Watercress
General information: watercress - an annual plant. Culture came to us from the depths of the zeks: it was sown in ancient Egypt and ancient Rome. It is now common in many countries. The root leaves of the watercress are petiolate, pinnate-dissected or whole, oval, at the jagged margin. The stem is branched, reaches a height of 1 m. This is a cold-resistant early-ripening plant.
Requirements: the cress requires quite a lot of light and needs good moisturizing and high soil fertility, but it is better for it to be light and rich in humus.
Ingredients: leaves contain up to 119 mg% ascorbic acid, up to 4.9 mg% carotene, there are vitamins B, iodine, iron and other mineral elements. Cress salad is rich in salts of potassium, calcium and phosphorus, as well as protein. The leaves of the glucoside mustard oil gives the plant an acute taste.
Cultivation: seeds are sown very early in the open ground - in late April - early May. To prolong the time of using fresh greens, they sow it every 7-10 days before the onset of hot and dry weather. At the end of the summer, the crops are renewed.
seeds are sown in several rows with a distance between them of 15 cm. The seeding depth is 0.5-1 cm. The seeding rate is 1.5-5 g / m2.Seedlings are thinned to a distance of 6-8 cm. One-row sowing with a row spacing of 30-45 cm or a 2-line ribbon with a spacing of 20 lines can be used, and between the strips - 50 cm. The shoots in rows are thinned by 8-10 cm. Cresscan be grown in winter and spring at home - in boxes with a small layer of soil( 5-7 cm) or shallow vessels on a damp cloth. Seeds are sown densely, sprouting( 15-20 g / m2) to a depth of 0.5 cm.
Varieties of
There are three types of watercress - early with dissected leaves, medium curly and broadleaf, with a longer vegetation period. Of the varieties with dissected leaves in the middle band, Uzkolistny 3, from curly - Curly cress, with one-piece plate - is grown. The broad-leaved and .
Care: similar to lettuce.
Harvesting: the harvest is suitable after 2 - 3 weeks, when the leaves in the rosette will develop well, and in single plants the stem will begin to grow. They are pulled or cut, tied into small bundles and stacked in a shallow container, lightly sprayed with water.
Usage: the leaves of the rosette and the lower leaves are used for food together with the young stalk. They are added to salads, vinaigrettes, used as a seasoning and garnish for different dishes. In diet food cress-salad is used for the prevention of scurvy and avitaminosis. It has a beneficial effect, improves sleep, lowers blood pressure.