Watercress Seeds (Nasturtium officinale)

Delicious, and nutrient-dense, this semi-wild vegetable is also surprisingly easy and interesting to grow. A member of the mustard-family, watercress has a delicious “bite” which is excellent both raw (e.g. in sandwiches, sushi, and salads), or cooked like a leafy mustard green which reduces its pungency (try it flash sauteed, or added to soups like miso). High in numerous vitamins, exceptional and unparalleled in flavor, watercress is also easy to grow which makes it surprising that this excellent plant is still an uncommon and expensive grocery store item.  As the name suggests, watercress does love water and actually grows wild as a semi-aquatic plant in limestone rivers of Europe and Central Asia. Where it is one of the oldest-documented leafy greens consumed by humans. Yet contrary to popular lore, watercress does not need cold, clean, flowing water to thrive. Rather it is happy to occupy spaces close to human proximity (often growing along urban riverbanks in Europe) – and happil