Hardly any other herb is as easy to sow and grow as cress. By caring for cress, even children learn how plants are sown and grow. Where you sow the cress doesn't matter. The herb grows almost everywhere.
How can you sow cress correctly?
Cress can be sown outdoors or on the windowsill. Sow outdoors from mid-May to September at 15 cm spacings, do not cover with soil and keep moist. On the windowsill all year round in planters with soil, cotton wool or kitchen paper, distribute evenly, keep moist and place in a bright place.
Sowing cress outdoors
Cress can be sown almost anywhere in your own garden. The plant thrives particularly well in a favorable location in a sunny location. But cress also grows in a shady location. It just takes a little longer until the herb is ready to harvest.
You can also easily plant cress as a cover crop or keep it mixed with other plants. Cress just doesn't go well with rocket salad.
Cress has no special demands on the soil. It also thrives on poor and depleted soils. You just have to make sure that the seeds don't dry out and that the plants stay consistently moist later on.
Preparing the soil for sowing
If you have space in the garden for your own cress bed, loosen the soil and create rows 15 centimeters apart.
When you sow watercress, you should sow the seeds very thinly, as the plants require a little more space than garden cress. Since the seed is very fine, mix it with a little fine sand if necessary.
You can also easily scatter the cress seeds widely. This way you get a bed covered with a dense green carpet.
The best time to sow cress
You can sow cress outdoors from mid-May. The plants are sensitive to frost and require a soil temperature of at least 15 degrees to germinate.
Sow subsequent seeds until autumn. Since cress only has a very short growing season, cress sown in early autumn will still be ready for harvest.
- Sow outdoors from mid-May to September
- Keep soil evenly moist
- Harvest after three to four weeks until flowering
Cress is a light germinator
Cress is not covered with soil after sowing. It is one of the light germinators and needs direct light to reduce the germination inhibition of the seeds.
You do not need to protect the seeds from birds, as the ingredients in the cress are not tasty for the animals.
However, heavy rains can be a problem because they wash away the seeds. Therefore, press the seeds a little and after sowing, spray them with water from the spray bottle (€27.00 on Amazon).
Sow in the cress bed on the windowsill
- Sowing possible all year round
- Sow on soil, cotton wool or kitchen paper
- Keep well moist
- Avoid waterlogging
If you don't have a garden available, that's no problem for planting cress. The undemanding herb also thrives wonderfully on the windowsill.
You can use anything in the household as planting bowls, from a soup plate to a water glass to an egg carton. The cress also works very well in clay pots.
Cress can be sown on almost any substrate. It germinates just as well in normal garden soil as on a folded piece of kitchen paper, a cotton ball or a temporary handkerchief.
How to sow cress correctly
Clean the intended plant pots thoroughly so that no mold spores or bacteria stick to them. If you sow the cress in soil, you should put it in the hot oven for a few minutes to kill any germs.
Fill the planters with soil, crepe or cotton wool and let the material soak up water. Pour off excess water.
Sprinkle the cress as evenly as possible onto the plant substrate and press it lightly. Keep the seeds evenly moist until they germinate, but make sure that there is no waterlogging, as the cress will then become moldy. Use a spray bottle to moisten, as a jet of water that is too hard will wash away the small seeds.
Keep seeds moist
During the germination period, the seeds must be kept as consistently moist as possible. Water carefully and allow excess water to drain away.
Place the cress beds as bright and warm as possible. However, avoid excessive sunlight behind the glass pane, as the seeds can then dry out and the cotyledons can burn.
The first roots develop on the first and second day. Cress sprouts are ready to harvest after just four days.
Sow cress on the windowsill all year round
You can sow new cress on the windowsill all year round. Just be sure to provide enough light so that the plants grow strong and don't shoot up too much.
Tips & Tricks
In order to always be able to harvest fresh cress from your own garden or from your windowsill, sow it again at regular intervals. To do this, you can use the old bed outdoors as well as a new location.
