OK going to try rocket again, how and where best to sow?

[walkinthewoods]

Did my rocket in a planter by the garage wall. It gone sun for half of the day. Plenty of water (too much?) No show

Have some seeds left....
Should I plant in full sun? How often to water? How deep etc etc?

Courtesy of Mr Titchmarsh...

You can sow the seeds outdoors March-September. Out-of-season sow in cold frames, under cloches or in a greenhouse border.
Thin seedlings out to 10-15cm (4-6in) apart; space rows 30cm (12in) apart.
Water regularly and keep weeded. Plants run to seed fairly fast in summer, so make several successional sowings through the season to replace old plants. Old plants will often re-shoot if cut back to about 5cm (2in) above ground level, but they soon run to seed again. If allowed to flower, rocket self-seeds slightly, so plants may replace themselves.
HARVEST: Start picking a few leaves as soon as they are big enough to use, leaving the rest of the plant to keep growing.

Ok this might be a bit dense but am a new gardener. Do I sow 1 seed every 4-6 in. Where is best to plant...straight in veg patch (where my chard has failed to appear so a bit worried about suitability) or in a pot at front of house so it gets sun for most of day?

Yes, sow straight into the garden, when seedlings start to show (not too early - I made that mistake with my herbs... let them get big enough to move) thin out to 4-6in between seedlings - just pull out seedlings in between to give you the gap.

As there is no specification for strong sun / shade only (and I've checked other sites for advice) I wouldn't worry too much there - my lettuces (same sort of family) are coming along lovely and they're only in direct sun for some of the day.

Just a thought - you might need to add some fertiliser to your soil (dig it well in) if you haven't already.

If anything, I find rocket better in the shade as it goes to seed really quickly in sunny dry soil, But it does this quite quickly anyway, so it's not vital.

I would have thought it would have loved being in that planter - I've got mine in a pot by the fence and it's growing like a weed. I just sow mine on the surface, and literally just put a v thin layer of soil over.

Looking at your other posts, do you have a slug/snail problem? It may be that the seedlings are coming up and being munched before you get to see them! Some copper tape round the planter will stop them getting in.

rocket is pretty tolerant - i agree you are probably suffering from horrible slugs. I'm with vonsudenfed.

If you are growing it in a container, can you sow it in small pots on a sunny wndowsill inside your home and then move them once they have a few leaves on them? That way, yoyu will be able to narrow the culprits if it doesn't grow (i.e. dud seeds or compost not very good rather than slugs and/or other bugs).

thanks all, not sure obout the slugs haven't really seen any, or any slug related munching on other plants for a while. But I will try some anti slug stuff. I think I may go with your suggestion sis and start on the window sill and then planting out.

Try a bit of copper tape round the pot if it might be slugs or snails