I don't think I have ever met a plant with so many common names.Above: Dryland cress, cassabully, American watercress, bank cress, upland cress, creasy greens, Belle Isle cress, Bermuda cress, early yellowrocket, wintercress, scurvy cress.
Jeepers.
My tubful on the terrace is looking very healthy and tastes delicious - quite a bite to it, like real wild rocket (arugula), or wild-gathered watercress, which I in find increasingly insipid in stores. The troughful on the roof got off to a slow start.
The microgreens were up and eaten before the cress was big enough to start feeding a baby rabbit. If I had baby rabbit.
The chervil on the roof was a flop. Hardly any seeds germinated, and I'm going to see if the second packet is any better. The upland cress and chervil were both from the Livingston Seed Company, at $1.29. The microgreens (pictured below - which came up two days after being sown, twice) were from the beautifully packed and consequently more expensive Botanical Interests, $2.39. Ah: but I see(d) they weighed 8 grams. The chervil and cress only weighed 2 grams.
So Botanical Interests are actually a better deal all round! Read the fine print, Marie.
While looking up Botanical Interests online just now I found a page about how to avoid GMO/Monsanto-supplied seed. Monsanto, brrr. I hear Monsanto and I get cold shivers. And ever since I heard them being plugged on NPR ( along with Fox 'News', within five minutes of each other!) I have looked suspiciously at my radio. Monsanto is biotechagribusiness. That's my term.Anyway, Livingston and Botanical Interests are on the Good Guys list. The Bad Guys list is quite long. And I have not researched the list to verify their good or bad status. But it bears thinking about.
Now if the ambulances, fire trucks, construction workers digging up the sidewalk and ice cream truck feeding the stroller brigade in the park up the road would just pipe down for a while, I'm going to try and write.
Bedaar Chicky. To me it looks like what grows in the river here, big and lush after good rain and now, very small and feeble.
ReplyDeleteHello Hen - bedaar about what? The noise? The seeds?
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of bad seed companies out there. Glad you found some good ones.
ReplyDeleteI feel those same chills. Monsanto is the Evil Empire. I have been railing against them for years. Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get me ...
ReplyDeleteKeli'i
How do I start cress? have been dying to grow it in my "spare" lily pond. Seeds? starter plants? do you have a source? I don't really care what we call it, just want to grow it! thanks.
ReplyDeletewebb, don't plant this one, it doesn't actually like wet feet, like ordinary watercress, which is available in seed, yes. This one is usually labeled as Upland Cress.
ReplyDeleteWatercress doesn't like stagnant water, as far as I know, but if your pond water circulates it might be ok. You can also buy a bunch at the store and let it root in water, then plant it out on the edges of the pond - but it must be in full sun.
PS
ReplyDeleteBotanical Interests (from link in post) sells watercress
http://www.botanicalinterests.com/store/search_results_detail.php?seedtype=H&seedid=339
I never knew cresses had so many names! A friend of mine will shortly be bringing them to the Farmers Market but hers never are as tender and green as yours look...maybe she grows them on longer or something.
ReplyDeletewv: experski