No matter whether you sowed the cress in the garden or on the windowsill - you don't have to wait long for the first harvest. On the windowsill it is ready to harvest after just a few days. In the garden it takes a little longer.
When and how should you harvest cress?
Cress is ready to harvest outdoors after 2-3 weeks and on the windowsill within a few days. Harvest early in the morning with scissors just above the ground and use the cress quickly for optimal flavor.
When is cress ready to harvest?
In the field it only takes two to three weeks until you can harvest the cress. The prerequisite is that you ensure consistent moisture in the soil.
You can harvest cress in the garden until flowers form. As the flowers appear, the plants lose their aroma. So you better harvest on time.
Cress grown on the windowsill is ready to cut after just a few days. Here the garden cress is cut after the cotyledons after the first leaves appear.
The best time to prune cress
In the early morning the leaves contain a particularly high amount of essential oils. It is therefore best to cut the cress at this time.
Harvesting cress correctly
- Using scissors for harvesting
- Harvest early in the morning
- Cut the cress just above the ground
- Do not wash if possible
Use cress quickly after harvesting
Cress tastes best when freshly harvested. It can only be stored for a short time and loses some of its aroma after just a few hours.
Therefore, only harvest as much cress as you can use quickly. Cress is not necessarily suitable for drying or freezing. It is best to process large quantities of cress into cress oil, cress butter or pesto. You should only wash cress in an emergency, as this will make the leaves mushy.
Think about re-sowing in good time
So that you can always harvest fresh cress, you should create new cress beds on the windowsill every week.
Timely re-sowing is also advisable outdoors. You can simply sow it as a catch crop in other beds or plant it in the existing bed.
Tips & Tricks
You can easily harvest cress that you grow on the windowsill by holding the planter at a slight angle. Use scissors to cut the herbs so that they fall directly onto the sandwich or into the prepared quark dish.