Watercress is not only he althy, but also very popular as a refinement in the home kitchen. Everything you need to know about growing watercress can be found here.
Remember your childhood and little Aquarius? Then you are probably familiar with watercress (Nasturtium). But the he althy herb is not only on the table at Wassermanns, watercress is also a real enrichment on the menu for us humans.
The name "watercress" has a touch of fairy tales in it - and maybe also a touch of the past, because nowadays the tasty plant is unfortunately hardly known. Wrongly so, because the wild herb is much more aromatic and spicier than the well-known garden cress (Lepidium sativum).
Watercress: origin and properties
Despite the similarity in name, the relationship to garden cress is rather broad. Both types of cress belong to the cruciferous family (Brassicaceae), which is easy to see from their four petals arranged in a cross shape. Yet nothing connects them more closely. What they have in common, however, is their hot and spicy taste.
Watercress was once widespread in Europe as a weed along streams and springs and was a tasty snack for in between meals on long hikes, especially among nature-loving children. Today, the herb, which is sensitive to pollution, is not so common anymore, but is distributed worldwide.
The plant needs a lot of moisture and grows in the shallow water of the shore areas, so it is an aquatic plant. The green stems with the fleshy leaves float in or protrude from the water. The plant keeps its color even in winter, which is why it is often the only fresh green on the plate, especially during the cold season.
The most popular watercress varieties
The watercress genus (Nasturtium) includes two species native to EuropeSpecies. Watercress is commonly understood to mean watercress (Nasturtium officinale), also known as "watercress". This species is large, with stems up to 90 centimeters long. A form of this species is the red watercress (Nasturtium officinale f. rubrum) with its red leaves. Smaller and more compact is the small-leaved watercress (Nasturtium microphyllum). The sterile hybrid of both species, the brown watercress (Nasturtium x sterile), also occurs in nature. Its leaves have a bronze-like color during the cold season.
In addition to the watercress species, there are also various breeds on the market.
- Watercress (Nasturtium officinale): Large growth habit.
- Red watercress (Nasturtium officinale f. rubrum): form of watercress.
- Small-leaved watercress (Nasturtium microphyllum): Compact growth habit, small-leaved.
- Brown Watercress (Nasturtium x sterile): Sterile hybrid of common and small-leaved watercress.
Buy watercress
Even if watercress is of little agricultural importance these days, you can easily find it commercially as a plant or seed. Kräuterfeld offers watercress plants in organic quality, as does the organic nursery Christian Herb. You can even get seeds from well-known manufacturers such as Kiepenkerl or Bingenheimer. Rühlemann's nursery stocks a large selection of different watercress.
Growing Watercress
Watercress was once grown on a large scale by farmers. A veritable watercress culture developed around Erfurt in particular, but not much is left of it. Cultivation is a bit cumbersome as the plant requires constant fresh water. Nevertheless, watercress can also be grown in your own garden and even on the balcony.
When and where to plant watercress?
The most important thing for growing watercress is water. If you have a stream in your garden, then you are particularly lucky, because this way you have the natural habitat of the watercress right on your doorstep. Otherwise you should try to come as close as possible to the natural location. This can be done, for example, by a moat,but can also be realized in pot culture. The main thing is that the plant always has clear, cold and oxygen-rich water available.
In a pinch, however, the moisture-loving plant can even be grown in damp spots in the garden.
The watercress prefers sunny to semi-shady, but the plant doesn't do much with the blazing summer sun. Bodies of water that the plant inhabits in nature are usually in a cool valley or depression.
When you plant your watercress depends on the type of planting. You can sow the aromatic plant either around March or in early August. However, it is easier to plant cuttings, which you can do in summer.
- Cultivation in and on water, in pots or in very humid places
- Sunny to semi-shady location, no blazing sun
- Sowing in March or August
- Propagation of cuttings in summer
The right way to grow watercress
Before planting, you should first look for a suitable location in the garden. Ideally, this would be an existing body of water such as a stream or pond with water circulation. If neither is available, you can of course dig a water-flooded ditch especially for the watercress - but that is a lot of work. In this case, it is particularly important to have an inflow and an outflow. Culture in a pot is easier.
Put the young watercress in a planter, preferably a bowl. Now place this in a larger container, which you fill up with water until the bottom of the bowl is about one centimeter under water. Thus, the watercress always grows in the water. However, you have to change this every two days so that the water always stays fresh and cool and also contains enough oxygen.
If the location is damp and shady, you can even cultivate the plant without flooding. However, watercress should never dry out completely.
Whether in a pot or at the edge of a body of water - sowing or cultivation takes place without much water, but with sufficient moisture. Only when the cuttings are rooted or the seedlings have reached a sufficient size are they transplanted or flooded. However, the tops of the plant should still stick out of the water.
A mixture of garden soil, sand and something is suitable as a substrateCompost. Depending on the location, however, this mixture must be adjusted. In the pond, for example, you should not add any compost, otherwise algae will have an easy time. In the bed and in the pot, however, humus-rich soil with a good portion of compost is advisable. While sand ensures ventilation in a water-saturated pot, you should better leave it out in the bed, otherwise the water will seep away too quickly.
So for growing watercress:
- In the pond: garden or pond soil with some sand
- In the bed: garden soil with a portion of compost
- In a pot: garden soil with about 30% sand and a portion of compost
Caring for watercress
Once planted, caring for garden cress is uncomplicated. Once it has become a resident of your pond or stream, all you really have to do is harvest it. Since the crop is a perennial and reproduces well under the right conditions, you don't have to worry about watercress survival either.
The whole thing looks different in a water-filled pot. It is important that you change the water every two days, otherwise the water will become depleted of the oxygen that the roots so desperately need. In addition, the water becomes cloudy and enriches itself with nutrients. Watercress always needs clean and fresh water. Aside from that, the plant may need some cold protection. Although watercress is basically adapted to our temperatures, larger bodies of water and streams do not freeze through, but a small body of water in a bucket does. If necessary, wrap the container in fleece.
A big advantage of watercress is that it doesn't need to be fertilized.
The following points are important when caring for the watercress:
- Keep always moist
- Change water every two days in pot culture
- Possibly winter protection in buckets
- Do not fertilize
Harvest watercress
The green leaves and shoots are harvested from September until around May, when the plant begins to flower. The plant can be harvested throughout the winter. You only need to cut back individual shoots. However, don't be too radical and let the plant regain its strength.
In principle, however, green plant parts should only be harvested from flowing water. Is there no water circulation or willIf the water is not changed regularly, bacteria can attach themselves to the plant. Either way, it is of course important that the harvested plant parts are carefully washed.
Apart from the leaves and stems, the flowers are also edible and the seeds can also be used.
Watercress: diseases and pests
Like almost every plant, the watercress has its adversaries. Snails are easy to spot, and they like to feast on the parts of the plant sticking out of the water. Aphids (Aphidoidea) can also be found here from time to time. You should simply collect the former. The latter, on the other hand, can be easily rinsed off with water. In larger bodies of water, wild ducks can become a problem. Then only nets or colored ribbons will help.
Apart from the animal representatives, the downy mildew fungus (Peronospora parasitica) can also be found on watercress from time to time.
Yellow leaves on watercress?
If the watercress leaves turn yellow, then something is wrong. First of all, the most important thing to check: Has the plant always had enough water? The wet-loving plant cannot cope with a lack of water and drought.
Another cause could be a root problem. A lack of oxygen or pests in the root area can lead to the death of the roots.
Watercress not blooming
The watercress flower appears around May each year. With freshly sown plants, it can happen that they are still too young to flower at this point. These plants won't start flowering until next year.
Watercress: ingredients and uses in the kitchen
Watercress owes its spiciness to the mustard oil glycoside gluconasturtiin. Many cruciferous plants contain mustard oil glycosides. This is how cabbage (Brassica) gets its typically cabbage-like smell. The taste of this mustard oil glycoside makes watercress an ideal refinement for soups and salads, but also for herb quark and spreads. The flowers can be arranged excellently as a decoration. The small seeds of the plant, on the other hand, give fresh flavor to home-baked bread when dried.
Because watercress is freshly harvested even in winterit is an important supplier of vitamins A and C during the cold season. It also contains iron, iodine and folic acid. Watercress is not only a he althy spice, but also known from herbal medicine. It is considered to stimulate the appetite and metabolism and is even used as an aphrodisiac. But be careful if you are late in pregnancy, because too much watercress can cause labour.
If growing watercress is too time-consuming for you, you can find our article on garden cress here, the watercress relative that is easier to care for but just as tasty.