Plain (Curled) Cress
Standard curly-leaved type. Classic clean, peppery flavour. Fastest to harvest. The most widely sold garden cress.
Fastest Crop of All
Garden Cress
Lepidium sativum
Open the full interactive garden cress guide →
⚡ Quick start
- Scatter seeds on damp tissue or kitchen roll in a shallow tray
- Keep moist and in any light — germination in 1–2 days
- Harvest at 5–8cm with scissors — typically 4–7 days after sowing
- Start a new tray every 5–6 days for continuous supply
- Outdoors: sow in short rows every 2 weeks April–September
🌱 SowYear-round indoors; Apr–Sep outdoors
🌾 Harvest4–10 days (indoors); 7–14 days (outdoors)
☀ PositionWindowsill, any light; full sun to part shade outdoors
📐 SpacingScatter-sow densely
DifficultyEasy
⚡ Quick facts
- Difficulty
- Very Easy
- Crop type
- Hardy Annual
- Position
- Windowsill, any light; outdoors full sun or part shade
- Soil
- Any — grows on damp tissue paper; outdoors in any soil
- Container friendly
- Yes — any container, tray, or pot
- Greenhouse recommended
- For year-round supply
- Outdoor suitable
- Yes — April to September
- Frost hardy
- No — seedlings killed by frost; grow indoors year-round
01 About
Garden cress is the fastest food crop you can possibly grow — ready to eat in just 4–7 days from sowing indoors, and 7–14 days outdoors. The peppery, clean, distinctive flavour of mustard and cress has been a British kitchen staple for generations, beloved in egg sandwiches, salads, and as a garnish. It can be grown on a damp paper towel, a windowsill tray, or directly in the garden with virtually no skill, cost, or equipment required. Perfect for children, beginners, and experienced growers alike.
02 What to Grow
Garden cress (Lepidium sativum) is grown as a microgreen or seedling crop — it is always harvested at the cotyledon (seed leaf) or first true leaf stage. Varieties differ mainly in leaf shape, flavour intensity, and growth speed. For indoor windowsill use, any variety works; for outdoor growing, Broad-Leaved types are most practical. Persian Cress offers the most complex flavour but is slightly slower.
03 Varieties
The number of varieties shown for each crop is based on UK consumption data (2025/26) — the more popular the crop, the more variety choices we include.
🌱 Standard Types
Classic garden cress. The most common, fastest, and most widely available.
Fine Curled
Very finely curled, lacy leaves. Decorative garnish type. Slightly milder than plain cress. Popular for presentation.
Broad-Leaved Cress
Larger, flatter leaves than curled types. Stronger, more complex peppery flavour. Better suited to outdoor growing. Slightly slower than curled types.
🌿 Heritage & Specialist Types
Slower to mature but with more complex, interesting flavour profiles.
Persian Cress
Heritage variety. Rich, complex, deeply peppery flavour with subtle sweetness. Slightly slower to harvest (7–10 days). Excellent for culinary use.
Wrinkled Cress
Deeply wrinkled, textured leaves. Attractive on the plate. Good peppery flavour. Grown as a microgreen or seedling crop.
Greek Cress
Small, compact leaves with mild flavour. Slow-growing. Used as a herb-like garnish in Mediterranean cuisine. Unusual and worth growing for variety.
04 Where to Source
Garden cress seed is among the cheapest and most widely available vegetable seeds sold. Available in supermarkets, garden centres, online, and in mixed mustard-and-cress packets. A single small packet provides dozens of sowings — seed is inexpensive and germinates at near-100% reliability. For named varieties (Persian Cress, Broad-Leaved), use specialist online seed companies.
🛒 Standard cress seed packets
Supermarkets, garden centres, and hardware stores year-round
🌱 Named variety seeds
Specialist online seed companies for Persian Cress, Broad-Leaved and Greek types
🌿 Mustard and cress mix
Garden centres and online — includes Sinapis alba (mustard) for the classic paired crop
Timing tip: Order seeds in January and February. Popular varieties sell out quickly. Garden centres and markets are a reliable backup from April onwards.
05 Planting Options
🌱 Windowsill Tray (Primary Method)
The classic method. Any shallow container, damp tissue, scatter seeds. The simplest food crop possible. No soil required.
- Use any shallow container — even a jar lid works
- Damp tissue paper or kitchen roll is all the growing medium required
- Change tissue between batches to prevent mould buildup
- Any windowsill works — even north-facing in summer
Windowsill Tray (Primary Method) — regional timing: Year-round, any time
🌿 Outdoor Garden Bed
Direct sown in short rows for larger, more flavourful leaves. Best April–September. Ideal catch crop between slower vegetables.
- Sow short rows of 30–50cm every 2 weeks
- Use to fill gaps between slower crops
- Provides larger, more complex-flavoured leaves than windowsill cress
- Cover with fine mesh if flea beetle is active in the plot
Outdoor Garden Bed — regional timing: April–September
💧 Pot or Container (Soil-Based)
Grow in a pot of compost for larger leaves than tissue growing but still suitable for a patio, balcony, or greenhouse bench.
- Fill pot with fine seed compost
- Scatter seeds densely, press lightly, water gently
- Keep moist; harvest at 5–8cm
- Especially useful in autumn and winter when outdoor growing is not possible
Pot or Container (Soil-Based) — regional timing: Year-round in a sheltered position
06 Companion Planting
✅ Grow nearby
🌿 Mustard (for classic pairing)
The traditional ‘mustard and cress’ combination. Sow mustard (Sinapis alba) 2–3 days before cress so both are ready to harvest at the same time.
🌱 Radish
Both are fast-growing and share similar conditions. Grow as adjacent catch crops in the outdoor garden.
🧅 Lettuce
Classic salad companions in the outdoor garden. Cress fills space between lettuce plants and is harvested before lettuce needs full room.
❌ Keep apart
- 🌿 Strong aromatics — Strong-scented neighbours can affect the delicate flavour of garden cress grown immediately adjacent in outdoor beds. Keep at least one row away.
07 Sowing — How To
🌱 Indoor Windowsill (Year-Round)
Prepare the tray
Use any shallow container — a jam jar lid, a seed tray, a cereal bowl. Line with 2–3 layers of damp kitchen roll or tissue paper. The paper should be wet but not swimming in water.
Scatter seeds densely
Scatter seeds thickly and evenly across the surface of the tissue. Garden cress is always sown very densely — unlike outdoor crops, you want a solid carpet of seedlings. No covering needed.
Keep moist and away from direct harsh sun
Place on a windowsill with good light but not full direct summer sun which can scorch tiny seedlings. Keep the tissue damp — add water if it starts to dry. Seeds germinate in 1–2 days.
Harvest at 5–8cm with scissors
Cut with scissors just above the tissue when seedlings reach 5–8cm — typically 4–7 days. Cut cleanly and use immediately. The stumps do not regrow — discard tissue and start fresh.
Succession for continuous supply
Start a new tray every 5–6 days. Three to four trays at different stages means fresh cress is available every day. Takes 30 seconds to set up a new tray.
| Region | Sow / plant | Harvest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland & Far North | Jan–Dec | Jan–Dec | Windowsill growing reliable year-round. Outdoor sowing May–August only. Indoor supply all winter. · Year-round indoors |
| Northern England | Jan–Dec | Jan–Dec | Indoors year-round. Outdoors April–September. No heating needed — room temperature sufficient. · Year-round indoors |
| Midlands & Wales | Jan–Dec | Jan–Dec | Year-round windowsill growing. Outdoors April–September. Fastest crop for winter kitchen supply. · Year-round indoors |
| Ireland & Isle of Man | Jan–Dec | Jan–Dec | Reliable year-round indoors. Outdoors April–September. Mild climate extends outdoor season. · Year-round indoors |
| South & SE England | Jan–Dec | Jan–Dec | Year-round indoors. Outdoors March–October with protection at edges of season. · Year-round indoors |
| South Coast & SW | Jan–Dec | Jan–Dec | Year-round indoors. Outdoors March–October. One of the mildest UK regions for outdoor early sowing. · Year-round indoors |
🌿 Outdoor Sowing (Apr–Sep)
Prepare a short row
Rake a short section of bed to a fine tilth. Garden cress needs no special soil preparation — it grows in virtually anything. Mark a very shallow drill, 5mm deep.
Scatter thinly
Scatter seed thinly along the drill. Unlike windowsill growing, outdoor cress should be sown thinly to allow individual plants to develop more fully. Cover lightly and firm with the back of a rake.
Water gently and keep moist
Water with a fine rose. Keep the seedbed moist — germination in 3–7 days outdoors depending on temperature. In warm weather germination is very rapid.
Harvest at 5–10cm
Cut the whole row at once with scissors when seedlings reach 5–10cm. Outdoor cress has more developed leaves and a stronger flavour than windowsill cress. Does not regrow well — sow a new row.
Succession sow every 2 weeks
Sow a short row (30–50cm) every 2 weeks from April to September for continuous outdoor supply. Each row takes 7–14 days to reach harvest. Ideal to fill gaps between other crops.
08 Soil Requirements
- pH
- 5.5–7.0
- Best
- Most soils, Tissue/paper (indoor)
- Tolerates
- Any
- Avoid
- Waterlogged
💡 Extraordinarily tolerant. Can be grown on damp paper tissue. Almost no soil requirements.
09 Ongoing Care
💧 The Only Care Requirement: Moisture
Garden cress has essentially one care requirement: keep the growing medium moist at all times. If the tissue or compost dries out — even briefly — tiny seedlings wilt and die within hours. Check the tray twice a day and add water if the tissue is starting to pale in colour or feel less damp. Do not drown the seeds — the tissue should be damp, not submerged. For outdoor growing, water with a fine rose immediately after sowing and keep the seedbed evenly moist until harvest. In dry summer weather, water morning and evening.
🐛 Flea Beetle (Outdoors Only)
Flea beetle can attack outdoor cress — tiny round holes appear in leaves within days of germination. However, because cress is harvested so quickly (7–14 days outdoors), the simplest strategy is to harvest before flea beetle causes significant damage. If beetle pressure is high, cover outdoor rows with fine insect-proof mesh immediately after sowing and remove only at harvest. For indoor cress on a windowsill, flea beetle is never a concern.
🧫 Preventing Mould on Indoor Trays
Indoor cress grown on tissue occasionally develops mould — a white, fuzzy growth on the tissue surface — particularly in warm, humid, or poorly ventilated spaces. Prevent this by: using fresh tissue for each sowing; not overwatering (damp, not wet); placing the tray in a position with some air movement. If mould appears, harvest immediately (the cress itself is unaffected), discard the tissue, and wash the container. The next sowing in the same container is rarely affected. Outdoors, mould is not an issue.
10 Watch Out For
Warning
Garden cress is virtually problem-free when grown indoors. Outdoors it can attract flea beetle — use fine mesh or grow as a cut-and-use-immediately crop rather than leaving it to stand. Always keep the growing medium moist — if it dries out even briefly, seedlings wilt and die within hours. Do not confuse garden cress (Lepidium sativum) with watercress (Nasturtium officinale) or land cress (Barbarea verna) — they are related but quite different crops.
🐛 Insects & pests
- 🐌 Slugs & Snails — Silver slime trails on leaves, soil, and pots — often the first sign before damage is found
- 🐜 Aphids (Blackfly & Greenfly) — Curled, distorted, or stunted growing tips — aphids inject saliva that causes leaf curl to protect them
🍄 Diseases to watch
- 🌱 Damping Off — Damping off is a collective term for seedling death caused by several soil-borne pathogens including Pythium, Phytophthora, and Rhizoctonia. It is the most common cause of seedling failure in the propagation stage. Entire trays of seedlings can collapse and die overnight — there is no cure once symptoms appear.
- 🔵 Downy Mildew — Downy mildew is caused by oomycetes (water moulds) and is completely unrelated to powdery mildew despite the similar name. It thrives in cool, wet, humid conditions and is most damaging in spring and autumn. Each host plant has its own specific downy mildew species. Lettuce downy mildew can destroy an entire bed within days in the right conditions.
Full identification and treatment advice is in the Pests and Diseases sections.
11 Storage & Preserving
🌱 Harvest and Eat Immediately
Garden cress is at its absolute best within minutes of cutting. The peppery flavour is most vivid and fresh when cut and used immediately. For windowsill trays, cut with scissors and use directly in sandwiches, salads, or as a garnish. Stagger your sowings so a fresh tray is always available rather than trying to store cut cress. A new tray takes 30 seconds to set up and is the best 'storage' strategy.
🧊 Short-Term Refrigeration
Cut cress can be refrigerated for up to 2 days if necessary. Place in a sealed container or bag with a damp paper towel to maintain humidity. It will wilt somewhat but recovers partially if placed in a glass of cold water for 10 minutes before use. For best results, cut only what you need immediately and leave the remaining seedlings on the tray — they will keep growing for a few more days at room temperature.
🥚 Egg Sandwiches — The Classic Use
The quintessential British use for garden cress: egg mayonnaise sandwiches with cress. The peppery, fresh flavour of cress is the perfect foil for rich egg mayonnaise and soft white bread. Always add cress at the very last moment before serving — it wilts quickly under mayonnaise. Also superb in cream cheese sandwiches, scattered over soups as a garnish, tossed into salads at the last minute, or placed on avocado toast. Use always as a fresh garnish, never cooked.
12 Expert Tips
💡 The staggered tray system: never be without cress
The trick to always having fresh cress is maintaining three to four trays at different stages. Set up a new tray every 5–6 days: when Tray 1 is ready to harvest, Tray 2 is halfway through, and Tray 3 is just germinating. Harvest Tray 1, set up Tray 4 immediately. This takes about 30 seconds per new tray and gives you fresh cress every day of the year. Label each tray with the sowing date to keep track.
💡 Pair with mustard for the traditional harvest
Classic 'mustard and cress' uses white mustard (Sinapis alba) alongside garden cress. The two grow at different rates — mustard is slower. For a perfectly simultaneous harvest, sow the mustard seed 2–3 days before the cress seed. They will then be ready to harvest at the same time. Mustard seed is sold separately or in combined packs. The flavours complement each other beautifully: cress is clean and peppery; mustard adds warmth and depth.
💡 Outdoor cress has a completely different character
Garden cress grown outdoors in soil is a significantly different product from windowsill cress. The plants grow larger (10–15cm), the leaves are more fully developed, and the flavour is considerably more complex and intense. If you've only ever grown windowsill cress, try a short outdoor row in April — the difference in flavour is striking. Outdoor cress is also more useful in cooking (soups, sauces, garnishes for hot dishes) where the more developed leaf structure holds up better.