Watercress from cuttings!

[veg4681]

Just been gathering my notes on growing watercress and guess what, it says you can grow from cuttings, even from shop bought ones. Has anybody tried this?

Funny thing is when someone mentioned that sweet basil can be easily propagated from cuttings in another thread, watercress came to my mind then. Here's another thing, you can grow watercress indoors in a pot set in a tray of water! Damn I could have been eating them by now all through the winter .

I have 14 tiny seedlings, would that be enough to feed me as the notes say to sow seeds thickly, bit like spring onions. I could have been more generous, couldn't I?

[valmarg]

Yes Veg, we've grown watercress from cuttings. I bought a bag some time ago, and it didn't get used. OH noted is was rooting, so he took it into the greenhouse, and potted in an old washing-up bowl. We've now got plenty.

It might have been me that suggested basil could easily be rooted. Basically if you buy a pot of supermarket basil and take the tops out of the plants it will encourage the plant to bush out, and if you put the tops in a bowl of water they very easily root. I think it was from an Australian Women's Weekly cookbook I got the tip from. When the cuttings are well established you can repeat the process.

I have also rooted french tarragon from a supermarket pack.

valmarg

[sallym]

Last year I put the last bits of a bag of watercress in my ponds. Now have loads of cress and nice clear ponds.

[BarleySugar]

I grew some from seed last year, and found it rooted as the plants scrambled over the seed tray. It did well until we went on holiday. My 19 year old was house and garden sitting, so most stuff was pretty crispy once we got back! I won't mention the house! Cats were OK though
I've got some clumps of seedlings going for this year, didn't think of planting some from the supermarket

[JohnVisual]

ive had a cutting of watercress (from a supermarket bag) in a cup of water for the past week and its shooting very well and has grown lots of roots, so what do i do with it now?

Put it in a bucket of water or in a pot of really wet compost in a pot of water?

If i went for the compost idea will i still need to change the water every few days?

ta John.

[veg4681]

I'm sure you can pot it but set the pot in a tray of water or something like that.

[JohnVisual]

ok so i just need to keep toping the water up instead of changing it then?

[Headfry]

I grow it....yummy and easy!
I sow seeds in large peatfree compost filled pot and water lots! that easy!!!