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Watercress is a growing vegetable plant with a spicy flavor. He owes this to mustard oil, which is part of its chemical composition. Often those who try its greens for the first time say that it resembles mustard or horseradish. Nevertheless, its valuable and useful properties have been known since ancient times.
The ancient Greek philosopher and healer Hippocrates used watercress as a regenerative agent, cleansed the blood with it and charged the body with vital energy. The ancient Egyptians used it as a potency and libido booster. In the Middle Ages, the plant also reached Europe, where it was most in demand among the inhabitants of Germany.
Its spicy taste is more and more winning the hearts of consumers. This plant is also in demand because it is very easy to grow, not only in garden beds, but also at home on the windowsill. In addition, it appears much earlier than other green vegetable crops, easily tolerates frost and grows quickly.
Description of the plant, cultivation and care
Watercress has many different names and varieties. In Afghanistan it is called tertizak, in Georgia it is called tsitsmati. For Armenians, it is known as kotem, and in Ukraine – watercress or watercress. You can often hear other names: horseradish, garden cress or pepper.
There are several varieties of plants: curly, whole-leaved and sowing. Each species has its own characteristic differences and varieties.
For example, curly watercress has a small semi-raised rosette and intricately cut leaves. The socket in diameter reaches seventeen centimeters. A characteristic representative of this group of salads is the “openwork” variety. Also included here are early and mid-ripening plant varieties.
The whole-leaved variety of lettuce is characterized by a fairly large horizontal rosette, reaching up to twenty-one centimeters in diameter. This species usually grows up to five to six centimeters in height. This group includes late-ripening varieties, the most striking of which is “Ducat”.
Sowing watercress is a cross between the two previous varieties. Its rosette, large and semi-raised, has slightly dissected large-lobed leaves. This group includes the most early-ripening varieties: Kurled, Zabava, Dansky.
From other varieties of the plant, broad-leaved and narrow-leaved watercress, news, curly-leaved, common watercress, local, spring and others can be distinguished.
Watercress is one of the species of the large family of cruciferous bugs. The leaves of this vegetable crop are green, slightly bluish in color. Blooms in June with white or pink flowers. Fruits – pods ripen closer to mid-autumn.
Watercress is a picky and unpretentious plant. With proper care, the fresh greenery of the plant will delight all year round.
Growing such a vegetable crop does not require significant labor costs. It can even grow on sand. But if you decide to grow it in the garden, it is advisable to prepare the soil for this in the fall. To do this, remove all weeds, dig up and add humus. In spring, the soil must be fluffed up and fertilized with compost or mineral complexes.
The seeds of the plant are sown in early spring, and literally after a month and a half of intensive growth they become edible. It can also be planted for the winter, it can withstand frost and is cold-resistant.
As a rule, it should be sown in rows, but it also grows well in solid beds. Watercress seeds are quite large, it will be easy to evenly distribute them in a row, deepening by about one centimeter. The distance between the seedlings should be about five centimeters, so that the rosette of the plant turns out to be large. The first sprouts appear within three days after sowing.
However, landing is not everything. In order for the plant to grow quickly and well, it must be watered in a timely manner. If this is not done, then the bug will throw out the arrow, and its leaves will become rough and hard.
How to properly water a plant:
- In the heat of summer, be sure to water the watercress every day.
- In cloudy weather, one watering is enough for three to four days.
- Waterlogging, as well as lack of moisture, negatively affects the plant, so it is important to observe the optimal irrigation regime, and then the grass will be less susceptible to various diseases and pests.
We should also not forget about loosening the soil and getting rid of weeds.
The plant propagates with the help of seeds, and in order to use lettuce for quite a long time, they can be sown several times a year.
In order to harvest a good crop of watercress, it is necessary to use plant nutrition. But this must be done as carefully as possible. Fertilizers should be few and they should not be highly concentrated, otherwise green lettuce leaves will receive a large amount of nitrates. In such cases, it is best to fertilize the soil before planting the plants there.
Watercress is a shade-loving plant, so it will not be difficult to grow it at home. And thus all year round to have such greenery in your kitchen. To do this, you need to take a couple of small boxes that are not bulky and fit comfortably on the kitchen windowsill. Instead of soil, they are allowed to use a substrate and even paper towels.
Lettuce seeds are sown once every ten days, sequentially in each of the boxes. Thus, while the leaves are cut from one plant, the other is just growing. Growing and caring for watercress is so easy that even beginner gardeners can do it.
The composition and useful properties of watercress
Watercress is not only delicious, but also very healthy. Fresh leaves of the plant are just a vitamin cocktail for the body. They contain B vitamins, rutin, riboflavin, carotene, thiamine and a considerable amount of ascorbic acid.
The mineral composition is represented by calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iodine, iron, copper, sulfur and other salts.
In addition, the plant is rich in essential mustard oil, which contains propsolin, a glycoside that gives the salad a characteristic flavor and aroma. The seeds contain fatty oil, and the roots of the plant include lepidin, a rather bitter substance widely used in the synthesis of drugs.
It also contains useful flavonoids, carbohydrates, sugars and proteins.
Regular consumption of such a plant in food has many benefits for the body:
- normalizes digestion and improves appetite;
- promotes the removal of dangerous toxins and harmful toxins;
- normalizes blood pressure.
This green culture has found wide application in the field of traditional medicine. It has long been used for anti-inflammatory and restorative purposes. Watercress was highly valued for its diuretic, sedative, wound-healing, expectorant and anti-sclerotic effects.
This herb improves sleep and effectively relieves depression, due to the flavonoids included in its composition, which are antioxidants.
Even in modern medicine, such a wonderful plant has been appreciated: it is recommended to use it for the prevention of cancer, as well as for eye diseases.
Green watercress leaves were used to treat skin diseases, ulcers and burns, as well as colds. It helped well with coughs, bronchitis and other inflammatory processes of the respiratory system.
They also took tinctures and decoctions from this plant for cholelithiasis and joint pain. This plant was used as an adjuvant in the treatment of prostatitis and cancer. There was an opinion that the seeds of such a salad improve potency and increase sexual desire.
As a result of various experiments, already in official medicine, scientists have found that lettuce contains substances that help maintain the integrity of blood cells. Therefore, its daily use significantly reduces the risk of blood cancer.
For the treatment and prevention of diseases, tinctures, decoctions, various infusions and oils are used. Both fresh and dry herbs can be used. The simplest application is to eat watercress leaves every day or drink its juice.
Crushed into gruel, fresh leaves of the plant perfectly heal wounds. Applying greens to the affected areas, it is fixed with bandages, which allows you to get rid of many skin problems.
The juice of the plant helps to cope with dandruff, and added to the bath – with skin diseases.
With a strong cough, original mustard plasters are used, in which cress seeds are ground into powder.
Medicinal ointments and oils are made from this plant, but the latter cannot be prepared at home. Often, just an infusion of watercress seeds in vegetable oil is used.
An ointment can be prepared by mixing the crushed dried stems and leaves of the plant with petroleum jelly or any fat in proportions of one to three. It is best to keep such products in a warm place for at least a week before use.
The high content of iodine has a positive effect on the state of the thyroid gland and has a positive effect on the functioning of the endocrine system as a whole.
Watercress is low-calorie, its energy value is only 32 kcal per hundred grams of product. At the same time, it has high nutritional properties, saturates the body with vigor and energy. Therefore, it is very effective in diet programs.
If you eat the leaves of the plant every day, you can get rid of periodontal disease and other diseases of the teeth and gums.
Like any product, watercress has both benefits and harms. It is not recommended for people suffering from peptic ulcer and gastritis, as well as other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Overeating this vegetable is fraught with the appearance of allergic reactions and irritations. It also causes digestive problems.
Watercress infusion
For cooking you will need:
- fresh watercress – three tablespoons;
- dry grass – two tablespoons;
- boiling water – one glass.
Dry and fresh leaves mix and pour boiling water and insist in a thermos or a warm place for two to three hours.
The broth is made in almost the same way, only the leaves must be brought to a boil and boiled for about five to seven minutes over low heat.
Application in cooking and cosmetology
It is customary to use fresh lettuce leaves for food, as dried or heat-treated they lose most of their valuable and useful qualities, as well as their wonderful aroma and characteristic pungent taste.
From the leaves of the plant, you can cook soup, fish and meat dishes, various sauces and gravies, salads. The herb is often blanched, used with oil dressings, and also with wine and sugar.
In Europe, this plant has won the hearts of the inhabitants for a long time. In France, for example, lambion watercress is very popular, with a sharper, spicier and richer taste.
With this plant, you can cook almost any dish: be it a cottage cheese casserole, an omelet or a regular sandwich.
This plant is irreplaceable in cosmetology. In this area, its leaves, juice and even oil are used. After applying masks based on it, the skin looks cleaner and fresher, and the hair becomes soft and silky. Watercress has anti-inflammatory properties, which has a calming effect on problem skin, relieves acne and pimples.
At home, you can also prepare masks based on such a plant, which will help get rid of skin flaking, normalize the functioning of the sebaceous glands, as well as stop the aging process and smooth out fine wrinkles.
Mask for oily skin
To prepare you will need:
- watercress greens – two tablespoons;
- honey – one teaspoon;
- egg white – one piece.
Grind fresh lettuce leaves and mix with other ingredients. Apply to face and keep for about ten to twelve minutes, and then rinse with warm water.
Cleansing mask for normal skin
For cooking you will need:
- fresh watercress – eight to ten leaves;
- olive oil – one teaspoon;
- lemon juice – five to ten drops.
Grind greens into gruel and mix with other ingredients. Apply the mixture on your face and keep it for ten minutes. At the end of the procedure, wash with warm, and then with cool water.
Instead of conclusions
Watercress is a spicy spicy plant that is widely used in various areas of human life. For its spicy taste and specific aroma, it is valued in cooking. It is used as a spice or condiment for various dishes. The valuable composition of the vegetable crop has made it indispensable in folk medicine and cosmetology. And its high nutritional value and low calorie content appealed to dietetics. The only thing is not to get too carried away eating such a plant, otherwise you can get digestive problems or allergic reactions.