Watercress is a delicious plant that can be used as a salad or as a vegetable. It can be used in sauces, soups, as stuffing (especially good with fish) and as a flavour enhancer for many dishes. It’s always been a favourite of mine, I love the peppery taste.
Watercress also has great health benefits. We’ve talked before about foods that help to improve your health, particularly in the Food that makes you look Beautiful post and Watercress is definitely one of those foods.
Gram for gram, watercress contains as much Vitamin C as oranges, more calcium than milk and more iron than spinach. It’s literally bursting with beta-carotene and Vitamin A equivalents, which are great for healthy skin and eyes and it’s a good source of folic acid. It also contains antioxidants, which can help to mop up potentially harmful fee radicals, and compounds known as glucosinolates. These are responsible for its unique peppery flavour, and in scientific studies may show a range of anti-cancer effects.
I always thought Watercress had to grow in running water, but apparently you can grow it at home. You can grow it on the soil (you need a land cress variety), in a (cool) pond, in a pot or even in a bucket. Of course, those of you lucky enough to have a stream or spring in your garden, have the perfect conditions.
Strictly speaking, watercress is not a water plant - for it doesn’t grow underwater. Its roots are in the water and the plant grows above the water. Watercress likes clear, unpolluted streams and springs, but will grow even in damp soil. It does not like stagnant water.
You can simply buy a bunch of watercress and put it in a bucket of cold water. The cut ends root very easily! But be sure to change the water daily, to keep it fresh.
Watercress likes very clean water, with plenty of sunlight but with cool roots. So if your pond is at all dirty (as many wild-life - therefore unfiltered - ponds are) or is not cold, then it may not thrive as a waterplant.
American landcress is very easy to grow and has a tangy taste like watercress. It will self-seed happily around the garden. In hot dry summers, it can get quite hot tasting; to make it milder, you could grow it in a pot and give it more water.
My mum grows land cress and it’s really good but I would like to try to grow some watercress. I’m going to try to grow some in a pot and some in the pond and see which works best. I might try some of the land cress in a pot too. Look out for future watercress posts to see how I get on.
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19 Comments on "Home Grown Watercress"
I never thought about growing water cress at home. I used to put it in smoothies, even fruit smoothies, to give them a little bite (Plus the high levels of calcium have been said to aid weight loss).
I’ll have to have a go at growing that, just hope it’s not too late in the year.
Let us know how you get on though Sarah, and pictures are always welcome!
What a brilliant idea! A few weeks ago after reading this I grabbed a few bits of thick stemmed watercress out of the fridge, stuck it in a glass of water and BANG new thick shoots, new leaves its actually growing. I’m designing a water trough or some kind of water feature for the garden that can be used to grow the cress in running water.
Hi i have just started growing water cress , it’s already came up but i am a bit suck , how to you cut it to ensure it regrows any info would be great thanks
thanks a million !
Would love to know how to grow watercress. I have a garden that gets water every day or can grow with just water. Above reference says “grow in a pot” , how exactly is this done? Or what other instrument could be used. Many thanks for any help in getting started. Ansond
Thank you all for the great tips. Where I live in Kelowna BC watercress is hard to find and when the produce stores have it, they sell out in a day or two. People have mentioned there are some places around town that it grows wild, but I would prefer to grow it myself. I use in soup and my green drink with cucumber, celery, spinach and bit of apple, even my dogs like the drink. Be careful if you try, it is very cleansing!!!!!
Does anyone know if you can eat the flowers on watercress. Are you supposed to cut it all back in June to help it grow more?
I found a very informative site about watercress. I recommend you read the cultivation section as it contains a lot of relevant info on flowers and plant maintenance. I hope it helps!
http://www.growingedge.com/community/archive/read.php3?s=yes&q=1005
I have grown watercress for the first time this year. I planted it in soil filled shallow plastic boxes, with no drainage holes, and kept the boxes topped up with water. It has grown really well through the summer and now, in October it is at its best.
My Iguana is 14 years old and had enjoyed eating watercress since making him a veggie can someone please tell me how I would grow my own for his consumption? Asda and Tesco are now selling it with a peppered flavour therefore I have decided to grow my own.
Thanks for any advice that I can get
My friends have an Iguana too and watercress is a big favourite of hers. You could try growing your own watercress or maybe see if your Iguana likes land cress as it’s easier to grow, see the post above and subsequent comments for ideas & links
we have just brought some watercress in a pot what would you suggest is the best way to store it
Hi Sarah,
Tried growing the waatercress on my own from seed but found that it was not leafy enough, can you tell me what one I should grow to get the big leaves?
Please show me some secret to plant watercress indoor.
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