Watercress has become very popular today because of its beneficial properties and ease of preparation. These funny elongated stems with bright green round leaves contain a huge amount of vitamins and minerals and are great both for decorating dishes on your table, and as an ingredient in salads and side dishes. Growing watercress at home is much easier than it might seem at first glance. It is enough to show some patience and wait a little.
Necessary
Container for growing seedlings, nutrient soil "Universal" or "Vegetable", water, lettuce seeds
Instructions
Step 1
Purchase watercress seeds from the store. It is best to do this in the store, because only there you will have the opportunity to check the expiration date of the batch and choose exactly the type of salad that you want. For growing at home, it is best to use unpretentious varieties such as "Narrow-leaved", "Shirokolistny", "Curly", "Standard" or any others whose agricultural technology allows growing on a windowsill. Pour 8-10 cm of soil into the container and, if necessary, slightly moisten it. Fertile soil is usually already wet, but it happens that it dries up. In this case, water the soil in a container and let it sit for a while so that the moisture is completely absorbed.
Step 2
Planting watercress is best in autumn or early spring. For autumn planting, September is suitable, for spring planting - the end of February or early March. It is necessary to sow seeds with a dense carpet, so that the seedlings rise in one total mass, without forming bald spots and empty places. For watercress shoots, the following sowing frequency is maintained: 2 grams of seeds per 10 cm2. The soil layer on which you are sowing must be compacted; for this, first tamp the surface with your palms. Top the seeds with a layer of soil a little less than 1 cm and also lightly tamp. Remember that the soil under the seeds must be firm for the root system to develop better. The soil covering the seeds should not hinder their germination and be too heavy and hard.
Step 3
Watercress prefers cool areas of the apartment with good lighting. Place your container in a room where the temperature is 10-12 degrees at the north or northwest window. A higher temperature for seedlings is undesirable. Until the first shoots appear above the soil surface, the container with soil can be placed in a dark place. Usually, a week after sowing, and sometimes even earlier, shoots appear. Immediately after this, the container must be installed on the windowsill. Remember to water your salad liberally so it can grow quickly and remain juicy and meaty.
