🌿 Watercress

Prefers constantly moist to saturated conditions rather than dry garden soil. Grow in clean, shallow running water or fertile, humus-rich, highly moisture-retentive potting soil/compost, kept moist at all times (often with the container standing in water). Avoid letting the root zone dry out; nutrient-poor or dry substrates reduce growth.

Sow in a cool place and keep moist at all times. Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) can be started indoors or sown directly outdoors. Indoors (recommended): - Timing: 4-6 weeks before last frost, or any time for indoor/container growing. - Sow on the surface or cover very lightly (approx. 2-3 mm) with fine compost. - Temperature: germination is optimal around 10-20°C. - Keep medium constantly moist (place trays in water and top up); provide bright light. - Transplant when seedlings are large enough to handle. Direct sowing outdoors: - Timing: early spring, as soon as soil can be worked, then late summer or early autumn for autumn crops (preferably in cool weather). - Location: regularly moist soil, stream banks, or containers kept in shallow water; full sun to partial shade. - Sow finely on a fine, flat, moist seedbed; cover lightly; firm up and water. - Maintain constant humidity (do not allow to dry out). Thin to approx. 10-15 cm between plants. Transplanting : - Harden plants if moved from inside to outside. - Plant in very moist soil or in water baskets/containers; maintain a constant water level to avoid stress and bolting.

Watercress is a fast-growing leafy plant that responds best to a regular supply of nitrogen and organic matter. - Before planting: Add well-decomposed compost or a balanced organic fertilizer to create consistently fertile soil. - During growth: Feed lightly but regularly. Treat the sides with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer (or apply a dilute liquid fertilizer) every 2-3 weeks or so while cutting/harvesting. - Containers/systems with running water or hydro: Use a complete soluble/hydroponic fertilizer at low concentration and avoid overfeeding, which can encourage algae and soft, overly luxuriant growth. - General precautions: Do not apply fertilizer directly into natural ponds or streams; avoid run-off into waterways. If growth is dark green and vigorous, reduce or skip feeding; if pale and slow, increase nitrogen slightly.

Traditionally used as an antiscorbutic (food rich in vitamin C to prevent or treat scurvy). In phytotherapy, it is used as a mild diuretic and as an expectorant for coughs and bronchial catarrh. As a brassica rich in glucosinolates (e.g. gluconasturtiine) and antioxidants, it is also consumed for its potential antioxidant and chemoprotective properties, although the latter effects are largely based on limited nutritional and clinical laboratory evidence rather than established medicinal indications.

Harvest by regularly cutting off the tips of young shoots and leafy stems with clean scissors, cutting just above a leaf node to encourage branching and regrowth. Don't take more than a third of the plant at a time. Remove flower stems as soon as they appear to prolong leaf production and reduce tough or bitter shoots. Thin and prune dense mats to maintain water flow and light penetration, and quickly remove yellowed, damaged or diseased stems. If the plant is grown as a perennial outdoors, cut back heavily in late autumn or early spring to a few centimetres above the crown to stimulate vigorous new growth.