divaqs's Blog

WaterCress
Apr 23, 2007 | 4:04 PM PST
Tags: watercress , water plant , edible , creek , spring , water garden

I have a spring that starts in my next door neighbor’s yard, forms a little creek in my yard, before flowing in to and out of a pond. 

Here is a picture of the top part of my creek, which has filled with watercress, below the ostrich ferns.

I planted watercress by seed in my creek a couple of years ago. I believe seed is the easiest way to plant it, due to the fragility of the plants. Since I planted it, it has been growing to such an extent that in the spring and fall time it can go from a little plant to filling my creek in about a month’s time. During the summer it seems to slowdown in growth. I have had to be pretty aggressive in controlling it, which has been easy since the plants are not deeply rooted and kind of float on the shallow water.

Watercress has a kind of mild peppery flavor to it. My primary use has been as a substitute for lettuce on sandwiches, which is pretty good. I tried adding it to stir fry, which I heard is done in China, but it didn't pass my kids taste test, so I doubt I will do that again.

Wikipedia claims that:
"Watercress contains significant amounts of iron, calcium and folic acid, in addition to vitamins A and C....Many benefits from eating watercress are claimed, such as that it acts as a mild stimulant, a source of phytochemicals and antioxidants, a diuretic, an expectorant, and a digestive aid. It also appears to have cancer-suppressing properties." Wikipedia  also warns to not harvest it around farm animals, due to possible contamination from parasites, of course, this should apply to any vegetable or salad green harvested and used in its raw form.

I am looking for more great uses of this prolific plant and would love any suggestions.