{"id":2432,"date":"2020-03-29T07:02:36","date_gmt":"2020-03-29T07:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/?p=2432"},"modified":"2020-03-29T07:06:02","modified_gmt":"2020-03-29T07:06:02","slug":"watercress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/2020\/03\/29\/watercress\/","title":{"rendered":"Watercress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nasturtium officinale<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong>: Watercress is native to Europe and adjacent parts of Asia and\nAfrica. It is a highly nutritious plant and has been regarded as a special food\nfor several thousand years. However for most of that time it has been gathered\nfrom the wild, rather than cultivated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cultivation of watercress is somewhat unusual, because of its\nspecialized habitat requirements, but it grows easily enough if given the right\nconditions. Its native habitat is clean, slow flowing water in springs, ditches\nand shallow streams. In Europe it was grown commercially in special watercress\nbeds, created beside streams to take advantage of the slowly flowing water. It\nwill grow in any wet soil though, so long as it isn\u2019t stagnant (which can cause\nthe plants to rot).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing your own watercress ensures that it is safe for use raw,\nwhich isn\u2019t always the case with plants gathered from the wild. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Watercress<\/strong>  
Perennial to zone 5
Hardiness zones: 3 – 11
Germ temp: 45 (55 – 75) 85\u02daF
Germination time: 8 – 12 days
Seed viability: 4 – 5 years
Days to harvest: 50 – 60 days
Growing temp: 45 (55 -75) 85\u02daF
<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nutritional content<\/strong>: Wild watercress spends it life bathed in nutrients and as a\nconsequence it is very rich in minerals, including copper, iron, iodine\n(perhaps the richest source of any land plant), manganese and sulfur. It is\nalso a good source of vitamins A, C and  E. The cultivated plant will be somewhat\nless nutritious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watercress is related to the Brassica\nfamily and is rich in many of the same cancer fighting phytochemicals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t eat watercress as a source of energy, in fact it may be\nthe lowest calorie food in this book. With only about 50 calories to a pound,\nit makes cucumber (with 68) look positively fattening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watercress also contains the irritating mustard oil found in many\nmembers of the Brassicaceae<\/em>, and can irritate the kidneys if eaten in\nexcess. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crop use<\/strong>: Watercress isn\u2019t a very important crop, even though it is quite\nnutritious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ease of growing:<\/strong> Watercress is easier to grow than people imagine, as it doesn\u2019t\nactually need clear running water, it just needs wet soil. It can even do well when grown in pots indoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate<\/strong>: This plant is native to cooler areas of\nnorthern Europe and Asia and prefers cool (55 – 75\u02daF) weather. However it is\nquite adaptable and can take some heat (growing in water helps to keep it\ncool.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soil<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

pH\n6.0 (7.2) 7.5 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watercress is accustomed to being bathed in nutrients and needs a\nfairly fertile soil for good growth. It does best if it is sightly alkaline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planning<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where<\/strong>: Watercress likes to grow anywhere the soil is naturally moist,\nbut it can also be grown on dry land, if you take care to keep it moist. It\njust won\u2019t be as vigorous under these conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When watercress is not growing in water it does better with some\nshade, especially in warmer areas. If it is growing in water then it will be\nmost productive in full sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good way to grow watercress is in shallow trenches (enrich the\nsoil with lots of organic matter to slow down the rate at which it dries out).  These are easier to keep moist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planting<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seed<\/strong>: Watercress is easily grown from seed, either sown directly in\nthe soil, or started inside and planted out as transplants. Seed is commonly\nused to start commercial plantings as it is sure to be virus free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuttings<\/strong>: The fastest and easiest way to get watercress is to buy a bunch\nof fresh watercress from a market and root it in water (sometimes it already\ncomes with roots). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watercress roots very easily and this is actually one of the ways\nit propagates itself in the wild. Start by stripping the lower leaves from the\ncutting (if left on they may rot when submerged in water), then simply put the\nplants in a jar of water. Change the water regularly (every couple of days),\notherwise it may start to smell and can cause the plants to rot. The plants\nshould grow roots within a week or so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes time to plant, just use the ones that have the most\nroots. Plant them up to their leaves, so all of the stem is buried. Water well\nafter planting and keep it well watered (maybe with well water.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watercress also transplants well, so you could take some from the\nwild and re-domesticate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spacing<\/strong>: Space the plants 6 – 8\u02dd apart. They are quite sprawling and the\nstems will root wherever they touch the soil. Eventually the plants will spread\nand fill in all the space in between them, to make a continuous carpet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Care<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feeding<\/strong>: If the soil isn\u2019t very fertile you should give it an occasional\nfeed of compost tea or liquid kelp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watering<\/strong>: For good growth the plants must have\nabundant moisture at all times. If they aren\u2019t growing in water they will need\nto be watered frequently (every day in dry weather). If they are growing in\nwater you won\u2019t need to water them at all (which is nice). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Problems<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pests and disease<\/strong>: Commercial plantings are sometimes attacked by viruses, which is\none of the best reasons for starting your plants from seed. Small home\nplantings may be attacked by\nslugs, snails, flea beetles, spider mites or whitefly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bolting<\/strong>: When watercress starts to bolt, its flavor deteriorates and can\nbecome bitter and \/ or very pungent (a trait it shares with most edible members\nof the Brassica<\/em> family). Keeping the plants well watered and fed may\nslow this down, but it eventually happens every year (usually in late summer).\nYou can remove flowers as they appear or you can let the plants produce seed\nfor you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harvesting<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When growing in water (with its temperature moderating influence)\nwatercress can often be gathered year round. Gather the plants by pinching off\nthe growing tips with your fingers (or by using scissors), leaving the roots\nand lower leaves to continue growing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seed saving<\/strong>: Watercress flowers are self-fertile and attractive to bees, so\nthey produce seed easily. There aren\u2019t many varieties so you don\u2019t have to\nworry too much about keeping it pure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watercress will often self-sow if given the chance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unusual growing ideas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given a suitable site, watercress is a reliable, hardy and easily\nmaintained perennial crop. It could be a valuable part of a cultivated\nfreshwater ecosystem, providing shelter and food for numerous organisms. These\nin turn provide food for fish, birds and small mammals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Containers<\/strong>: Watercress grows well in containers, just use a wide pot, a\nfertile potting mix and keep it moist. If using seed just sow right into the\npot. To minimize watering you can sit the contain in a larger container of\nwater (make sure to change this regularly). Recently I have been experimenting\nwith fiber pots sitting in a shallow pond and this seems to work well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pipe system<\/strong>. Get some 6\u02dd diameter plastic pipe and cut it lengthwise into 2\nhalves (or use lengths of aluminum or plastic rain gutter). Then glue them\ntogether and put in the ground, so there is a very slight slope (\u00bc\u02dd in 12\u02dd) and\nthe lip of the pipe is close to ground level. Put the end of the first section\nof pipe underneath an outdoor tap, so it can be watered easily. Almost fill it\nwith gravel and then plant watercress in plastic containers filled with a mix\nof fertile soil and peat moss (and perhaps some dolomitic lime). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waste-water<\/strong>: Watercress can help to purify gray water, though of course you\nwouldn\u2019t want to eat it from this source. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ponds<\/strong>: Watercress will grow happily enough in a garden pond, though it doesn\u2019t\nlike stagnant water. Algae can cause problems if it gets out of hand, as it can\ncover the watercress leaves in a green film that is hard to remove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bog<\/strong>: You can also create a watercress bog, which is basically a\ngarden pond, lined with a rubber pond liner or sheet of heavy duty polyethylene\n(poke a few drainage holes in the sides of the liner) and then filled in with a\nsuitable soil mix (equal parts sand, soil, and compost). You then sow seeds on\nthe surface, or plant cuttings or transplants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harvesting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gather the growing tips any time they are available and growing\nvigorously. This is a perennial so you don\u2019t want to take too much at one time.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Varieties<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is rumored that there are named varieties, though I have never\nseen any.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kitchen use<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raw\nwatercress is nice in salads, sandwiches and salad dressings. It is also good\ncooked as a potherb and in sauces, soups and stir-fries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seed is also edible and (if you can get enough of it to be\nworthwhile) can be used like mustard seed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watercress sandwiches<\/strong>  

4 cups finely chopped cucumber
1 cup watercress
\u00bc cup butter, softened
1 tbsp chives
\u215b cup mayonnaise
\u00bd teaspoon salt
\u215b teaspoon ground black pepper
Whole wheat bread  

Put the salt on the cucumbers and leave for 15 minutes. Then mix them with the pepper, chopped chives and butter. Spread mayonnaise on 6 slices of bread and then a layer of chopped watercress. Spread the cucumber mixture on another 6 slices. Put them together, trim off the crusts and cut into triangles. I suppose you could argue they are cucumber sandwiches as much as watercress. Either way they are very good   <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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