Garden cress is a total must-have for any herb garden. The best part? It’s incredibly easy to grow. It’s actually the perfect “starter plant” to get kids excited about gardening and growing their own food. Let’s dive into how you can get your own cress patch started.
Growing Cress on Your Windowsill or Outdoors
If you’re sowing cress seeds, get ready to be amazed by how fast they sprout. We’re talking a germination time of just two days! Once they get going, they grow like crazy if the conditions are right. They really thrive in temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. You can grow them in a greenhouse or right on your kitchen windowsill. Kids especially love helping with the planting and watching the daily progress—it’s almost like a science experiment you can eat.
If you’d rather plant outdoors, you can start as early as March. These hardy little seeds will germinate even when the soil temperature is only around 43 degrees. You can either scatter the seeds across an area or plant them in neat rows about 4 inches apart. Since these herbs love light to help them germinate, don’t bury them deep.
Just press the seeds lightly into the soil or cover them with a very thin dusting of dirt. The big secret to success is keeping the soil consistently moist after sowing. If you want a steady supply of fresh greens, just sow a new batch every time you harvest the old one. During the winter, you can keep the cycle going in a greenhouse.
Care and Harvesting
Cress is about as low-maintenance as it gets. It’s not picky and doesn’t need any special fertilizers or fancy care routines. Just give it a little water every now and then so it doesn’t dry out. If you’re growing your cress in a tray on the windowsill, it’ll usually be ready to harvest about 8 to 10 days after sprouting. Just make sure to snip it before it starts flowering, otherwise, it loses that signature punchy flavor.
For outdoor plants, it takes about two to three weeks until they’re ready for the kitchen. You’ll know it’s time when they’re about “hand-high.” Carefully snip the greens and enjoy them within a few days. Cress is fantastic as a zesty topping on avocado toast, or tossed into salads, soups, and dips. It has a lovely peppery kick and is packed with healthy vitamins!
