How to Grow Cress

Learn how to plant and harvest cress in and around your home

Last Updated: February 23, 2023 References Approved

Cress is a plant with a peppery taste that can be added to dishes like salads and soups. It’s a cold season crop filled with Vitamin C that you can easily grow on your own, including indoors.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Growing Cress Outdoors

1
Pick a shady area in your garden. Cress grows well in cool, shady areas. If you try to grow it in hot weather, it becomes bitter, and you can’t eat it. Find a shady area of your garden. You don’t want to grow cress in direct sunlight.^{[1]
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- You only need 1-2 square feet of garden space to plant cress.
- Garden cress is also called broadleaf cress. Curly cress and watercress are other forms of the vegetables, which grow in cool weather. Put cress in either full sun or part shade. Part shade is best for cress.^{[3]
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2
Obtain cress seeds. Cress will easily grow from seeds. You can also grow cress if you have stem pieces of cress cuttings. You can obtain cress seeds in home improvement and garden stores or online.^{[4]
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- Plant cress every two weeks if you want to have a continuous harvest. When using soil to grow cress, choose soil pH of 6.0 to 6.8. Plant the cress in early spring as early as you can work soil. Cover the seed lightly with soil or compost.
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3
Sow the cress. You should plant the cress seeds in your garden early in the spring before the last frost. Cress grows quickly from seeds.^{[5]
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- You will be able to harvest the cress 15 to 20 days after sowing the cress. Plant more crops until mid summer. You can also plant the cress yet again in early fall and during winter.
- Sow cress ¼ inch deep. Sow the seeds thickly in wide rows. Space each row between 18 and 24 inches apart. Try to keep the soil weed free when growing cress.
- You can plant cress with carrots or radishes. This is called intercropping.
4
Water the cress. Cress needs plenty of water to grow. Keep the cress well-watered throughout the growing season. Don’t let cress roots become dry.
- You can spray seedlings daily with water to keep them moist.^{[6]
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5
Thin the cress. Seedlings should sprout after five to fifteen days.^{[7]
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Research source} Once the seedlings are an inch or two tall, you should thin them back until they are six inches apart from one another.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Growing Cress Indoors

1
Plant the cress in a container. Grow the watercress indoors in a water tray. Obtain a shallow tray, such as a plastic food container from a grocery store. Line it with paper tissue or a sterile potting mix.^{[8]
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Research source} Wet the paper or potting mix, but don’t add so much water that it’s swimming in it. Sprinkle seeds over the surface. If using potting mix, sprinkle a little mix over the top of the seeds.
2
Use a pot. Instead of a shallow container, you could also plant the cress in a three-inch pot that you fill with damp compost.
- Sprinkle the seeds onto the surface of the pot. This can be an effective method for growing cress because the cress will eventually starve in a container without soil.
- The soil in the pot, especially if it’s damp compost, will provide the cress with enough nutrients to continue growing the cress. Push the seeds lightly into the soil. Check up on your cress every day until it begins to sprout.
3
Water the cress. You can use a water sprayer to water the container of cress. You can also soak the container in a bucket filled a few inches of water. The soil will soak up moisture through the bottom. This will only work if you have holes in the bottom of your container.
4
Cover the tray with cling film. This will stop evaporation. Without the cling film, the cress could dry out fast. You want space an inch or two of space for growth because the seedlings will hit the ceiling of the film eventually. Germination will likely start in about a couple of days.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Harvesting Cress

1
Cut the cress. Cut or pinch the tips of the cress. Start cutting the cress when it grows to 3 or 4 inches tall. If you cut the plant back to ½ inch, it will quickly regrow.
- Cress tastes best during its early seed-leaf stage. Try to cut and eat the cress before it matures. If you want, you can even eat the sprouts of the cress.
- Snip the stalks off at the base. Store the cress. You can keep cress in your refrigerator for about one week. Seeds can be allowed to sprout.
2
Eat the cress. People use cress as an addition to salads or sandwiches. Sometimes people also snip the cress stalks off at their bases in order to use them as a garnish.
- Add cress to steamed or boiled potatoes and soups. You can replace parsley with cress. Cress is filled with carotenoids, mustard oil, vitamin K, and antioxidants, including vitamin C.
- Once you cut cress, it’s going to continue to grow, yielding additional harvests. You can usually cut cress four or five times before it goes to seed. When it goes to seed, it may still grow, although the taste will be unpalatable.
3
Determine different kinds of cress. There are several different types of cress, although they bear many similarities.
- Garden cress, also called broadleaf cress, has light and bright green leaves. It thrives in damp soil.
- Curly cress, also called cresson, resembles parsley with its finely divided leaves. It’s dark green and also thrives in damp soil.
- Watercress is an annual that is usually grown in water. You can grow watercress indoors in a pot that you set in a tray of water.

Community Q&A

Question

What are the other names for cress?

Community Answer

Cress (Lepidium sativum), is sometimes called garden cress to distinguish it from similar plants also referred to as cress. The word comes from old Germanic "cresso," which means sharp, spicy.
Question

Why does cress need shade to grow?

Community Answer

Some plants are just more sensitive to the sun than others, and their growth can be inhibited or stopped entirely by overexposure to the sun. Shade is essential for cress to grow strong and healthy.
Question

What are the health benefits of cress?

Community Answer

Many. It's good for your eyesight and has been linked to cancer prevention. It's also said to be good for cardiovascular health as well as strong teeth.

Warnings

Do not eat if withered and dry.

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Never use any pesticides or herbicides on the cress.

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