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Thursday, 7 May 2020

Increasing my stock of Watercress

We love Watercress, and it's so easy to grow! The two pots of it that I kept from last year have flowered now, so the stems are tough and stringy - no longer any good for eating.


I will let these plants run to seed and save the seeds from them like I did last year, but that won't happen for a few weeks yet.


Ideally, I would like some fresh Watercress soon, so I need to propagate some in a different way. I snipped off a few sprigs of it the other day and rooted them in water.


I have now planted these up in a pot of moist soil (no, Watercress does not need running water in which to grow!).


This is the quickest way to get more Watercress, but I'm also trying a different way...

I mentioned recently that I had found lots of tiny Watercress plants coming up in my Onion bed. These must have grown from seeds contained in the homemade compost with which I mulched that bed. An unintended occurrence, but a welcome one.


I decided to transplant some of the little seedlings into pots. I carefully lifted a few, trying to avoid damaging their roots.


These look like very healthy young plants!


I put half a dozen into each of two 9-inch pots, filled with moist garden soil.


The last part of the procedure is to water them well to help them settle in, then put them in a shady place for a couple of days to get established. After that they can come out into the full sunshine, and within a fairly short space of time they should be ready for cropping!


I do like getting free plants!

2 comments:

  1. Hi Mark , do you know anything about Apple trees please.
    I bought a 2yr old tree last October and planted it, it was really happy and has had masses of blossom.
    But I have noticed since the blossom is beginning to drop the leaves are getting ants and greenflies and it's looking droopy and sad.
    I am wondering if the amount of young apples that are starting to form is far too much and it's stressing the tree.
    Do you think I should remove all the fruit this year or perhaps most of it. I don't want to lose the tree.
    It is a James Grieve bought from a reputable garden centre .
    Hope you can help. Regards Jane

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