Allotments 4 All

Grew quite a lot land cress this year - really nice to eat and about the easiest thing ever to grow. In fact this more or less grows wild on allotments together with plum trees and spinach.

The taste is stronger than water cress and takes a bit of getting used to. They seem to grow all the year round.

Land Cress is one of the things I "forgot" to grow this year. Partly, I think, because I find growing watercress in pots so easy as it doesn't seem to require as much water as I was expecting. Land Cress is much hardier though, as I am finding out at the moment.

I grew it for the first time this year and was surprised how easy it was to grow and how nice it was.  Seems fairly hardy as well!

Once sown you will have it forever if you aren't ruthless at weeding it out...  :-X

Quote from: saddad on November 27, 2010, 09:47:47
Once sown you will have it forever if you aren't ruthless at weeding it out...  :-X

Does it self seed Saddad or regrow from roots?

Quote from: saddad on November 27, 2010, 09:47:47
Once sown you will have it forever if you aren't ruthless at weeding it out...  :-X

Not quite, didn't seem to survive last year's very cold winter here.  But in the greenhouse where it is a bit warmer it keeps coming back, selfseeded I presume.

Mine went through last winter still green the whole time.  Been down to -5 already this year without batting an eyelid.  Suggest you try a different cultivar.

I lost my wrinkle cirnkle because OH tidied it up when it needed the seed saved.

It normally self seeds very readily.

I spotted it growing wild on my daughter's allotment and planted some at mine 60 miles away to self seed, and am very pleased with it. I have put some into rows to leap up in the spring (I hope), and left the rest as thick ground cover to be dug in later.

saddad and digeroo, can you please advise on which variety you are finding so successful?

Thanks in advance

It self seeds but if you tear off all the leaves you can get regrowth from the root. The roots don't persist in the soil like docks or dandelions though. Don't know the variety... just called land cress sure I got it from a Wyevale clearance... possible from Suttons?

I like Wrinkle crinkle but my best one was a weed with six inch long wavy leaves.  Unwins have wrinkle crinkle and it comes in some of the T&M mixed salad leaves.  Just let it run to seed and you will have lots.  I sow in September to give me lots through the winter.  I am not sure these are landcress they are ordinary cress you just leave it longer than the sprouting stage.   Also available from Nicky Nursery and Garden4less and Fothergills.

It can act as a slug deterant but voles like it.  I watched one last summer carefully harvesting it and pulling it down its hole.