Mr Fothergills Mustard & Cress Seed (1)

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Garden cress is genetically related to watercress and mustard, sharing their peppery, tangy flavour and aroma. In some regions, garden cress is known as mustard and cress, garden pepper cress, pepperwort, pepper grass, or poor man's pepper. [2] [3] The true leaves of cress are feathery and divided and plants grow to around six inches high in about four weeks. Leave it longer and it will begin to go to seed, but if this happens don't just throw them out. The fire in the leaves will have died down, but they're still tasty and the tiny white flowers are also edible and provide a tiny mustardy explosion in the mouth. If you harvest by snipping stalks just above a leafy growing point, they may produce a second flush of leaves, but my experience is that cress isn't very keen to regenerate. Sowing a new batch is a better way to keep cress in production. Start by adding a layer of growing medium around 1cm deep. This could be layers of kitchen towel, any absorbent paper waste, cotton wool or peat-free multi-purpose compost

Then find some tissue. Mustard and cress are usually grown on damp tissue (such as kitchen paper) rather than compost. You can use cotton wool, too.

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Cress suffers something of an image problem. There's no doubt that growing it on the windowsill is a great way for youngsters to learn about germination, but we seem to have forgotten that there's more to it than skinny white stalks topped with a couple of immature leaves. Growing cress with children To successfully grow garden cress indoors on soil or on paper towels, follow the step-by-step instructions below: It’s important that the growing medium doesn’t dry out, so to keep the moisture in cover the pot with a lid or plastic wrap. If it does need watering, use a spray.

Firstly, choose a suitable container to grow your cress in. ‘You could use a plastic container with damp paper towel, or even use an old cup filled with moist cotton wool,’ says Smith. Bear in mind, cress usually grows better in soil, so consider filling your tray with a light layer of compost. Alternatively, you can use a growing mat or felt. Edible shoots are typically harvested in one to two weeks after planting, when they are 5–13cm (2–5in) tall. [7] Culinary uses [ edit ] Replacing high calorie foods with low calorie foods may help lower your calorie intake. Notably, you can eat a lot of these foods without adding much to your daily calorie intake ( 12). So, I hope I've convinced you. For the effort of sowing a few seeds that would otherwise provide about enough garnish for a cheese sandwich, you will, by letting cress grow, gain handfuls of leafy growth. Cress tends to lose its flavour when cooked, but it certainly adds texture and a mustardy warmth to any salad. Garden cress (Lepidium sativum)Perhaps the most familiar of all, garden cress is a hardy annual, which you can grow as an indoor garden idea all year round on a windowsill. You can grow it outdoors too at certain times of the year. It’s the seedling leaves which are harvested and have a mildly peppery flavor. Speedy and easy to grow, it’s a perfect garden activity for kids as a grow-your-own project. Mustard (Sinapsis alba) is often grown with cress in a mustard-and-cress mixture, but is even faster! So sprinkle in the mustard seed 2-3 days after sowing the cress.Still, while garden cress may help protect the liver and kidneys, more rigorous human studies are needed. Summary Scatter the garden cress seeds over the soil or the paper towels. If you are using soil, press the seeds in lightly and sprinkle lightly with a little extra soil. Place the container or tray in a sunny indoor location, such as on a window sill. Harvest your cress when you want to use it, by snipping the stems. It doesn’t keep long once it has been cut.

Cultivation of cress is practical both on mass scales and on the individual scale. Garden cress is suitable for hydroponic cultivation and thrives in slightly alkaline water. In many local markets, the demand for hydroponically grown cress can exceed available supply, partially because cress leaves are not suitable for distribution in dried form, so they can only be partially preserved. Consumers commonly acquire cress as seeds or (in Europe) from markets as boxes of young live shoots. [6] I don't really see the point of growing cress only to scythe it down when it's barely got going, and I'm moderately confident that, once you've tried the grown-up version, neither will you. With only 16 calories per 1 raw cup (50 grams), garden cress is a low calorie food that may even promote weight loss. Although the relationship between these fatty acids isn’t entirely understood, maintaining a healthy balance of omega-3s to omega-6s is crucial for reducing your risk of heart disease. This is due to the effects of this ratio on inflammation ( 20, 21, 22).Research also suggests that high protein, low carb diets aid weight loss by helping you feel full, thereby reducing your calorie intake ( 12, 13). Harvest your cress as soon as the seedlings are well developed, with a pair of green leaves fully open. Use scissors to snip off the cress close to the base In a test-tube study, human liver cells preexposed to toxic hydrogen peroxide were then exposed to garden cress extract. The extract inhibited oxidative stress by 56% and prevented cell death by 48% ( 16). ORGANIC INDIA, Organic Herbs - Garden Cress". Archived from the original on 2010-02-06 . Retrieved 2010-03-08.

Lepidium sativum L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017 . Retrieved 13 July 2020. Sprinkle cress seeds over the surface of the pot,’ says Chris Bonnett, owner of Gardening Express. Don’t be tempted to sow the seeds too densely, or the seedlings will be competing for space – keep to a light sprinkle. They returned in another Launder and Gilliat script, Night Train to Munich (1940), helping Rex Harrison to stay undercover in Hitler's Germany; passing secret messages under doughnuts; attempting to buy a copy of Punch at a newspaper stand, but finding only Mein Kampf. "I understand they give a copy to all bridal couples here," declares Radford. "Oh," replies Wayne, "I don't think it's that sort of book, old man."

If you have the space, there is nothing to be lost by experimenting. If all fails, then it will only take a few days to grow a fresh new crop. Where does cress grow best? An alternative to the kitchen roll method is to sprinkle them onto the surface of a three-inch pot (or larger) full of damp compost. This is the way to go if you want to grow the little seedlings on further, as they'll soon need the nutrients in the soil to progress and will starve on kitchen roll. Growing grown-up cress Put a layer of tissue in the bottom of the plastic tray, and make it damp. You can dribble water in, or use a plant mister, but you don’t want too much water – no puddles. Cress seeds tend to germinate in around 24 hours, and the seedlings will soon be ready to eat. ‘You will be harvesting in a matter of 5-7 days,’ says Bonnett.