Watercress can be used in many ways, which is why it is not unpopular as a kitchen herb. So that it is always available, it should be in your own garden. You can buy watercress as a young plant in a pot or sow it yourself.
Since the watercress needs light to germinate, it only needs to be lightly pressed onto the soil and then kept well moist. It needs a temperature of around 20 °C to germinate. This means that outdoor sowing is only possible from around mid-May after the Ice Saints. Alternatively, you can grow the watercress on the windowsill or in the heated greenhouse.
It is best to use a finely crumbly potting soil made from a mixture of sand and compost that is not too fresh for sowing. Scatter the seeds on top and press them down lightly. Always keep the soil moist. At a temperature of around 20 °C, the seeds will germinate after around 7 to 20 days.
Handling the young plants
When the little plants are about five centimeters tall, they can be pricked out. Depending on the pot size, put two to three plants in a container, water them well and change the water every two days. The seedlings will soon begin to grow. Now let the water level in your culture vessel rise a little higher. The watercress loves wet feet.
Where can you get watercress seeds?
You can either gather the seeds for watercress yourself, from wild watercress or plants in your own garden, or you can buy seeds from a nursery. There are various specialist seed shops that also offer unusual and special types of different wild herbs. There you may get special varieties, because there are some with lighter or darker leaves.
The essentials in brief:
- fine crumbly earth
- Press the seeds lightly
- light germinator
- always keep moist
- Germination temperature: 20 °C
- Germination time: 7 - 20 days
tips and tricks
If you enjoy traveling abroad, try bringing back English or French watercress (or cresson de fontaine or cresson d'eau) as a souvenir from your trip.
UE