Watercress, an appetizing vegetable with many nutrients for all ages to enjoy. It is a good source of vitamin C so you can simultaneously improve your health while enjoying your meal.
What you may not know is that watercress can be grown without soil!
This guide shares how to grow watercress in a container using water and organic matter.
About Watercress
Watercress is a green leafy vegetable that belongs to the cruciferous family, which includes the family of vegetables such as:
- broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- and cabbage
It’s a perennial plant, which means it will grow back every year.
Watercress often grows in wet soil close to streams or ponds.
It prefers cool weather and can even survive frost.
In the Wild – Watercress can be found growing in Europe, Asia, and North America. It has been cultivated for centuries, and was even enjoyed by the Ancient Greeks and Romans.
Watercress is packed with nutrition.
It is a great source of vitamins A, C, and K.
And has calcium, iron, and magnesium.
Watercress has a bit of a peppery taste and is delicious to eat raw in salads or cooked in soups and stir-fries.
Is Watercress Toxic for Pets?
Watercress has been consumed by humans for hundreds of years but it is toxic to dogs, cats, and horses.
If pets ingest watercress, they may show clinical signs of vomiting and diarrhea.
Heads Up! If you suspect your pet ate any watercress, please call your veterinarian right away!
Eating Watercress
It’s easy to see how watercress got its foothold,so I see a great reason it is still around today.
It is not only delicious, but it is also packed with nutrients.
Watercress is low in calories, yet has high amounts of vitamins and minerals.
Health Benefits of Watercress
The advantages of consuming watercress can almost appear too good to be true, but this is among those superfood plants that are full of valuable vitamins and minerals that contributes to overall health.
Listed below are 7 health benefits watercress has:
- It assists in blood clotting and offers healthy bones. In only 35g of watercress, you have your full recommended daily intake of Vitamin K. Vitamin K is a vitamin that helps your blood clot and is essential for the health of your bones.
- This may sound like a bold statement, but watercress is jam-packed with antioxidants that act against oxidative stress, and watercress may also help prevent colon, lung, prostate and skin cancer. This is because watercress contains glucosinolates that convert into an activated isothiocyanate when cut by a knife or destroyed simply by chewing. Isothiocyanates act by preventing cancer by protecting the healthy cells of the body against damage and carcinogenic substances.
- Watercress is also a natural diuretic. As a diuretic, it promotes urination and may help clear the body of toxins through urination.
- The nutrients in watercress may help lower blood pressure. One study showed participants who consumed watercress every day for eight weeks had lower blood pressure than those who did not consume watercress.
- Watercress is good for heart health, specifically the health of your blood vessels. Watercress contains dietary nitrates which reduce inflammation and open your blood vessels.
- Watercress can also improve your immune system. Watercress does not contain as much vitamin C as vitamin K, but the vitamin C still provides benefits to the immune system.
- Watercress also aids in overall eye health. The combination of vitamin C along with carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, works very well at protecting your eyes against blue lights from screens. Eventually, this reduces the chances of cataracts and macular degeneration.
Ways to Use Watercress
As you can now see how great watercress is for you, here are some suggestions for adding it into your menu right away without having to change your entire menu:
- Swap out your lettuce for watercress. You can use it in salads or use it to swap out for lettuce on sandwiches.
- Mix it in to soup or sauces towards the end of cooking.
- Chop it finely and use it to top things like you would green onion.
- Make a pesto with watercress, and use the pesto to add to pasta, baked potatoes, chicken, wraps, or anything else you would like to add a bit of flavor to.
For watercress pesto: in a food processor, place 100g of watercress, a handful of fresh basil leaves, 1 clove of garlic, 100g of grated pecorino, 5 tablespoons of olive oil, juice of half a lemon, and 50g of pine nuts. Blend until almost a smooth consistency.
How to Grow Watercress
Watercress is similar to herbs, in the sense that they grow best indoors.
Soil or No Soil?
Though the title of this piece may imply you can grow watercress without soil, that is not the case for watercress.
Watercress prefers an aquatic, or at least semi-aquatic, growing medium.
If you do not have a hydroponic garden, the next best option would be using a soilless substrate, such as vermiculite or perlite.
Mixing either of those substrates with peat will help improve water retention, creating a perfect soilless potting mix.
Water
It won’t surprise you to know that watercress likes water.
Watercress typically grows in shallow streams or ponds, where it’s used to living in water.
When growing watercress inside, you need to keep its roots submerged in water at all times.
The best way to do this is to set the pot the plant is in in a tray with an inch or two of water in it.
This will allow you to keep your watercress sitting in water, but also to easily change the water every few days.
Water tends to become stagnant while it sits, and a stagnant environment is unhealthy for your plant.
Sunlight
Watercress enjoys a shady location in your home that receives less than 4 hours of indirect sunlight during the morning.
The ideal location for your watercress plant would be to put it by a window that faces East, so that it can get indirect sunlight in the morning when the sun rises, but will be somewhat shady when the sun goes over the roof of your house.
If you do not have an Eastern facing window, a South or West facing window that is shaded by a tree or another building would be your next best choice.
Temperature and Humidity
Watercress thrives during the cool months and prefers temperatures between 60 and 70F.
The plants can tolerate some frost, though prolonged freezing temperatures will damage the plants.
Watercress prefers higher humidity levels, so if you naturally have a dry house you may want to buy a humidifier to keep near your watercress.
However, as long as you are using the double pot method and keeping the pot with the growing substrate submerged in the dish of water, this should not be an issue.
From Seed to Table
Watercress is easy and quick to grow if you follow these steps.
Growing from Seed
If you plan on growing watercress from seed, you will need:
- a container with lip holes
- a dish that’s a bit bigger than the container to hold water
- watercress seeds
- a mix of vermiculite, perlite, peat and some vermiculite, if you want to use that instead
Once you have everything, set up your pot as follows:
- Fill your smaller ziploc pot with the peat mixture to an inch from the top. Press it down to create a surface for your seeds to sit on top of.
- Generously sprinkle the watercress seeds onto the peat. If anything, err on the side of too many seeds.
- Lightly cover the seeds with a sprinkling of vermiculite. The vermiculite is lighter than any other component in the pot and will allow the sprouts to easily push their way to the top.
- Drop the pot into the dish of water and change the water every other day.
- For the next 15 to 20 days, follow the remaining care and watering tips.
Harvesting Watercress
When your 15 to 20 days is up, it’s time to harvest your watercress.
Your plants should now be about 3 inches – 6 inches tall.
If you harvest your watercress sooner, the leaves will have more bite, and also be a little bit bitter.
If you prefer deeper and more smooth flavor, you should harvest it at the 20-day mark.
To Harvest Watercress – Grab a pair of scissors, and cut what you need. Leave the rest, and check back every few days to cut more.
If you cut more at one time than you can use, just rinse the cut watercress and put it in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 1 week.
The cut watercress will eventually regrow. This will create a bushier plant with larger leaves.
Fixing Common Issues
Watercress has a much larger pest problem than it does with damage to the plant itself.
Plant Damage
There are two main things to watch out for with a watercress plant, and both have something to do with the water:
- Shrivaling Leaves: If the leaves on your watercress are shriveling, most likely your watercress is not getting enough water. Be sure to have fresh water in the pan your watercress pot is sitting in, with the water level reaching a few inches up the pot.
- Yellowing Leaves: If you see a couple of the leaves starting to yellow, it is a sign that the water supply might have mold growth, too much calcium, or other contaminants. Try changing the water more frequently. If that does not fix the issue, you may need to find a different type of water for your plants.
Pests
Watercress are especially prone to aphids, slugs, and snails.
These suck pests are drawn to the high nitrogen in the leaves.
Begin addressing the pests by hand, as the first option for removal.
If the pests are large enough, try picking them off with your fingers and removing them right away.
If you are unable to pick the aphids of by hand, try wiping them off the leaves with a cloth or soft toothbrush.
Then now it is time to eradicate any potential eggs still on the plant. The best way to do this is to apply insecticidal soap.
These types of soap are essentially fatty acids and potassium, and they are very low toxicity, so they will kill most pests, but not hurt your plants, kiddies, bugs, or friends.
If you do not feel comfortable using an insecticide that is labeled an insecticide on the watercress you plan to eat, try to make your own insecticidal soap from other materials you have around the house.
To Do This – Combine one cup of oil (vegetable oil, canola oil, peanut oil, etc.), with one tablespoon of dish soap. Stir it well and coat the top and/or bottom of the leaves of the watercress plant daily until the pests are controlled.
Final Thoughts
Watercress is a tasty and nutritious addition to any meal, and with a little effort can be a cinch to grow at home.
If you follow these steps, you will have an awesome supply of home watercress in no time.
Watch for common signs of stress such as yellowing leaves or pests and be sure to change the water every couple of days so the plant can thrive.
You’ll be enjoying and using fresh watercress throughout the year in no time!