Watercress

[SueA]

Another tip I'd like to pass on ,similar to the idea of splitting pots of supermarket herbs up & growing them on , is growing watercress from bags of salad from the supermarket. If you buy a bag of watercress or mixed salad with some in take a few pieces out & put them in a jar/glass of water where they will form roots. You can then pot them up or do what I do which is drop them in the pond. Watercress apparently helps keep the water clean & prevents algae build up, it seems to help a little bit in mine but it is fairly small & congested anyway.

[Alice]

Thanks for that SueA, will certainly try your watercress tip. Used to grow the bean sprouts in jars but got out of the habit. May go back to that.

[blackkitty]

I grow watercress in a little stream effect part of our pond to help keep the water quality good. I don't eat it from there though as I think there are quite a few nasties in the water. I pot some up and cover the srface with gravel and then sink this in a larger pot where I change the water every day or so to grow for eating.

[SueA]

My OH developed a taste for watercress after Jamie Oliver's ad for a ham sandwich with watercress & mustard was on T.V. He'd never shown an interest in it before but now wants me to grow it because it's so expensive in the shops. I've never eaten what I grow in the pond but am going to grow it in a pot as well & will try the pot-in-pot method you use blackkitty.

[nick the grief]

It should be OK from the pond Sue, after all you put Cowsh.. er Muck on you garden & then eat Veg, so what ever the fish are up to wont hurt, in fact you'll lower the Nitrate & nitrite levels in your pond

[SueA]

I only use chicken poo pellets on my veg. so I'll probably come down with chicken flu anyway! I suppose if I give the stuff out of the pond a good wash it'll be alright.

[Lesley Jay]

Sue I wouldn't eat it from the pond. They grow watercress in moving clean water so try Blackkitty's way.

[SueA]

I won't eat it out of the pond LJ but my OH might- he's got a cast iron stomach & can eat anything without getting ill whilst I only have to look at something slightly dodgy to keel over!

[blackkitty]

The main reason I don't eat it out of the pond is something called Wiels (no idea of spelling) disease. Its spread by rats and mice, your chances of ever getting it are about 20million to one but still... For the same reason I never drink beer etc out of a bottle in pubs. Should I really have done that advanced food hygeine course?

[sewer rat]

BK
Its Weils Disease and is spread in rat's urine (though to the best of my knowledge, not mine ) and is very very unpleasant.
You should not eat watercress, or anything else for that matter, from a pond or any stagnant or still water - can be full of nasties . When I was hillwalking / climbing, I only ever drank water from fast flowing streams, and then preferably from waterfalls - have done this all my life and have survived

[Nicos]

I'm trying to sort out my family tree, and I'm pretty sure that it was my grandfather's grandfather's brother who died picking watercress (according to the local legal documents...so it's dangerous stuff!!) It was suggested he was a little under the influence at the time!!! ...Anyone made watercress wine??