How to Grow Watercress? Detailed Explanation of Planting Methods and Key Technical Points

Watercress is also called douban cai (watercress). It is an aquatic herbaceous plant, but dryland cultivation techniques now also exist. It is mainly grown in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Fujian in China, among other places. Watercress has a relatively 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 should watercress be grown now? Today let us find out.

1. Planting Site Selection

For watercress, the planting site generally should be paddy field or dryland with convenient irrigation conditions. Next, the soil at the planting site must be sufficiently fertile and have strong fertilizer and water retention, so the soil is generally clay loam or loam, and 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 sheds. Paddy fields should be leveled, dryland should be deeply plowed, and sufficient base fertilizer should be applied. Beds should be prepared well 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 the seedlings for watercress can simply be watercress bought from the market, which 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 land, with about three or four seedlings per hole, and insert them shallowly into the soil about 2 cm.

3. Field Management

Watercress has relatively high requirements for water and fertilizer, so there are also certain differences between the management of paddy field planting and dryland planting. If planting in paddy fields, then after planting we need to put shallow water into the field, generally about 2 cm deep, and then gradually increase the water level as the plants grow. Generally, the water level in the field will not exceed 5 cm. For dryland planting, watering is needed after transplanting, and then once every three or four days to maintain soil moisture. We also need to carry out reasonable fertilization, generally 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-bearing propagation. For seed saving by asexual propagation, selected plants are retained; for propagation by seed, 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.