Watercress
Nasturtium officinale
In a typical UK garden, sow indoors early March to early June, plant out mid-April to late June, and harvest mid-May to mid-December.
When to sow, plant and harvest
Last frost around 20 April, first frost around 31 October.
- Sow indoors
- early March to early June
- Plant out
- mid-April to late June
- Harvest
- mid-May to mid-December
Growing facts
- Spacing
- 20 cm apart, rows 30 cm apart
- Square foot
- 4 per square (30 cm squares)
- Sowing depth
- 0.5 cm
- Ready in
- 50 to 60 days from sowing
- Grows to
- 30 cm
- Hardiness
- Hardy to about -15 °C
- Sun
- Copes with some shade
- Crops for
- Several years (perennial)
Growing tip
Grow it in a pot stood in a tray of water topped up daily, and pinch out flowers to keep leaves coming.
More brassicas
Where these figures come from
Every crop in VegLog was checked against published growing advice. Dates are worked out from average frost dates, so they shift with your garden. For watercress, we used:
Grow watercress with VegLog
Add watercress to a bed and VegLog reminds you when to sow, plant out and pick, timed to your own town's frost dates.
