Content
Growing watercress on a windowsill is a simple and affordable way to get delicious greens yourself at any time of the year. Watercress is an unpretentious but very useful plant that can be grown at home on a windowsill.
Features of growing watercress at home on the windowsill
The choice of this type of salad for home gardening is due to the ease of its agricultural technology and the benefits of this variety of cabbage plants. Watercress has a tart taste and low calorie content (33 kcal per 100 g).
Greens are rich in vitamins, folic and ascorbic acid. It has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the thyroid gland and gastrointestinal tract, and is recommended for bronchitis, anemia and cough. Substances contained in watercress stimulate the removal of toxins, calm the nervous system and help with insomnia.
Greens contain many vitamins, essential oils and microelements
Watercress is very useful for smokers, as it helps reduce cravings for nicotine. It can also prevent severe asthma attacks, so its regular use is recommended for people suffering from these diseases.
The advantages of watercress, in addition to ease of care, include frost resistance and shade tolerance.
The first thing you need to do when you decide to grow watercress at home on a windowsill is to buy seeds. They usually choose from the following 3 types:
- sowing;
- whole leaf;
- curly.
The sown variety, up to 21 cm high, is an early-ripening crop with large-lobed leaves and the sharpest taste.
Seed watercress “Zabava” has a slightly spicy taste
Whole-leaf watercress is more in demand for growing on a windowsill, as it has a mild, piquant flavor. It has finely cut leaves and grows to 15-17 cm.
Ducat watercress greens can be added to salads and meat dishes
Curly watercress with the smallest leaf blades reaches 17 cm. The taste is pungent, slightly reminiscent of horseradish.
You can use the Azhur watercress greens to decorate ready-made dishes
You can collect the seeds yourself or purchase them at a specialty store.
When buying seed material, it is worth checking not only the expiration date, but also the integrity of the packaging.
Before planting watercress on the windowsill, you need to stock up on the following equipment:
- container 9-10 cm deep (plastic container, flower pot, bowl, deep plate, special tray);
- cling film;
- substrate (cotton wool, foam rubber, small wood shavings) or soil (a mixture of peat and sand, rotted compost);
- shallow mug or glass;
- tea spoon.
Having prepared the tools, you can start working.
How to grow watercress on a windowsill
The process of growing watercress from seeds on a windowsill does not require major financial investments, extra effort or special time expenditure.
At home, watercress is grown in 2 ways: in soil or substrate.
Preparing the soil and planting container
Containers used for planting on a windowsill must be equipped with drainage holes. It is more advisable to sow lettuce in small containers that can be reused for planting every 16-20 days (depending on the ripening period of the variety).
The selected container is pre-washed and rinsed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Such disinfection will reduce the risk of the spread of pathogenic bacteria.
Even eggshells can act as a container for planting.
You can buy soil at any specialized store, or you can prepare the mixture yourself by mixing soil, humus and river sand in equal parts.
Preparation of planting material
Preliminary preparation requires not only containers and soil, but also planting material. Store-bought watercress seeds are poured into a glass or cup and filled with warm water. This is necessary so that each seed forms a shell. After waiting for 3-5 seconds, the material is caught with a teaspoon and carefully distributed on top of the soil or substrate.
Pre-soaking seeds allows you to identify defects
Self-collected seeds should be pre-soaked in a manganese solution. Floated specimens are unsuitable for sowing, but settled specimens are washed well in running water and used for planting.
Rules for planting watercress on the windowsill
The bottom of the container is drained using fine expanded clay or a special mesh, then soil 6-7 cm thick is filled in and shallow grooves are laid at a distance of 10-12 cm.
The next stage is sowing. This procedure is carried out using a teaspoon or simply pouring water with seeds soaked in it into a container so that they lie along the grooves in a relatively even layer.
It’s more convenient to “sow” watercress using a spoon
After which everything is sprinkled with a thin layer of soil. The latter is not a prerequisite.
Next, cover the container with cling film and leave it on the windowsill for 1-2 days.
Covering with cling film allows you to maintain a comfortable temperature
The procedure for sowing into the substrate is practically no different. However, if the substrate is sawdust or shavings, then they are first scalded with boiling water to prevent the development of mold.
A day later, the landings are checked. By this time, the first tender shoots can already be observed. On the second day, the cling film is removed.
Care
Caring for watercress growing on a windowsill is extremely simple and includes regular watering, fertilizing and visual observation. You can get excellent results only by creating optimal conditions for growing this variety of lettuce.
Optimal growing conditions
For beginners growing watercress on a windowsill in winter, it is important to create a microclimate that is comfortable for the crop, which takes into account temperature, humidity and degree of lighting.
Watercress is classified as a cold-resistant crop, as it germinates already at +5 °C. The optimal regime for the first shoots is 12-18 °C. After 6-7 days, the temperature is adjusted to 20-21 °C, and is no longer raised, since at a temperature of 25 °C the taste of the salad deteriorates (it begins to become very bitter).
For watercress grown on a windowsill, natural light from a window is sufficient. If possible, it is better to place containers with sprouts in the southern parts of the house or apartment.
Watercress does not require additional artificial lighting
The culture loves moisture and requires constant hydration. Spraying from a spray bottle is enough to maintain the desired level of humidity on the windowsill.
Watering
Watercress is very moisture-loving. Even a short-term drought can lead to the destruction of the entire crop. From the moment the first shoots appear until the harvest period, the plant on the windowsill is regularly sprayed with settled water at room temperature.
For spraying use only settled water
Top dressing
8 days after the first shoots of watercress appear, you can fertilize. To do this, make a solution of nitroammophoska at the rate of 5 ml per 10 liters of water. The salad is regularly watered with this solution.However, if the plant shows good and rapid growth, then it should not be fertilized again.
Fertilizing is carried out no earlier than a week after the first shoots
Useful tips
Harvesting must be done within the exact time frame specified for the variety. The most delicious are considered to be sprouts that have reached a height of 10-13 cm. Watercress is harvested in the morning or evening hours, when the plant is in a state of turgor.
Overgrown watercress loses its taste. The sprouts acquire unnecessary hardness and an unpleasant bitter taste. The shoots that have sprouted are also unsuitable for consumption. They not only lose in terms of taste, but also become poorer in chemical composition, becoming less useful.
You can cut the lettuce as soon as the seedlings reach 12-13 cm in height
You can get the maximum harvest volume and excellent tasting properties using a number of useful tips:
- Plantings of watercress that are too dense on the windowsill must be thinned out no later than a week after sowing. If you leave more space between shoots, you will get larger lettuce leaves.
- To prevent the watercress from “laying down” towards the natural light from the window, the container located on the windowsill must be rotated regularly (by 40-45° daily).
- Setting a low temperature in the first week of growth (12-16 °C) helps to build a healthy root system and strengthen the stems without subsequent uncontrolled stretching.
Conclusion
Growing watercress on a windowsill is a simple process of cultivating greens at home at any time of the year. Despite a number of features, even people who have never engaged in “home gardening” can actually implement this procedure.
