Watercress Perennial Greens

×

Watercress Perennial Greens

Nasturtium officinale
Open-pollinated. Perennial to Zone 4, native to Europe. Start seeds indoors and transplant to cold frame, keeping watered, or direct sow in soggy stream bank. Also good in pots. Likes sunshine. Keep picked; it gets bitter once flowers form. Its peppery taste enhances many a salad, soup and tea. Super-nutritious, it has more vitamin C than an orange (was long a treatment for scurvy), more calcium than milk and more iron than spinach. According to University of Connecticut researchers, contains a compound that inhibits numerous types of cancers. Since ancient China and Egypt, has had widespread culinary and medicinal uses. It is also a candidate for possible use in phyto-remediation or wastewater treatment operations.

It is potentially invasive: we cannot ship to Connecticut or Illinois where it is banned. In other warm moist locations, keep a close eye on plantings to prevent its unwanted spread. Its many uses perfectly illustrate the conundrum posed by potentially invasive plants: how do we find ways to control them and harness their many benefits instead of banning them?



3058 Watercress
Item Discounted
From
Quantity
A: 1/16oz for $3.50   
B: 1/8oz for $4.75   
C: 1/2oz for $16.00   
D: 1oz for $24.00   
E: 4oz for $65.00   

Additional Information

Greens

  • Days to maturity are from emergence after direct seeding.
  • All greens are open-pollinated except where noted.

    Culture: When to harvest greens? Research from trials conducted in England and Kenya showed looseleaf lettuce, red chard and arugula harvested in the evening had a longer shelf life than when picked in the morning.

Germination Testing

For the latest results of our germination tests, please see the germination page.

Our Seeds are Non-GMO

Non GMO

All of our seeds are non-GMO, and free of neonicotinoids and fungicides. Fedco is one of the original companies to sign the Safe Seed Pledge.