How to Grow Arugula Indoors for Delicious, Peppery Greens All Year

Beloved by home chefs and gardeners alike, arugula is one of the easiest and most delicious leafy greens you can grow. Best of all? You don’t need an outdoor garden to do it. 

This peppery plant thrives in cool conditions, making fall the perfect time to start growing it indoors. Arugula also grows quickly and requires minimal care, so you'll have flavorful leaves in just a few short weeks.

Here’s how to grow arugula in your living room—from choosing a container to harvesting your greens. Follow these tips and tricks, and you'll be enjoying salads and sandwiches with a bright, spicy kick all year round.

Varieties

There are two main kinds of arugula: wild (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) and cultivated (Eruca vesicaria). Wild arugula has smaller, deeply lobed leaves and a stronger flavor, while cultivated arugula grows faster and produces broader, milder leaves. 

For indoor growing, compact, quick-growing varieties of cultivated arugula, such as “Astro,” “Speedy,” or “Roquette,” work best—these varieties germinate quickly and tolerate lower light conditions.

Planting

Arugula doesn’t require much space or fuss. You can use a shallow microgreens or seed starting tray, or a small pot with drainage holes, says Mary Jane Duford, a certified master gardener and founder of Home for the Harvest. 

Fill your container with a light, well-draining potting mix and get the soil slightly moist before sowing the seeds. Since arugula seeds are tiny, Duford doesn’t recommend soaking them before planting. ”They're so small that they clump together and are then difficult to distribute along the soil surface,” she explains.

Start by sprinkling seeds evenly on the surface of your potting mix. The seeds need moisture to germinate, so Duford suggests misting them with water or carefully pouring water over them. Then, cover the container to create a humid environment. You can remove the cover once the seeds have successfully germinated—in about three to five days, when kept at room temperature.

Rather than plant all your seeds at once, for a continuous supply of arugula, you can sow new seeds every two to three weeks.

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Care Requirements

“Keep the soil evenly moist, but not wet or muddy,” says Duford. She suggests making sure the container drains freely, and watering gently from below once leaves appear. “Avoid splashing the leaves to prevent rot,” she says.

After germination, arugula prefers slightly cooler temperatures—ideally between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit—and bright light for six to eight hours daily. A sunny windowsill or small grow light will help prevent leggy growth.

If your plants start growing tall or developing a bitter flavor, it may mean that they’re getting too warm or not receiving enough light.

Harvesting

“You can grow arugula as microgreens or as baby leaves,” Duford says. Harvest microgreens after 10 to 14 days and cut them just above the soil line.

For baby leaves, harvest after 30 to 40 days, cutting the outer leaves and letting the inner leaves keep growing for later harvests.

Once your arugula begins to mature, regular harvesting doubles as pruning. Snipping outer leaves encourages new growth and prevents the plant from bolting, which can make leaves taste bitter.