HERBS > CRESS
IN THIS GUIDE
CRESS GUIDES
A dash of cress does hoist an egg sandwich to the next level – but that ’s far from capture the full largeness and glory of the flavour contributions this humble leafage provides .
And while cress is typically reasonably cheap , there are also a few other potential benefit .
Firstly , it ’s as easy as anything – cress is one of the easiest thing we ’ve ever grown , make it a groovy innovation for fresh gardeners or for those of us stress to show new people the wonders of arise .
“ cress plant germinate so easily that it clear it extremely utile as a plant for use in nestling ’s bodily process , but it is also a capital well-to-do - to - grow salad crop for a window sill , ” shares Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly .
And secondly , it ’s versatile – there are several ways you could grow this plant ( includinginsideeggs , as above ) , making it fun and flexible .
Overview
PreferredFull Sun
ExposureIndoors
Height0.01 – 0.05 M
Spread0.01 – 0.05 M
PreferredAny growing media , damp substratum or water
MoistureMoist
pHAny
There are a few plant that go by the namecress , and while it ’s unbelievable that this confusedness will go to you buying the wrong plant , let us elucidate .
This plant is calledLepidium sativum .
It ’s the cress we ’re all familiar with , and it ’s nearly related to mustard , as demonstrate by its feisty flavour.1Garden Cress . ( n.d . ) . iNaturalist . Retrieved March 14 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/341453
In different parts of the UK this plant goes by regional figure like ‘ clover fern ’ , ‘ Pepper Grass ’ or , somewhat judgmentally , ‘ Poor Man ’s Pepper ’ .
How To Grow Cress
Now you ’re decently introduced , let ’s take a smell at how to produce cress .
Growing cress indoors is sluttish – all you need is a container and something to put the seminal fluid on ( potting premix will do , but you may use kitchen roll or toilet roll as well ) .
Here are the steps –
If you prefer the esthetic of growing cress in a flowerpot instead of a container , you may develop it more traditionally as well .
To do this , tot up soil to a pot and scatter seeds on top , then press each one gently just below the surface .
cress plant alsoworks well in a windowsill herbaceous plant garden .
While cress grows just fine on tissue , it will have memory access to far more nutrients when grown in stain .
This will keep it produce for longer and extend your harvest – something to gestate in mind when decide how to farm it !
If you ’ve decided to grow alfresco , cress likes a coolheaded and shady spot .
Growing in direct sunshine lead to bitterness , making it much less pleasant to eat .
Here are the stair for growing cress outdoors –
When growing cress plant alfresco you have a few options to make thing a bit more interesting .
First up is intercropping , which involves uprise cress plant around other plants .
Carrotsand cress are a good pairing , as are cress plant andradishes .
you may also set yourself up with a uninterrupted harvest by reel planting : to do this just plant out a Modern course each fortnight , commence in other spring .
It ’s OK to plant out cress plant before the last Robert Lee Frost as it ’s fairly hardy , so stick out this in nous when planning planting times .
Harvesting
One thing you ’ll notice about cress is that it grows chop-chop .
It ’s ready to eat within a duad of calendar week of planting and sample well when young , so do n’t exit it too long to reap .
harvest home is easy , too : just trim down the stalks with scissors or , if you ’ve got time to spare , by pinching them with your fingers .
Once reap the stalking will continue to grow , giving you more cress in a few day metre .
Most crop will give 3 - 5 harvests before going to sow , at which point they ’ll depart to taste caustic and unpleasant .
While cress plant is in its early seminal fluid foliage leg you could exhaust the whole stalk and seed if you require to .
Whether you go for indoor or outdoor growing , we ’re sure you ’ll get a lot from this flora .
