Amongst the new-to-me seeds this year, I got a packet of watercress. As the name indicates, watercress grows near water and muddy grounds, so I had never tried to grow it in my backyard; however, the OSC seed catalogue says of watercress: “While traditionally grown along stream banks or in other moist areas as an aquatic or semi-aquatic plant, watercress can also be successfully grown in containers set in a saucer of water”; changing the water frequently helps to maintain the plants healthy. Another attractive feature is that it is a perennial, and according to OSC, they are “reliably hardy outdoors to Zone 6, possibly to Zone 5 as well.”
I opened the package on March 17, 2025, and found these light brown, tiny seeds (photo below, left). After sprinkling on very moist soil in a pot, and keeping the pot in a bowl with about one inch (2.54 cm) of water, the seed started to sprout just four days later (photo below, right from March 21):
Since then, I have followed the OSC recommendations, changing the water in the bowl frequently, and keeping the soil very moist. The sprouts got taller and taller noticeably, even in just a couple of days (photo below, left from March 24 and right, from March 26):
The photo below is from April 9:
The temperatures outside have been up and down, as spring goes here in Southern Ontario, but now it seems like the hard frosts are over, and the seedlings will be ready to bring outside and transplant soon (photo below, from April 27):
I am joining Chris’s Flower of the Day (FOTD) Challenge for April 13, 2025.
My Slice of Mexico 
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