Container Gardening - Chinese Watercress 种植西洋菜

With spider mites "visiting" every summer and a planter-bed in a part-shade location, we did not have much good success in growing leafy vegetables such as <a href="http://teczcape.blogspot.com/2013/08/edible-raised-beds-and-container.html">kale</a> and <a href="http://teczcape.blogspot.com/2013/08/edible-raised-beds-and-container.html">Swiss chard</a>. Most importantly, how much we grew could not satisfy our rate of consumption.<br /><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/275/19073625391_902e12d737_z.jpg" /> <br /><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Top: Aug 2014; Bottom; Feb 2015, in the<a href="http://teczcape.blogspot.com/2013/08/edible-raised-beds-and-container.html"> City-Picker</a></span></i><br /><br />Just last fall/autumn, we found this shade-tolerant vegetable that has been flourishing beyond our expectations. August last year, we <a href="http://teczcape.blogspot.com/2014/08/container-gardening-herbs-chili.html">planted Chinese watercress by rooting some store-bought Chinese watercress</a> in the <a href="http://teczcape.blogspot.com/2013/08/edible-raised-beds-and-container.html">City-Picker container</a> and it was a success. We have already had at least five harvest from last August batch!<br /><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/474/19064802312_4b61624b9c_z.jpg" /><br /><br /><a name="more"></a><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=ss_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=anestofo-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0076NOGPY&asins=B0076NOGPY&linkId=LQNBODMLM4IJLPF6&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 120px;"></iframe><a href="http://teczcape.blogspot.com/2010/06/watercress-soup.html">Chinese watercress</a> is considered a "cooling" vegetable (more "cooling" than other vegetables such as <i>Bok Choy</i>, spinach, even broccoli), therefore it is usually cooked (boiled/simmered for long hours ~1hr+) with jujubes/red dates in soups to neutralize its cooling property. For the same "cooling" reason, it is not advisable to have it everyday unless one has a hyper-heaty (<i>"yang"</i>) body system.<br /><br />With this reasoning, it limits the consumption rate at home and fits the generation-consumption equation perfectly. Once every 3 months, I cook the home-grown fresh watercress in soups e.g. <a href="http://teczcape.blogspot.com/2012/05/chinese-watercress-gojiberry-soup.html">Chinese Watercress Soup</a> or in rice congee/porridge. I have also stir-fried the young tender leaves with garlic, whilst the more fibrous stems are boiled and simmered for long hours in soups.<br /><br /><br /><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3714/18449720193_5f3371ecfa_z.jpg" /> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Top: Oct 2014; Bottom: Feb 2015, in the raised planter-bed</i></span><br /><br /><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=ss_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=anestofo-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0049PLETI&asins=B0049PLETI&linkId=&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Chinese Watercress is easy to grow or <a href="http://teczcape.blogspot.com/2014/08/container-gardening-herbs-chili.html">root from store-bought watercress</a>. Buy a bunch for about $1 in Chinese or Korean grocery store, give it sufficient water and you have watercress perpetually (almost, at least till summer). As a pervasive plant, we recommend container growing and the <a href="http://teczcape.blogspot.com/2013/08/edible-raised-beds-and-container.html">City-Picker</a> is perfect.<br /><br />Good things do not last forever, including the pervasive watercress. At this time (summer June-August), last year's crop is already showing signs of aging - turning yellow and rotting dried roots. Perhaps it has to do with lack of rain in California (and because we depend on <a href="http://teczcape.blogspot.com/2013/08/edible-raised-beds-and-container.html">drip-irrigation</a> or controlled watering). We might possibly remove the old crop and start the <a href="http://teczcape.blogspot.com/2013/08/edible-raised-beds-and-container.html">City-Picker</a> again by rooting some good watercress plants in late September, so that the container is started anew with strong plants, then hopefully to welcome another year of fresh watercress.<br /><br />Sharing with <a href="http://www.21stcenturyhousewife.com/">Hearth and Soul</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 85%;">Tag: </span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/chinese+watercress" rel="tag">chinese watercress</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/growing+watercress" rel="tag">growing watercress</a> </span><br /><script src="http://static.ak.connect.facebook.com/js/api_lib/v0.4/FeatureLoader.js.php/en_US" type="text/javascript"></script><script type="text/javascript">FB.init("ea808497442c6dbff6ecc79cee2b6ebd"); </script><fb:fan connections="0" logobar="0" profile_id="225194391877" stream="0" width="300"></fb:fan><br /><div style="font-size: 8px; padding-left: 2px;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/An-Escape-to-Food/225194391877">An Escape to Food</a> on Facebook</div>

Container Gardening - Chinese Watercress 种植西洋菜

With spider mites "visiting" every summer and a planter-bed in a part-shade location, we did not have much good success in growing...

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