You only need 1-2 square feet of garden space to plant cress. Garden cress is also called broadleaf cress. Curly cress and watercress are other forms of the vegetables, which grow in cool weather. Put cress in either full sun or part shade. Part shade is best for cress. [3] X Research source

Plant cress every two weeks if you want to have a continuous harvest. When using soil to grow cress, choose soil pH of 6. 0 to 6. 8. Plant the cress in early spring as early as you can work soil. Cover the seed lightly with soil or compost.

You will be able to harvest the cress 15 to 20 days after sowing the cress. Plant more crops until mid summer. You can also plant the cress yet again in early fall and during winter. Sow cress ¼ inch deep. Sow the seeds thickly in wide rows. Space each row between 18 and 24 inches apart. Try to keep the soil weed free when growing cress. You can plant cress with carrots or radishes. This is called intercropping.

You can spray seedlings daily with water to keep them moist. [6] X Research source

Sprinkle the seeds onto the surface of the pot. This can be an effective method for growing cress because the cress will eventually starve in a container without soil. The soil in the pot, especially if it’s damp compost, will provide the cress with enough nutrients to continue growing the cress. Push the seeds lightly into the soil. Check up on your cress every day until it begins to sprout.

Cress tastes best during its early seed-leaf stage. Try to cut and eat the cress before it matures. If you want, you can even eat the sprouts of the cress. Snip the stalks off at the base. Store the cress. You can keep cress in your refrigerator for about one week. Seeds can be allowed to sprout.

Add cress to steamed or boiled potatoes and soups. You can replace parsley with cress. Cress is filled with carotenoids, mustard oil, vitamin K, and antioxidants, including vitamin C. Once you cut cress, it’s going to continue to grow, yielding additional harvests. You can usually cut cress four or five times before it goes to seed. When it goes to seed, it may still grow, although the taste will be unpalatable.

Garden cress, also called broadleaf cress, has light and bright green leaves. It thrives in damp soil. Curly cress, also called cresson, resembles parsley with its finely divided leaves. It’s dark green and also thrives in damp soil. Watercress is an annual that is usually grown in water. You can grow watercress indoors in a pot that you set in a tray of water.