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Want some ideas growing water cress
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Posted by ladyjenny Z9a TX Houston (My Page) on Mon, Feb 21, 05 at 10:18
I have been struggling to grow water cress in my backyard. Any of you have some ideas how to get continuous flowing water without letting the faucet running and waste water?
Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Want some ideas growing water cress
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| You might want to use liners. That way, your planting area is always wet. Or use a large container |
RE: Want some ideas growing water cress
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I recently built a small pond (140 gallons) and added plants and fish. In my filterfalls (waterfall/filter, I placed some small baskets and added water cress. I got the watercress at the supermarket.
In short order, they were growing, and growing. They are think and healthy.
Not only is the watercress helping to keep my pond water filtered but providing veggies for my salads and soups.
If you only want to grow watercress, this would be an expensive way to go but for me it was a side benefit because I wanted the pond and was looking for plants. |
RE: Want some ideas growing water cress
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| Whatever you do, just be careful. Watercress obviously absorbs the water it's in, & it's a well-known warning when harvesting it in the wild to be extremely sure of the quality of the water it's growing in, as you are eating whatever pollutants might be in that water. |
RE: Want some ideas growing water cress
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- Posted by Hen11 z7 Eng UK (My Page) on
Fri, Mar 25, 05 at 15:26
| you could just grow it in a bucket with no soil (maybe a small amount at the bottom). I have some growing in my still-water pond, i just bought a packet of organic stuff from the super market and threw it in. It rooted in days and it now completely covers my pond. I'll probably have to throw a lot away because it's so invasive. |
RE: Want some ideas growing water cress
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Here are some links, one is a commercial operation up in Wichita falls:
http://www.hydroponics.com.au/back_issues/issue50.html Thinking about this, it looks like cool water and shade might be limitations for you down there, especially in summer. I'm thinking that you could buy several lengths of vinyl roof gutter, partially filled with gravel, arrange them side by side, sloping, but each at a lower level than the last, and connect them together so that the water flows from one to the next, and back and forth. A small pool pump and a reservoir, perhaps a buried tank to cool the water naturally. as the artcle states above, watercress is an "understory" plant that likes some shade. You might have to shut down during the heat of summer. Good luck.
Jay |
Here is a link that might be useful: Hydroponic watercress
RE: Want some ideas growing water cress
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| What is watercress ? is that what they call Kangkong? |
RE: Want some ideas growing water cress
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- Posted by Baci z10Ca (My Page) on
Sat, May 7, 05 at 8:40
You can go to the dollar store or a thrift store & find a porous container that will hold in the watercress. The container should fit in a bucket. Add water to the bucket, put in the container holding the watercress, add an air pump, & it will start the rooting. Clean off any lower leaves, of course, before you put the watercress in. You will eventually need to add hydroponic nutrient, or as Hen11 suggested, devise a system with some soil in it. It should cost you about $2.00 for both containers & $6.00 for a cheap aquarium air pump.
I bought some clearance watercress from the grocery store, cleaned it up, & placed it in my unit. I have it in full sun as it is coming back best that way. As long as it tolerates the sun I will keep it there – if it starts to look bad I will move it to the shade. If the water gets too hot, you will need to cool it, however. |
RE: Want some ideas growing water cress
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| If you put fish in a pond which have earlier shared water with tropical fish, it could be possible to get shigella from eating contaminated watercress in the same pond. My cousin got shigella from tropical fish in a home aquarium, not washing his hands thoroughly after touching the fish. In the wild, if there have been sheep in the area, I have heard that you can get liver flukes from eating watercress. A little caution in setting up growing conditions is in order. |
RE: Want some ideas growing water cress
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| Where at the store would I find water cress? In a bag like lettuce? HELP please |
RE: Want some ideas growing water cress
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eva65,
>What is watercress ? is that what they call Kangkong?
Rarely... Kang Kong's most common name is Chinese Spinach or Ong Choy. Tnflower_lover,
It depends on the store. Just as with regular lettuce, it can be sold in bunches, in bags, as separate leaves, as a plant with roots, etc. Just look at pictures so you know what it looks like before you buy... |
Here is a link that might be useful: watercress pics
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