Watercress: growing from seeds at home and in open ground. Watercress salad - how to grow tasty and healthy greens at home

A unique feature of watercress is its precocity and undemandingness to growing conditions. It can be grown in open protected ground and even all year round at home.

FAMILY

Brassicas

CYCLE

Annual, less often biennial plant

STEM

Branched stem 30-60 cm high with a simple root that easily breaks out of the ground

LEAVES

The lower leaves are once or twice pinnate; middle ones - three times separate; the upper ones are solid, linear.

KINDS

According to the type of leaf blade, watercress is distinguished with pinnately dissected, whole and curly leaves.

You can use almost any soil for watercress, although, of course, on light fertile soil the seedlings will be more friendly. The substrate can be peat, wood shavings and sawdust, paper, foam rubber and even mineral wool.

Watercress - growing in the garden

Cold-resistant watercress seeds are sown in open ground at the end of April. The soil is prepared in the same way as for a regular salad. It is better to choose a site after beets and potatoes; in this case, you don’t have to apply fertilizer. Seeds are sown in rows every 20-25 cm to a depth of 0.5 cm at the rate of 5-7 g per 10 sq.m. To create a conveyor for the supply of greenery, seeds are sown at several times (before the onset of hot and dry weather) with an interval of about a week. At the end of summer, crops are resumed.

After the emergence of seedlings, to obtain large rosettes, the plants are thinned out, leaving 5-10 cm between them. Caring for watercress: abundant watering, weeding and loosening the rows. When grown outdoors, the crop is harvested at the beginning of stemming, about a month after emergence, by cutting off or uprooting the entire rosette of leaves.

Young watercress bushes of early ripening varieties are cut 15-25 days after emergence

FACT: When growing watercress, the substrate should always be slightly moist, but not wet. If the stems of young plants break or rot, the soil has been overwatered.

TIP: To get rid of the seed coat on watercress shoots, you can lightly “comb” them with a soft brush.

Watercress - growing at home, on the windowsill

At home, seeds are sown in boxes, containers, pots filled with ready-made soil for seedlings, only 2-3 cm thick. Watercress can even be grown in a small bowl or plate with mineral wool or foam rubber, or filled with soaked sawdust (they are first spilled with boiling water, cool). The seeds are evenly distributed over the surface of the soil so that they cover it almost completely in one layer, lightly sprinkled. Then the container is watered until the soil is completely wet. The growing season of watercress is short, so fertilizers are not added.

Watercress salad care

For the first 3-4 days, the containers are kept in a dark place, after the emergence of shoots they are transferred to the light, but

diffuse lighting or even shade the plants, since young shoots do not like direct sunlight.

Watercress needs a fairly large amount of moisture, otherwise the plants will bolt and become tasteless. Therefore, it is watered every other day, but in small portions or sprayed with a spray bottle.

Harvest watercress at any time of the year

You can grow watercress until you get a rosette of leaves (like mustard greens). However, it is most often eaten in the form of sprouts, which have a more delicate taste and contain more nutrients. When they reach a height of only 7-9 cm, they are cut off at the base with scissors. From 1 sq.m you can get up to 1.5 kg of sprouts. They are eaten fresh, added to salads and sandwiches. Before the next sowing of watercress, the soil (substrate) in the containers is changed.

TIP: Young watercress is cut as a whole bush, since the leaves cannot be stored individually - they quickly wither. You can extend the life of your greenery by placing the bush in a container of water in the refrigerator.

Watercress salad: beneficial properties

Watercress improves digestion, stimulates appetite, normalizes metabolism and the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

Drinking fresh watercress juice (2-3 tablespoons 3 times a day) is useful for asthmatics, as it clears the bronchi and airways, makes breathing easier, and prevents asthmatic coughs and asthma attacks.

For problem skin, masks made from mashed watercress leaves are suitable (keep on face for about 10 minutes, then wash with cool water).

Types of watercress

Growing watercress: sharing our experience

Watercress - all year round

Watercress contains many vitamins iodine, iron and calcium and grows very quickly.

One of the fastest ripening and unpretentious green crops is watercress. It tastes like horseradish or mustard due to the presence of mustard oil. As a result, it received such names as horseradish, peppercorn, and garden cress.

You can get the most green watercress by sowing its seeds in August.

Types of watercress

Curly. The most common and early ripening. It has a small rosette of rugged leaves and a low stem, on which a spike-shaped inflorescence very quickly forms, and then seeds. The variety Azhur and the new varieties Accord and Vitamin are known.

broadleaf. It has a large rosette (diameter 19-20 cm) of wide whole leaves, height 5-6 cm. Mainly represented by late-ripening varieties. In particular, Dukat is one of the best varieties.

Sowing variety of watercress - an intermediate option between the previous two. The leaves are slightly dissected, collected in a raised large rosette. The varieties Zabava, Kurled, and Dansky can be distinguished.

Watercress: sowing and care

Sow seeds in open ground in April - as soon as the soil allows. Watercress seeds germinate at a temperature of 6-8 °C. It is necessary to sow to a depth of 0.5-1 cm, in rows, spaced 20-35 cm apart. Then the plants turn out to be large and squat.

Watercress is very easy to care for. Requires only weeding and regular watering.

After 2 weeks you can already harvest fresh herbs. Then the lettuce is sown every 10-15 days.

Greens all year round

This crop can be grown on a windowsill throughout the year.

Watercress is undemanding to light, and the optimal temperature for its germination is 7-15°C. It is important to ensure that it does not rise above 15°C, otherwise plant growth will stop.

The substrate should always be moist, but not very wet.

It can be sown in small bowls with a small amount of soil.

Harvesting watercress

When the plants reach a height of 10-12 cm, they are carefully cut with scissors. You need to cut as much lettuce as you will eat at one time - it does not last long. Watercress should be sown regularly - after about 5 days. Then you will always have fresh spicy herbs on your table.

We hold watercress in high esteem

Do you love watercress as much as I love it? Get to know this plant better!

Watercress has been growing on our site for a long time. This green plant has branched stems

and rosette petiolate leaves, which are very useful when fresh: they contain many vitamins, protein, ascorbic acid, iron salts, calcium, potassium, iodine, minerals and even anti-carcinogenic substances.

The piquant-tasting leaves of this plant were added to food as a spice back in the Middle Ages. In Rus', watercress has also been valued for a long time, but it was called horseradish. Is it because it tastes something like horseradish?

I think it tastes more like mustard.

I like to cook salads with this pleasant hot spice, add leaves to soups, meat and fish dishes, omelettes and soufflés.

I always have a separate bed for watercress. This plant is frost-resistant, so it can be planted at a temperature of 5°C.

For early sowing, I always choose sativum or curly watercress, which looks like parsley. Although I have heard that the large-leaved variety is also popular, I do not plant it - it ripens quite late, when a lot of other greens appear in the garden.

I make rows in the prepared bed, sow seeds in them, then lightly sprinkle them with soil.

Easy care - shoots grow like a wall

I make sure that the soil is always moist, so I water it regularly, but moderately. As soon as the shoots appear, I thin them out so that there is a distance of about 5 cm between the plants. Then the bushes are the most lush.

2-3 weeks after planting, the tender leaves can be cut off and eaten.

Watercress: a healing plant

Even in the time of Hippocrates, it was known about the ability of watercress to cleanse the blood and it is important

For gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers, watercress is contraindicated.

give vitality

to the human body. And in Ancient Egypt, oil from its seeds was used to treat male impotence.

Modern research has also proven the nutritional and medicinal benefits of this interesting plant. Watercress juice improves digestion, lowers blood pressure, helps with insomnia, and has a calming effect.

For hypovitaminosis and anemia, drink it no 1 tsp. 3 times a day. As a diuretic and for cholelithiasis, watercress juice is taken 3 times a day, 1 tbsp. l. while eating. For metabolic disorders - 100-200 ml of juice 2-3 times a day, adding 1 tbsp. l. honey

Health delivered to your windowsill

If you don’t have a garden, but want to try this herb that tastes good and is so beneficial for the body, grow it on the windowsill. Even a regular pallet is suitable for planting. Any soil and even a layer of peat at least 3 cm high is suitable as a substrate.

To ensure that the seedlings support each other, the seeds need to be planted densely. Distribute the seeds over the surface of the soil. Moisten them and cover with plastic. As soon as the seeds hatch, remove the film.

Do not forget to spray the seedlings with warm water in a timely manner, and after a couple of weeks, the tender greens of watercress can be cut and used either as food or as medicine.

: Sowing and planting seedlings -...

Who among us is not delighted with fresh, vitamin-rich greens? But it can only be grown in the garden in summer. Of course, greens are sold in the store at any time of the year, but the quality will not be the same. You can get natural greens at any time in a simple and affordable way - just grow watercress on the windowsill. This article will tell you how to grow such a salad.

Useful properties of watercress

Why watercress? The answer to this question is simple - it is a very useful plant that can be easily grown on a windowsill.

Watercress is a fragrant green from the cabbage family. It contains huge amounts of various vitamins, essential oils, ascorbic acid and various useful microelements.

Regular consumption of watercress significantly helps the body, namely:

• increases immunity;
• cures cough, thanks to the alkaloids and resins included in the composition;
• prevents the occurrence of vitamin deficiency and anemia;
• cleanses the bronchi;
• in asthmatics, prevents asthma attacks;
• normalizes blood pressure and improves metabolism;
• improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
• strengthens the nervous system;
• relieves insomnia;
• helps to quit smoking.

In addition, crushed leaves of this salad are included in homemade ointments, lotions, and creams, which significantly reduce acne and make acne marks less noticeable.

Watercress is also loved because of its unusual pungent taste, similar to the taste of horseradish (popularly it is also called horseradish).

Despite the huge number of advantages, the plant is unpretentious in care. Therefore, it is very easy to grow watercress on a windowsill all year round: it grows quickly, does not require special attention, is cold-resistant, and shade-tolerant.

Varieties

Today there are three varieties of watercress:

• curly - distinguished by a small rosette of leaves (17 cm) and raised, strongly dissected leaves (for example, “openwork”).
• sowing - distinguished by a large rosette (up to 21 cm) and horizontal, wide, whole leaves (for example, “Dansky”, “zabava”).
• whole-leaved - distinguished by a large rosette and narrow, slightly cut leaves (for example, “ducat”).

Due to its precocity, Danish watercress is most often found on the windowsill. How to grow it is described below.

What it takes to grow watercress on a windowsill

Serious preliminary preparation and hard-to-find materials for growing watercress are not required. Initially, you need to choose the most suitable variety and buy seeds. When choosing seeds, it is important to carefully examine the packaging. It should not be wrinkled or torn. It is also important to check the expiration date of the seeds.

• Container for growing lettuce. Its height should be approximately 10 cm. As a container, you can use a plastic container, a bowl, a plate, a tray or a shallow flower pot.
• Nutrient medium (substrate) for growing. Such a substrate can be cotton wool, cotton pads, foam rubber, gauze, peat or finely ground wood shavings. The substrate can also be replaced with a hydrogel.
• Cling film or plastic bag.
• Regular or purchased nutrient soil.
• A mug and a teaspoon.

How to grow watercress on a windowsill? The methods for doing this are completely different. Let's look at the main ones.

Growing watercress in substrate

You need to take a container and place a suitable substrate on the bottom in a layer of 1.5-2 cm. After this, the substrate must be moistened with boiled or settled water. If peat or wood shavings are used as a substrate, it is doused with boiling water to avoid mold.

After the substrate is prepared, you need to take a glass, pour the seeds into it and fill them with water so that the water completely covers the seeds. Thus, each seed will be in its own shell.

You need to hold the seeds in water for a few seconds, then transfer them with a teaspoon from a glass into a prepared container with a nutrient medium, and carefully distribute them in one layer.

To create greenhouse conditions for the seeds, cover the container on top with cling film or a plastic bag and place it on the windowsill. It is important to place the jar so that it is not exposed to direct sunlight, and away from the hot battery. This creates a greenhouse effect in the seed jar.

After a day, you need to check the seeds; usually at this time, slightly hatched sprouts will already appear. In another day, good sprouts should appear, then the film is removed.

Caring for this salad is very simple: water it on time, sometimes turn it to the light with the other side (so that the plants grow straight). It is also good to spray it with water from a spray bottle. If desired, you can feed the salad with potassium solution or urea. The main thing is not to overdry the soil, since pressed lettuce loves moisture very much, and a lack of it thins the plants and worsens their taste.

After 1.5-2 weeks, the salad can already be eaten.

...and in the soil

You need to pour fertile soil (about 7 cm) into the container. After this, make even grooves (depth 0.5 cm). The distance between the grooves should be 10-15 cm. The seeds are covered with a thin layer of soil (about 1 cm).

The seeds can also be sown in a chaotic manner - simply pour them out of the glass after soaking, level them and cover them with soil.

After this, the container must be covered with film. If the room is warm enough (20-23 degrees), then you can leave the container without film.

With this method, the seeds will take a little longer to germinate (about 2 days), as they germinate through the soil. When the sprouts appear, the temperature should be reduced to 10-15 degrees. This will help the plant develop a strong root system and prevent them from stretching.

After the seeds germinate, you need to care for the plants in the same way as described in the first method.

The most interesting ways to grow watercress

Because watercress is unpretentious, it can be grown any way and anywhere. Let's look at some interesting growing methods:

• This method does not require land or a growing container, and the plants do not require daily watering. You need to take a small tea strainer and a cup of water. The seeds are poured into a strainer and watered with warm water (it ends up remaining in the cup). After this, the cup with the strainer can be placed on the windowsill; in a week the greens will be ready. Growing this way has a big advantage - the salad can be eaten with the roots.
• This method is quite common. The lettuce is grown in a container, the bottom of which is covered with damp gauze. The disadvantage of this method is that it requires a lot of seeds. But these seeds germinate very quickly.
• Growing in an electronic pot. In such a pot, lettuce can be grown all year round, and you don’t have to do anything at all, just sprinkle the seeds. True, such a pot is quite expensive.

The above described ways to quickly grow watercress on a windowsill. However, they are all quite simple.

Features of salad collection

We've looked at how to grow watercress on a windowsill in winter; it's time to harvest. This also needs to be done correctly.

You can cut the lettuce when the stems grow to 8-9 cm. It is better to do this in the morning or evening. Watercress should be eaten fresh, i.e. do not store. It can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day (preferably in water). If you store the salad for more than a day, it quickly turns yellow and remains without its beneficial properties.

When the lettuce has grown to 13-14 cm, it needs to be cut off, as close to the base as possible. Once the lettuce is cut, the roots will not grow back, so for continuous harvesting, watercress must be sown every 2 weeks.

Secrets: how to grow watercress on a windowsill correctly

• In order for the rosette of leaves to be large, the distance between plants should be at least 5 cm.
• Before sowing, the soil must be well compacted.
• Seeds must be sown consistently, approximately once every 10 days, so that it grows continuously.
• It is important to water on time, as watercress loves moisture.

Thus, we figured out how to grow watercress on the windowsill so that it is fragrant and extremely healthy. This small vegetable garden doesn't require much space, doesn't require much care, but is a lot of fun. By the way, watercress can be grown both on the windowsill and in the garden bed.

Watercress is an extremely healthy green that is used not only in cooking, but also in healing, as it contains a lot of useful substances. In Europe, watercress has long been popular for its original taste and the spicy, spicy note it adds to dishes. In our country, the popularity of this type of salad is just beginning to gain momentum, so not all summer residents know how to plant and grow watercress on their property.

Using these recommendations, you can grow an excellent harvest of watercress on your plot and provide your whole family with vitamins. The thin stems of this plant contain an amazing amount of vitamins and beneficial microelements so necessary for our body. Moreover, watercress is also an excellent antidepressant.

There are a great many types of salads, but many varieties are especially revered in the cuisines of the world. Watercress salad is especially popular because it combines many positive properties, from its unique taste and aroma to the simplicity of agricultural technology. Moreover, it should be noted that watercress, which is often grown in open ground, grows well at home, even on the windowsill of an ordinary city apartment.

The plant is considered one of the most unpretentious, and to such an extent that to grow it at home you do not have to prepare any specific soil or look for any specific varieties. Moreover, it would be best to experiment with several varieties and settle on the most suitable one. With soil, everything is much simpler, so much so that some experienced gardeners plant lettuce seeds with other crops, for example, growing, or with moisture-loving house flowers.

You can grow greens at home in any container up to 50 mm high.

To prepare for planting, you need to decide exactly how the lettuce will grow, since there are several planting options:

• into the soil mixture;
• in a cotton-gauze base;
• into a combined base.

In the first case, to grow lettuce at home, you can take any soil that is fertile or that you can get. But keep in mind that the most suitable will be a specialized soil mixture from the store, the least suitable is the soil that you dug up next to the road or on the playground. In principle, you can compromise and take soil from your garden plot, having first removed all the weeds from it.

In the second case, cotton wool wrapped in gauze is used as a base. Naturally, both cotton wool and gauze should be from a pharmacy, and the density of the latter should be sufficient for long-term use.

Video about growing cress at home

The third case involves a kind of “layer cake”, which includes (from bottom to top) drainage in the form of a sand-gravel mixture, a cotton-gauze layer, and a fertile soil mixture. Drainage is necessary to remove excess water, the cotton-gauze layer will retain the required amount of moisture, and the soil will provide the plant with microelements. It is the combined method that is suitable for those who have no experience at all in growing plants either on a windowsill or in a garden bed, since it will give virtually no chance of ruining the greens.

You can grow greens at home in any container up to 50 mm high, since the base layer does not exceed 30-40 mm. However, it is worth remembering that for a combined base a height of 40 mm is required, and for a cotton-gauze base, 30 mm will be sufficient. This is due to the fact that the plant itself is small, and its root system is quite compact.

Planting watercress seeds at home is done with seeds directly into the base, without any pre-treatment. However, the planting technique varies somewhat depending on the top filling. For a combination or soil base, simply scatter the seeds and lightly cover them with soil. But if the base is cotton-gauze, then the seeds are scattered only on the cotton wool, and only then covered with gauze on top. There is an opinion that even in this case it is necessary to cover the seeds with nutritious soil, but this will not bring practical benefit.

Before planting, the base is watered abundantly. Immediately after planting, it is sprayed from a spray bottle. Under no circumstances should you water with a stream, as the flow of water can wash out the newly planted seeds. It is also important to keep in mind that there is no need to force the seeds to “float”. The base should be damp, but not overwatered.

Immediately after planting, it is sprayed from a spray bottle.

After planting has been carried out, the container with watercress is removed to a shaded, cool (6-8 degrees Celsius) place, since this, on the one hand, will prevent excessive evaporation of moisture and, on the other hand, will not cause rotting of the seeds or the appearance of fungal infections , mold.

It is especially important to observe the temperature regime at home if the soil was taken from a personal plot, or if planting is done in a cotton-gauze base.

The temperature rises to room temperature only when the first leaves appear. However, you shouldn’t put a container on the battery either; it’s best to maintain the mode within +15...+18 degrees. Celsius.

Video about how to sow seeds and grow them

Plant care

To grow delicious greens by creating, you need to take care of them, which comes down to a few simple rules.

• Watering

Watering should be regular and plentiful, since the plant is moisture-loving and does not tolerate lack of water. Perhaps a failure in watering is the only thing that can instantly destroy a crop. It is best to water with a spray bottle, washing the foliage - then the greens will be especially tender and fragrant. Constant humidity in the room will also be important, because when it fluctuates, the foliage may begin to taste bitter, or even inflorescences will form.

• Light mode

Watercress loves shaded places, but this does not mean that it does not need light. It is best to grow it on a windowsill or in a loggia on the north side, hiding the plant from direct sunlight, which is harmful to the foliage. In winter or in polar night conditions, you can replace natural lighting with any artificial lighting, and even LED strips with a warm glow temperature will do. It is also important to remember that the source of additional lighting should be moved 300-400 mm away from the plant to prevent heat damage to the leaves. Under no circumstances should you use halogen lamps, as they can burn the plant. The container should be constantly tucked so that growth does not involve stretching the stems, but straightening out the foliage.

• Temperature

Watercress does not tolerate high temperatures very well. Therefore, in summer it is allowed to grow it on windowsills facing north, and in winter - away from heating devices and radiators. The minimum suitable temperature will be +15 degrees Celsius, the maximum - +20 degrees Celsius, and the optimal - +18.

Video about growing lettuce on a windowsill

Harvesting

The harvest is collected immediately before consumption, in small portions, since watercress salad is practically not stored - it quickly withers and loses its taste. It must be cut using ordinary scissors, and no later than a week after the foliage appears. This is due to the fact that greens quickly begin to lose their taste, become coarse and may even develop a bitter taste. When harvesting, you can only cut off leaves with a minimum stem length, since the latter has practically no taste or aroma.

Video about a vegetable garden on a windowsill

In order for the harvest to be regularly available, you can select lettuce by variety, or sow it once a week. If you choose planting by variety, you can choose the following combination:

• Flagman variety. Reaches maturity in 12-17 days from the moment of emergence;
• Piquant variety. Reaches economic suitability after 15-20 days from germination;
• variety Fun. Technically mature 20-30 days after germination;
• Accord variety. Ready for use after 25-35 days from germination;
• Dukat variety. It grows within 18 days from the moment of germination.

For constant reseeding, especially in winter, the ideal variety is Temp, which reaches technical maturity in 18-23 days.

Who among us doesn’t love fresh, vitamin-rich greens that can be eaten raw or added to various dishes? But, unfortunately, it can only be grown in the garden in the summer season. “You can buy greens in the store at any time,” you say, but who knows what chemicals were used to grow them. There is another very simple and affordable way to obtain natural greens - by growing them at home, on the windowsill, at any time of the year. One of the most useful plants that is very easy to grow on a windowsill is watercress.

Useful properties and main types of watercress

This aromatic green cabbage plant is a real storehouse of vitamins, essential oils, ascorbic acid and microelements beneficial to our body.

If you regularly eat watercress, you can:

• increase immunity;
• cure different types of cough;
• avoid the occurrence of vitamin deficiency and anemia (anemia);
• cleanse the bronchi;
• for asthmatics - prevent asthma attacks;
• normalize blood pressure and metabolism;
• improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
• strengthen frayed nerves;
• get rid of painful insomnia;
• quit smoking faster (watercress can reduce cravings for nicotine).

And homemade ointments, lotions and creams made from crushed leaves of this lettuce will help quickly get rid of acne and cure acne marks.

In addition to its beneficial properties, this salad has an unusual pungent taste, similar to the taste of horseradish (it’s not for nothing that people call watercress “horseradish”), and it is also completely unpretentious in care. The main advantages of growing watercress at home: the bare minimum of care, the rapid growth of lettuce, its cold resistance and high shade tolerance.

Today, there are 3 main varieties of watercress.

What is needed to grow watercress in a “window garden”?

The process of growing this salad does not require serious preliminary preparation or hard-to-find materials. First of all, decide on the variety of watercress and buy the seeds.

Important! When purchasing seeds, always pay attention to the type of packaging. The bag of seeds should not be dented or torn. Don't forget to check the expiration date of the seeds.

• a growing container about 9-10 centimeters high. Suitable: a plastic container, bowl, bowl, plate, tray or not too deep flower pot;

  Automatic sprouter "Green Vitamin" (Sprouter)

• nutrient medium (substrate) for growing. As a substrate you can use: cotton wool, cotton pads, foam rubber, gauze, peat or carefully crushed wood shavings;
• cling film or cellophane;
• regular or purchased soil;
• shallow glass or mug;
• tea spoon.

Growing Watercress: Easy Step-by-Step Instructions

So, you have decided to grow watercress on your windowsill and have already prepared all the necessary components for this. Let's start with the fact that there are 2 main ways to grow this salad at home: using soil or substrate. Choose the one that suits you best. The growing method does not in any way affect the germination of seeds or the taste of plants.

Method No. 1. Growing in substrate

Step 1. Take a suitable container and place the selected substrate on its bottom. The layer should be at least 1.5-2 centimeters. We moisten everything with a small amount of warm water (preferably boiled or at least settled). If you have chosen peat or wood shavings as a growing medium for watercress, then before using such a substrate you need to douse it with boiling water, which will prevent the appearance of mold in the future.

Step 2. Take a glass and pour the seeds from the bag into it, and then fill them with water. The water should completely cover the seeds. This is necessary so that each seed acquires its own shell.

Step 3. Wait a couple of seconds. Then we transfer the seeds using a teaspoon or simply pour water with seeds from a glass into a prepared container with a layer of nutrient medium. Carefully and slowly distribute all the seeds in one layer.

Step 4. Cover our container with seeds with film or cellophane to create greenhouse conditions and place it on a windowsill where there is no direct sunlight.

Please note that there should not be a hot radiator near the seeds.

Step 5. After a day, check the seeds. Most likely, you will see barely noticeable sprouts emerging from the seeds. And a day later, when real shoots appear, you can remove the film.

Caring for this salad is very simple: you just need to water it regularly, rotate the container with the sprouts around its axis (otherwise the plants will stretch to one side) and, if possible, moisten it with water from a spray bottle (cress loves moisture very much). You can feed the plants with any mineral fertilizers (for example, potassium solution or urea).

It is very important not to allow the soil in the container with the plants to dry out, as this can lead to the thinning of the lettuce and loss of its taste.

Step 6. After just 1.5-2 weeks, the salad is ready to eat.

Method number 2. Growing in soil.

Step 1. Pour soil into a pre-prepared container with a layer of about 6-7 centimeters. Then we make even rows for sowing seeds half a centimeter deep and at a distance of at least 10-15 centimeters from each other.

Or you can do it even simpler: pour the seeds from a glass, as in method 1, directly onto the soil and sprinkle them with a thin layer of earth (about 1 centimeter).

Step 2. The container with the sown seeds can be covered with film, or you can just leave it like that. The main thing is that the air temperature is not lower than 19-20 °C.

Step 3. Please note that with this method, the seeds take a little longer to germinate (1-2 days), because they need to germinate through a layer of soil. After all the sprouts have sprouted, be sure to reduce the temperature to 10-15 °C. This will be a good incentive for the development of a strong root system of plants and will prevent them from stretching and thinning.

Step 4. Caring for the sprouts is the same as in method 1: regular watering, pollination with water, turning the plants on different sides to the sun and fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.

Features of harvesting

The required amount of lettuce is cut off when its stems grow to 8-9 centimeters. It is best to do this in the morning or evening hours. You can store cut lettuce in the main compartment of the refrigerator for 1 day (preferably in a container with water). On the second day, it begins to quickly turn yellow and loses all its beneficial properties.

When the plant stems reach 13-14 centimeters in height, they need to be cut off at the base or removed from the container along with the roots. Please note that once cut, the plants do not grow back, so in order to continuously harvest watercress, it must be sown once every 2 weeks.

Now you know that having fragrant and extremely healthy watercress on the table all year round is very simple! To do this, you just need to start planting it on your windowsill, following simple step-by-step recommendations. This “small garden” requires very little space, and caring for it will not take up much of your time. But how much pleasure the process of growing and harvesting watercress will bring to you and your loved ones. Even just the sight of such bright greenery can lift your spirits. You can involve children in growing watercress. Without a doubt, they will be very interested in caring for such a “garden on the windowsill.”

Video - Two ways to grow watercress

Video - The best way to plant watercress