Barbarea verna
Land cress is a peppery, unusually hardy winter salad leaf. Sown in early summer it crops through autumn and winter, and a clocheA small, portable clear cover placed over an individual plant or short row to trap warmth and keep off wind, rain and pests. Full definition → keeps the leaves in good order when the weather turns.
It is a biennialA plant that completes its life cycle over two years: growth in year one, then flowering, seeding and dying in year two. Full definition → rosette plant that is grown and picked like any other cut-and-come-again leaf.
Where it fits in the year
Sow in early summer for an autumn harvest that can last into winter under fleeceA lightweight, breathable fabric laid or draped over plants to trap a little warmth and keep off frost, wind and some flying pests. Full definition → or a cloche. A late-summer or early-autumn sowing gives cut-and-come-again leaves through autumn, and through winter if covered with a cloche. The first outdoor sowings of the year can go in from March once the soil is warming, and staggering sowings keeps it cropping for most of the year. Its RHS rating is H7The RHS's H1a–H7 scale for how much cold a plant can survive outdoors, H1a being tender indoor-only and H7 hardy anywhere in the UK. Full definition →: hardy in the severest continental winters, below -20°C.
Site and soil
Grow in moist soil, clay or loam, in full sun or partial shade. It tolerates acid, alkaline or neutral soil, so pH isn't a constraint. Despite its use as a watercress substitute it needs no running water, stream or bog bed: ordinary garden soil kept consistently moist is enough.
Sowing and spacing
For cut-and-come-again leaves, treat it like other salad leaves: sow very shallowly, no deeper than the width of your little finger, with about a finger's width between seeds and 10-15cm between rows. Leaves are picked young, so there is no need to thin to a wide spacing. To grow plants on to full size, sow thinly in seed trays or small pots and plant out once they are large enough to handle, around 25cm tall, in rows 30cm apart. Plants reach 10-50cm in height and spread, so full-size plants need that room.
Varieties
Common problems
- Flea beetles may attack this crop, as they do rocket and radish.
- Otherwise land cress is generally disease-free.
Common questions
Does land cress need winter protection in Scotland?
Not to survive: it carries an H7 rating, hardy below -20°C. A cloche or fleece over a winter sowing keeps the leaves cleaner and easier to pick in the worst weather. See also: Land Cress Myths →
Is land cress an annual, like most quick salad leaves?
No: it's a biennial that makes a rosette of leaves in its first season and flowers in its second year, even though it's grown and picked like a fast salad crop. Sowing a little at a time keeps leaves coming for most of the year. See also: Land Cress Myths →
Does land cress need running water or boggy ground, like true watercress?
No: ordinary moist garden soil, clay or loam in sun or partial shade, is all it needs; nothing about running water or a stream is required. See also: Land Cress Myths →
Is land cress pest-free?
It is generally disease-free, and the main pest to watch for is flea beetle, which also attacks rocket and radish. See also: Land Cress Myths →
Sources
Show the 3 sources
- RHS: position (full sun or partial shade), soil (moist, clay or loam, tolerant of acid/alkaline/neutral pH), H7 hardiness rating, height and spread of 10-50cm, biennial lifecycle and flowering habit, flea beetle susceptibility, seed in trays and planting out at around 25cm in rows 30cm apart, cropping virtually all year by staggering sowings
- RHS: land cress among the leafy crops sown in early summer for autumn harvests, and in the late-summer and autumn group giving cut-and-come-again leaves through autumn and, under a cloche, winter
- RHS: land cress among suitable cut-and-come-again crops; the general salad sowing depth (no deeper than a little finger's width) and spacing (a finger's width between seeds, 10-15cm between rows)