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  • From: Marimike6@cs.com
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] watercress culture
  • Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2007 09:22:45 EST

Lawrence asks "what are good ways to grow real watergress, the aquatic kind?
Hydroponically, aquaponically, in a creek or pond? How clean does the water
need to be and what rate of flow. I was thinking of setting up a watercress
pool
fed with water from my pond, purified with duckweed and cattails.I would use
one of those siphon pumps on a garden hose to make a flow loop from pond to
pool and back to the pond, continuously."

Growing cress is an old tradition around the mid Atlantic states, and is
thought to require a shallow stream to bed the cress in. But apparently
that's not
so, and running water is not required. The shady glade apparently is-- as
well as being a very pleasant site to garden. Here are a couple of pages
telling
us how it's done:

http://www.garden.org/foodguide/browse/veggie/lettuce_planting/438

http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/watercress.html

I think the tradition got started because that's where cress occurs
naturally-- and that method requires less tending-- and the location keeps
your farm
animals from messing up the cress-- and because, well, that's just the
tradition. Go against it at your risk.

Fortunately us modern folks know ever so much better. :)



  • Re: [permaculture] watercress culture, Marimike6, 02/17/2007

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