Watercress

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Watercress (lat. Nasturtium officinale) - a perennial from the Cabbage family, growing at a truly lightning speed. By the way, this plant has other names: bruncress, key watercress, as well as water horseradish and watercress.

Description

Despite the fact that watercress is a perennial, in culture it is cultivated exclusively as an annual. This plant is characterized by the complete absence of hairy cover on its surface. But it is endowed with rising and perfectly rooting rather thick stems, which are sometimes also creeping. Such stems are endowed with the ability to form root shoots and reach a height of fifty to eighty centimeters.

The cirrus-dissected leaves of this culture are painted in dark green tones and are equipped with rounded apices and oblong lateral lobes.

Miniature white watercress flowers form either semi-umbellate or spectacular racemose inflorescences. And its fruits are pretty swollen pods, in which small seeds of reddish-brownish shades are placed in two rows. By the way, these seeds are capable of not losing their germination for four to five years.

Where grows

In nature, this culture can be found in the area of swamps and some other reservoirs in the foothills of the Caucasus, in Dagestan, Morocco, Tunisia, as well as in Libya and Egypt. In addition, watercress grows in Algeria and the Azores or Canary Islands. And as a vegetable crop, it has long been successfully cultivated in America, Asia and Western Europe. In Venezuela and Paraguay, watercress has been cultivated for even longer.

Usage

Watercress is a plant that is entirely edible: its pungent mustard flavor appeals to many. In addition, this aquatic beauty is very rich in microelements and vitamins, which are essential for the human body. And calcium with potassium form an extremely successful combination in it. In addition, watercress is also rich in iodine and boasts a relatively low calorie content. Sugar is almost completely absent in it, which makes this culture incredibly useful for all people suffering from diabetes or obesity. He has a place in medical nutrition!

Growing and caring

Best of all, watercress will grow in areas characterized by a mild climate - in the temperate zone, this handsome man will have to be grown under a film. Often this plant is cultivated along the banks of small streams, streams and other flowing reservoirs, the water temperature in which is at least ten to twelve degrees. Watercress grows quite well in running water. And sometimes it is grown hydroponically in greenhouses. Yes, and in ordinary pots at home it is also quite possible to grow it.

In warm seasons, you can grow watercress in the open field, choosing wet and slightly shaded areas for this purpose. The main thing is to provide this handsome man with abundant watering. For planting, they usually take cuttings of shoots cut from uterine specimens, ten to twenty centimeters long. And for their best rooting, it does not hurt to first lower them in half or one third of a vessel filled with water. Approximately in a week and a half, the appearance of roots can be observed. Cuttings are planted in the grooves at a slight angle of inclination. Also, during planting, it is necessary to immediately apply fertilizers (subsequently they are applied every week): they can be either full mineral or purely nitrogen.

The watercress is harvested several times throughout the season. And it reproduces both by cuttings and by means of seeds. This culture is planted by means of seedlings. As a rule, seeds for seedlings are sown in late March or early April, and already on the seventh or eighth day, the watercress pleases with the first shoots. And after thirty to thirty-five days, the seedlings are planted in the ground.

This moisture-loving plant is watered daily, in the mornings and evenings. And so that more shoots are formed on the watercress, it is recommended to pinch its tops. Also, this culture needs systematic weeding and loosening of the soil.