Watercress

Watercress

Nasturtium officinale

Sow outdoors 3 weeks before your last spring frost. Space plants 6 in (15 cm) apart.

Photo: Masparasol, CC BY 3.0 · source

When to plant

Timed from your frost dates, so it holds wherever you garden. Give yours and every step below becomes a date.

See the dates for your garden

Enter your average last spring frost and first fall frost. Every timing on this site turns into a calendar date. Not sure of yours? Your local extension service or a search for “last frost date” and your town will tell you; the app finds them from your location.

Last spring frost
First fall frost

Saved in this browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Optimal Direct Sow

From seedRecommended
  1. Sow outdoors3 weeks before your last spring frost
  2. First harvestabout 45 days after sowing

Optimal Indoor Start

From seed
  1. Start indoors5 weeks before your last spring frost
  2. Begin hardening off1 week before your last spring frost
  3. Plant outaround your last spring frost
  4. First harvestabout 45 days after sowing

Growing watercress

Spacing in the row
6 in (15 cm)
Between rows
6 in (15 cm)
Planting depth
Surface to 1/4 inch
Sun
Partial Shade
Life cycle
Perennial

Feeding

How often
Rarely: watercress has a low nutrient requirement; work in a little compost at planting. Plants grown in pots of standing water need a complete soluble fertilizer added to the water at label rate.

Your watercress, planned to the day.

Canopy turns these timings into dates from your own frost data, places every plant at its spacing on your garden map, and tracks it all the way to harvest.

Add watercress to your planting calendar →

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