Watercress

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Watercress
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Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16004

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 18 6:32 am Post subject:
I have never thought about growing it in our garden pond, but as it isn't stream fed, I would never be sure about it anyway. Not too keen on watercress either. The best in this area grows in chalk streams, but the stuff I know nearest to us isn't safe to eat. Not sure why, but probably run off from something like the road.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 18 8:40 am Post subject:
I've got a rainwater-off-the-roof runnel I was going to try to grow it along. I've got seeds I was going to chuck down.

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9887
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 18 11:12 am Post subject:
my parents have a stream at their place and watercress grows in it readily - so much so it chokes the stream and they have to pull it up by the armful. The chickens love it. I will only eat it cooked though, as there are sheep further up, and I don't want liver fluke. Don't think I would fancy it if it was in standing water either... running water is the best way.

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9887
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 18 3:30 pm Post subject:

Jamanda wrote:

Well, I don't have a stream. I don't suppose the pond water is too evil - the main beasts it has are frogs and newts. I'll give it a go.

it's the teeny beasties you need to be wary of - the parasites and bacteria - liver fluke is a parasite that lives on watersnails, IIRC

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 18 4:16 pm Post subject:

if i was set on growing it and did not have a spring or suitable stream i spose scrap heap hydroponics might provide a suitable grow table.

corrugated roofing or siding sheets, charity shop net curtains as spreader mats/ anchors, a light proof tank of some sort. the only bits to buy are a pond pump and some mylar to plant through and a few fittings.

getting the pH, EC, O2 levels etc sorted can be done with hi tech kit or by a bit of knowledge, maths and the use of a measuring jug

i recon less than £50 if you can scrapheap the big bits and are clever on the techy stuff.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6614
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 18 7:45 pm Post subject:

Nicky Colour it green wrote:

Jamanda wrote:

Well, I don't have a stream. I don't suppose the pond water is too evil - the main beasts it has are frogs and newts. I'll give it a go.

it's the teeny beasties you need to be wary of - the parasites and bacteria - liver fluke is a parasite that lives on watersnails, IIRC

I think it needs both snails and sheep to complete its lifecycle

www.scops.org.uk/internal-parasites/liver-fluke/lifecycle/

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9887
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 18 11:41 pm Post subject:

Slim wrote:

Nicky Colour it green wrote:

Jamanda wrote:

Well, I don't have a stream. I don't suppose the pond water is too evil - the main beasts it has are frogs and newts. I'll give it a go.

it's the teeny beasties you need to be wary of - the parasites and bacteria - liver fluke is a parasite that lives on watersnails, IIRC

I think it needs both snails and sheep to complete its lifecycle

www.scops.org.uk/internal-parasites/liver-fluke/lifecycle/

No, it doesn't need sheep to complete the cycle, as I understand it, just something to eat the fluke eggs, in you link the something is a sheep, but other animals can compkete the cycle, cattle, rabbuts, and humans.... if a human eats an egg, say by chewing grass, or eating infected raw food, they can develop fluke. In various Asian countries it is common to catch it by eating raw fish

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6614
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 18 12:12 am Post subject:

Nicky Colour it green wrote:

Slim wrote:

Nicky Colour it green wrote:

Jamanda wrote:

Well, I don't have a stream. I don't suppose the pond water is too evil - the main beasts it has are frogs and newts. I'll give it a go.

it's the teeny beasties you need to be wary of - the parasites and bacteria - liver fluke is a parasite that lives on watersnails, IIRC

I think it needs both snails and sheep to complete its lifecycle

www.scops.org.uk/internal-parasites/liver-fluke/lifecycle/

Ah yes, good clarification. I guess the question is if you don't have sheep, and are keeping your poo out of water, what else is eating the eggs to keep the life cycle going in that locality? (unless you're frequently getting an influx of migratory snails?)

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16004

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 18 6:30 am Post subject:
The problem is knowing what is upstream of you. If you have a spring in the garden, you are all right, but otherwise, it could go through enough countryside for all sorts of things to be using.

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9887
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 18 12:04 pm Post subject:

Slim wrote:

I guess the question is if you don't have sheep, and are keeping your poo out of water, what else is eating the eggs to keep the life cycle going in that locality? (unless you're frequently getting an influx of migratory snails?)

I'm not really up on freshwater snail migration

- but they do seem to just appear in garden ponds... maybe they hitch a lift on visiting frogs?...who knows... there's probably a study about it somewhere

Not pooing in the garden pond seems like a good general life rule....

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16004

Posted: Thu Mar 29, 18 6:40 am Post subject:
Tell birds and fish that.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Thu Mar 29, 18 2:53 pm Post subject:

Liver fluke definitely needs the sheep and the snail to do its life cycle. It is one of the few things that stick in my mind after 35 years since college, the snail is called limnia trunculata, useless gen to me now I don't have sheep!
Dry summers reduce the snail numbers significantly, as does generally dry ground, reeds present in a pasture indicate there is a fair bit of wetness. Cattle can also get liver fluke, but this doesn't show to the degree that it does in sheep due to the size of cattle, they can stand it. Not sure about horses. It is also interesting that only one particular stage,(third stage larval) is infective to sheep. So not only does this snail have to be there for infection to occur, there also has to be a passing sheep to pick up the infective stage for sheep, picking up the 1st or 2nd stage larvae does not cause the disease to take place. This is all memory so hazy!
I will find my old college notes and check, but the gist is right!

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16004

Posted: Fri Mar 30, 18 6:51 am Post subject:
The other question with watercress is, does it pick up and concentrate heavy metals and other toxic substances. I know lettuce does, which is why market gardens have been removed from high soil levels of arsenic areas.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6614
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Fri Mar 30, 18 11:21 am Post subject:

Mistress Rose wrote:

The other question with watercress is, does it pick up and concentrate heavy metals and other toxic substances. I know lettuce does, which is why market gardens have been removed from high soil levels of arsenic areas.

I don't think there are any greens that selectively exclude heavy metals to a much greater degree than any others.

The bigger differences are between sections of a plant. i.e., the further removed from the soil that tissue is (and therefore the number of barriers, e.g., kasparian strip, placental barrier) the less metal it will contain.

In the case of soil containing elevated lead levels, while it is ill-advised to eat root crops, you will ingest more lead from that same dirt on the outside of your tomato than you will from the inside of the fruit.

oliveoyl

Joined: 18 Sep 2008
Posts: 425

Posted: Sat Apr 14, 18 9:20 pm Post subject:

Due to the aforementioned water issues, I grow land cress instead, it grows well in damp, shady conditions, it tastes very similar to watercress, I use as cut and come again leaves, it self seeds if you let it, so only need to buy one packet, and it's jolly hardy, I've been picking throughout the winter. Bolts if allowed to dry out.

https://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/cress-seeds-american-land-pid2330.html

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