How to plant watercress?

Watercress is fantastically easy to grow indoors and tastes fantastic when harvested fresh. It is one of the best choices for people who are complete beginners to indoor gardening or gardening in general.

Watercress is also popular to grow at home because it wilts and turns incredibly quickly after harvesting, causing store purchased watercress to rot quickly. Watercress is considered a nutritiously rich plant too, making it a great addition to your diet. Watercress is suitable for both hydroponic and container based growing. When grown in a container it is important that the soil is kept constantly wet.

Unlike the previous plants on this list, where you were constantly reminded not to waterlog the soil, it is hard to overwater watercress as it can grow when submerged in water altogether. Stone and terra cotta containers tend to try out too quickly for watercress, so it is best to use plastic containers. Soak the watercress container every 2-3 days whilst using a spray bottle to keep the soil wet in between.

Despite its preference for wet conditions, it is still important to use a container with relatively good drainage for watercress, as stagnant water can encourage pests and mold to grow, so you want to water watercress heavily, whilst allowing it to drain through. Placing your container on a gravel tray is a wise idea – it allows water to drain through whilst still keeping the soil moist.

Choosing a growing medium that drains well is also recommended such as perlite or peat moss. Watercress prefers mildly acidic soil, but the pH should not be lower than 6.5 Watercress should be fertilized on occasion using a regular and standard fertilization mix – watercress has no real special requirements in terms of its nutrition.

When planting your watercress seeds, place them about 0.5 -0.75cm deep into the soil, with around 8-10cm of distance between each plant. Watercress should be placed in mild sunlight – it only needs around 6 hours of sunlight each day to grow and intense direct sun rays can damage the small delicate sprouts. Once the watercress sprouts have reached around 15cm in length, they can be harvested.

Only trim around the top third of the plant each time you harvest, ensuring that the plant survives the harvesting and retains enough leaves to keep on growing. Even if you do not particularly need watercress it is a good idea to regularly harvest to keep stimulating growth.