Topic: Weird rocket

[amphibian]

My packet of wilkos rocket has thrown up a beast, a freak of the rocket world, I'll take some pictures and post them up tomorrow.

Basically in my row of bog standard rocket appeared a plant with big completely smooth margined leaves, initially I though it was a weed, but I tore off a leaf and had a whiff and it was rocket, as it has grown it has grown like normal rocket, just bigger and the leaves are huge, about 8" long by 3-4" wide.

I have eaten the leaves and they taste just like normal rocket.

Rocket suffers inbreeding depression so I am going to sow the entire packet and see if it throws up any others sharing this trait, It would be wonderful to get it breeding true for this characteristic as you can literally use them to wrap things, maybe make rocket parcels, like you would with vine leaves. Rocket dolmada maybe.

Has anyone ever seen rocket like this before?

[betula]

No........ ;D

[Ninnyscrops.]

I'm pretty sure that was featured on GW Live this evening - the Alys bit in the herb garden - don't quote me though  ;D

Ninny

[chriscross1966]

Hmm... odd.... one of my Boltardy's is about twice the size of any of the others, and it's not as if it's in a particularly favoured spot.... I'm hoping for a pickled cannonball sometime around March next year......

chrisc

[earlypea]

I'm not quoting you Ninny  8)

That was Turkish rocket, a perennial,  Alys was looking at, but you couldn't confuse the two because it looks completely different and apparently, though I didn't grow any yet, you'd notice the seeds are very different - the Turkish one being much larger ' a woody fruit containing seeds'.

[amphibian]

As soon as I can find my bluetooth dongle thingie I'll post some pictures up, this thing is just crazy, a real beast.

Some of the newest leaves are showing a little indentation on the margins, but still not rocket like shape, more like you see on some mustards.

[sawfish]

Mine is the same, lots of lovely flowery rocket. I like to think of my previous edible rocket bed as a wild flower bed now. Well you've got to think positive :)

[amphibian]

Bottom leaf is normal rocket for comparison.

[Ninnyscrops.]

I'm not quoting you Ninny  8)

That was Turkish rocket, a perennial,  Alys was looking at, but you couldn't confuse the two because it looks completely different and apparently, though I didn't grow any yet, you'd notice the seeds are very different - the Turkish one being much larger ' a woody fruit containing seeds'.

You're absolutely right Earlypea, it's the same shape but a more robust leaf.  I hadn't seen Amphibian's picture so just took a guess on the description  :)

I'm all up for the broader leaf version, more to munch on!

Ninny

[goodlife]

Is there more than one of these large leaf ones?
You could let it flower and see if it produce seed that comes same.. ;)
Just don't let others..unless large ones..to flower..and you could sow those seed still this year to see how your breeding has worked...
...swap? ;D

[amphibian]

Is there more than one of these large leaf ones?
You could let it flower and see if it produce seed that comes same.. ;)
Just don't let others..unless large ones..to flower..and you could sow those seed still this year to see how your breeding has worked...
...swap? ;D

I have only one large one, but I have to let the others flower because rocket is an outbreeder, I can't save from just one plant it will cause a genetic bottleneck which will damage the vigour of the off spring.

What I'm going to do is sow the entire packet in the hope of more showing up, failing that I'll just have to save seed from its neighbours and it and hope for the same thing showing up in my population in the future then mass select if it does.

I'm a bit unsure with breeding outbreders, I've only ever worked with inbreeders before.