Cress Garden Common Seeds

Grow a small pot or short row of peppery garden cress for fresh leaf picking. This quick annual suits a bright position and steady moisture, with small repeat sowings while conditions are mild.

Ready to grow tender peppery leaves? Follow our step-by-step Garden Cress Grow Guide for sowing, germination, regional timing and care advice.

Before growing microgreens to eat: use only seed confirmed suitable for edible microgreen production and without unsuitable seed treatment. Raw seed does not mean untreated or food grade. Do not eat packet seed or use it for jar sprouts.

Quick Grow Facts

• Plant and species: Garden Common cress, Lepidium sativum; an upright annual in the cabbage family, not watercress.
• Seed form: raw seed. Sow as supplied; no routine soaking, chilling or scarifying is needed for these growing methods.
• When and where: choose mild conditions; sun in cool weather, morning light with afternoon protection in heat. Year-round sowing needs suitable protection and local conditions.
• Depth: For soil-grown garden plants, cover with about 6 mm of fine, loose mix. For young-shoot trays, press seed onto the moist surface instead. Keep both methods evenly moist with free drainage and give bright light after emergence.
• Germination: Begin checking young-shoot trays within a few days; soil-grown emergence varies with warmth and moisture. Use mild conditions and protect shallow trays from frost, overheating and drying.
• Spacing: Sow young-shoot trays evenly without seed heaps. Thin plants kept for larger leaves as they grow, leaving room for airflow and picking.
• Harvest stage: Use only a confirmed suitable lot and cut healthy young shoots above the mix once. For larger plants, check for leaves about 5 cm long roughly 2–3 weeks after emergence; leave young growth for possible further picking.
• Size and care: Plants left to flower grow taller; no fixed mature height or spread is promised for this selection. No routine staking or pinching is needed for the short leaf crop.

Growing Notes

Direct-sow into the final pot or bed where possible. Keep shallow sowings moist, thin crowded plants and allow air through the leaves. Short crops need little extra feed. Use clean tools and water for an edible crop, follow the packet's treatment instructions and discard mouldy or contaminated growth. Sow another small batch about every two weeks when conditions suit.

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