For cress lovers, the question arises as to whether they can propagate the cress themselves instead of always buying new packets of seeds. If you have a garden, it is easy to grow your own cress seeds.
How can you propagate cress yourself?
To propagate cress yourself, sow cress in early summer and leave inflorescences on the plant until pods with ripe seeds form. Pick the pods, remove the seeds, dry them and store them in paper bags until sowing.
Propagate cress in your own garden
- Sowing cress in early summer
- Do not harvest cress
- Leave the inflorescences on the plant
- Picking ripe pods
- Remove and dry the seeds
To get seeds from your own cress plants, it is best to sow cress in the cress bed in the garden in early summer. Leave the plants to allow flowers to form.
The flowers develop after just a few weeks. After flowering, small pods grow from it in which the seeds ripen.
When the pods have turned dark, the seeds are ripe for cress propagation. Pick off the pods, shake out the seeds and let them dry.
Store cress seeds
The dried seeds go into a paper bag. Don't forget to label the bag and also note the year of harvest.
Store the bag in a dry, dark place until you want to sow the seeds in the garden or on the windowsill.
Cress seeds remain viable for up to four years.
Make cress bloom on the windowsill
If you don't have your own garden, it will be difficult to get the cress to bloom. The lighting conditions on the windowsill are usually not good enough for the plants to start blooming. The shoots usually rot, which means they become very long and spindly.
If you want to try to get cress to bloom indoors, you should only use cress that you have sown in spring or early summer. Then there is the greatest chance that flowers will form.
However, don't be disappointed if you only harvest a few seeds despite extensive care. It is usually easier to buy the seeds (€7.00 on Amazon) in the supermarket or gardening store.
Tips & Tricks
If you need a lot of cress seeds because you often use cress in the kitchen, ask at large garden shops or organic food stores. Cress seeds are also sold there by the kilo.
