Watercress has many uses and is therefore not unpopular as a culinary herb. To ensure it is constantly available, it should be in your own garden. You can buy watercress as a young plant in a pot or sow it yourself.
How is watercress sown?
To sow watercress you need fine, crumbly soil. Press the seeds lightly, keep them moist at all times and provide sufficient light. The ideal germination temperature is 20 °C and the germination time is around 7-20 days.
Since watercress is a light germinator, it only needs to be lightly pressed onto the soil and then kept well moist. It requires a temperature of around 20 °C to germinate. This means that sowing outdoors is only possible from around mid-May after the Ice Saints. Alternatively, you can grow watercress on the windowsill or in a heated greenhouse.
For sowing, it is best to use a fine, crumbly potting soil (€6.00 on Amazon) made from a mixture of sand and not too fresh compost. Sprinkle the seeds on top and press them down lightly. Always keep the soil well moist. At a temperature of around 20°C, the seeds will germinate after around 7 to 20 days.
Handling the young plants
When the small plants are about five centimeters tall, they can be pricked out. Depending on the size of the pot, place two to three plants in a container, water them well and change the water every two days. The plants will soon begin to grow. Now let the water level in your growing container constantly rise a little higher. Watercress loves wet feet.
Where do you get watercress seeds?
You can either collect watercress seeds yourself, from wild watercress or plants in your own garden, or you can buy seeds from a nursery. There are various specialist seed shops that also offer unusual and special types of different wild herbs. You may get special varieties there, as there are some with lighter or darker leaves.
The most important things in brief:
- fine crumbly soil
- Press seeds lightly
- Light germinator
- always keep moist
- Germination temperature: 20 °C
- Germination time: 7 – 20 days
Tips & Tricks
If you like traveling abroad, try bringing English or French watercress (watercress or cresson de fontaine or cresson d’eau) back from your trip as a souvenir.
