How to Grow Watercress? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Planting Methods

Watercress is also called douban cai (watercress). It is an aquatic herbaceous plant, but dryland cultivation techniques now also exist. It is mainly cultivated in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Fujian in China. Watercress has a fairly comprehensive nutrient content and has the effects of promoting menstruation, contraception, diuresis and relieving cough, making it a vegetable with great health value. So how do you grow watercress now? Today let us find out.

1. Choosing the Planting Site

For planting watercress, the site is generally a paddy field or dryland with convenient irrigation conditions. Next, the soil of the planting site must be sufficiently fertile and have strong fertilizer- and water-holding capacity, so the soil is generally clay loam or loam; sandy soil must not be used. There should be just the right amount of shade near the planting site, which can reduce the work and cost of building shade structures. Paddy fields should be leveled, dryland should be deep-plowed, and sufficient base fertilizer should be applied. The beds should be prepared and left ready for sowing.

2. Scientific Sowing

Watercress can be planted in all four seasons, but the best planting time is August and September each year. Watercress is generally planted by cuttings, so watercress bought from the market can be used for cutting propagation. For paddy field planting, the row spacing is generally about 15 to 20 cm, and the plant spacing is about 10 cm. For dryland planting, the row spacing is about 15 cm, and the plant spacing is about 12 cm. Insert the seedlings into the prepared soil, with about three or four seedlings per hole, and insert them shallowly about 2 cm into the soil.

3. Field Management

Watercress has relatively high water and fertilizer requirements, so there are also certain differences between paddy field planting and dryland planting management. If planting in a paddy field, after planting we need to put shallow water into the field, generally about 2 cm deep, and then as the plants grow, gradually increase the water level; generally the water level in the field will not exceed 5 cm. For dryland planting, water after transplanting, then water once every three or four days to maintain soil moisture. We also need to fertilize reasonably, mainly with quick-acting fertilizers, spraying foliar fertilizer and applying decomposed organic fertilizer.

4. Harvesting and Seed Saving

Watercress should be harvested in batches. Generally, after transplanting, when the watercress has grown to about 30 cm tall, the first harvest can be carried out. After harvesting, we need to fertilize once, mainly with urea. There are generally two types of watercress propagation, namely asexual propagation and seed-setting propagation. For asexual propagation, selected plants are kept for seed; for seed propagation, seeds are used for seed saving. The fruit generally matures in May, and then the seeds can be saved.

The above is an introduction to the methods of growing watercress. If you would like to learn more about watercress, you can consult the editor, or directly follow us to get more detailed content.