Garden cress: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How do you sow garden cress outdoors?
Sow garden cress, Lepidium sativum, directly outdoors once the soil is no longer frozen and conditions allow steady growth. Choose sun or light shade with moist, well-drained soil. This annual grows quickly: autumn sowing is for a harvest before cold weather, not a guaranteed crop the following spring.
Weed and prepare a fine surface. Sow thinly broadcast or in rows according to the packet, then cover very lightly with fine soil at the recommended depth. Water gently without moving seeds and keep moisture consistent, without standing water or drying out.
Sow small batches about every two weeks during suitable weather to renew the crop. Adjust thinning to your intended harvest: close-grown baby shoots or more widely spaced plants for developed leaves. Watch for slugs and check young plants. Garden cress grows in soil or containers; do not confuse it with watercress.
For indoor young shoots, prepare a small clean container with damp cotton wool squeezed free of excess water, or with potting compost. Scatter garden cress seeds on the surface, press gently and keep warm and bright without scorching sun through glass. Check daily: keep the growing medium moist without standing water. Cut the shoots above it when sufficiently developed, often after one to two weeks depending on conditions. Cotton wool suits this short crop; for longer-lasting plants, use potting compost and more space. Renew the crop with small successive sowings.
How do you harvest garden cress?
Harvest garden cress when shoots or leaves reach the size you want, according to growing method and conditions. Baby shoots can be ready very quickly; more developed leaves need longer. Do not limit harvesting to spring and autumn if you also grow indoors in containers.
Cut baby shoots with clean scissors above the growing medium, without collecting soil. A very low cut may prevent regrowth: renew the crop with another sowing. On more developed plants, pick a few leaves while keeping young leaves and the growing centre so growth can continue.
Eat promptly or keep briefly in the fridge, checking condition rather than guaranteeing a week of freshness. Rinse before use and discard spoiled shoots. Freezing changes texture: use frozen cress in cooked dishes rather than as a crisp garnish.
Garden cress
- Type : Vegetables
- Subtype : Leafy vegetables
- Botanical Family : Brassicaceae (cruciferous)
Characteristics
- Lifecycle : Annual
- Exposure : Partial Shade
- Frost Hardiness : Frost Resistant
- Cultivation Difficulty : Easy
- Mature height : 15 cm
Sowing & Planting
- Greenhouse Growing : Not Required
- Sowing Depth : 1 cm
- Plant Spacing : 5 cm
- Row Spacing : 20 cm
Maintenance
- Maintenance : Low
- Water Requirements : Moderate
Other characteristics
- Soil Type : Humus-rich
- Soil pH Preference : Neutral
- Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
- Disease Sensitivity : Low
- Weed Sensitivity : Moderate
- Pollination : Insect-pollinated
- Propagation : Sowing