Watercress

[pigletwillie]

Our filter bed is a stream Nick, with a 10" deep bed of gravel at the bottom.

I may try it again in a pot to keep it contained as it is worse than mint in its invasiveness. The pond is however crystal clear thanks to its assistance.

[JennieAtkinson]

All very intersting - thanks folks!

[goddess]

watercress

i rooted a couple of stems from supermarket bag and then planted them in the garden in a semi shaded area.they have been useless over summer but since autum they really put alot of growth.iam intersted in the box method described by mb,do you put holes in the box for drainage or not?g

[Waffler]

This is an interesting one! I too wanted to grow watercress, and although we have a pond which has a sort of 'waterfall' (smirk ) down in to a little stream, running in to the main pond, I ended up opting for the landcress. Now I'm wondering whether I should've got the real mccoy. Anyway, it's one of my experiments for this year. I'm intrigued by the idea of rooting stems from the supermarket though - for the sake of £1 something, I might give it a go for the 'stream'.
They tend to advise you not to grow watercress if you're growing it anywhere near grazing 4 legged creatures for the reasons mentioned before. Actually I wonder if that's why I decided against it; we often have cows grazing in the field at the back of ours. I guess it must be a good 40' or so from the pond though, but I don't know how close is too close.

[supersprout]

A chum of mine with a tiny garden grows veg in pots. She grows lovely watercress in a pot within a deep(ish) tray kept full of water.

Another really idea here?
http://www.downsizer.net/Projects/Gr...a_Herb_Spiral/

[Kazzie]

Hiya, can I grow watercress in a bath in m veggie plot if I part change the water evry few days ie hose in some more so it overflows a bit...? thanks Kazzie

[snakeshack]

I stuck some leftover bits from the supermarket in the pond 2 years ago,I'm pulling out 2-3 bin bags full every 2 weeks now,you have to beat it off with a stick or it keeps catching up with you,makes great compost though & tastes just fine .

[blackkitty]

Jennie
Once you get watercress growing, nothing stops it . Just root some from the supermarket in water, plant in damp compost and stand well back. I grow it in a pot and just keep the soil very damp. Last year we had some in the compost and it hadn't rotted completely and we had plants everywhere. We grow it in the pond for filtration and it survives the water being frozen in winter.
You do need to be careful about eating pond grown watercress if there's any chance that you have rats or mice around as the water can carry weils disease. (it's a very small chance but it is there )

[pipscariad]

Marshalls have Watercress Aqua seeds, which they say can be grown without running water, in pots. Not sure whether anyone has tried these. I think I may have missed the boat with landcress seeds this year?

[stevemac]

Jennie
Once you get watercress growing, nothing stops it . Just root some from the supermarket in water, plant in damp compost and stand well back. I grow it in a pot and just keep the soil very damp. Last year we had some in the compost and it hadn't rotted completely and we had plants everywhere. We grow it in the pond for filtration and it survives the water being frozen in winter.
You do need to be careful about eating pond grown watercress if there's any chance that you have rats or mice around as the water can carry weils disease. (it's a very small chance but it is there )

Is the pond grown watercress in a pot or floating?
Having read about the filtration of watercress on here ,i threw some supermarket watercress in my pond but it has'nt rooted at all.Should i have potted it first or is it still too early to root?

Thanks
Steve

[bluemoon]

I've grown it in flower buckets that I didn't drill holes in, just kept the compost very well watered. I think the problems with watercress are with the wild sort, people used to pick it straight from streams, but there are problems now, not knowing what's in the water in the form of chemicals and bacteria and parasites. There's definitely a worry about wild watercress and liver flukes.

[Demeter]

Marshalls have Watercress Aqua seeds, which they say can be grown without running water, in pots. Not sure whether anyone has tried these. I think I may have missed the boat with landcress seeds this year?

Loads of time for land cress.

[blackkitty]

Stevemac
Ours in the pond is growing in the header pond but is floating, it keeps spreading to the waterfall, where it roots in the pebbles but I pull it out of there as it grows so prolifically it blocks the flow. I rooted mine in a glass of water and let the roots get an inch or longer before moving it to the pond. I put the original piece between a pot and the edge just to stop it drifting about too much.

[selfraising]

I grew mine in an old tin bath which has also got a gunnera growing in it. I just made sure the soil stayed boggy.

[stevemac]

Thanks blackkitty,
My pond is one of the free standing ones like this one on ebay:

free standing pond on eBay, also Water Features, Ponds Water Features, Garden Plants, Home Garden (end time 27-Mar-09 12:11:42 GMT)

I've tried straw but within days/weeks the water goes dark green and i cannot see the fish.

I will keep trying the watercress but i don't know if it will ever stay clear(ish).