuned leafy-green cycle machine.