Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-196
Upland Cress
Barbarea verna
Upland cress delivers a peppery watercress flavor from ordinary garden soil, without the running water true watercress demands. Grown to ten weeks old or older, it also lures egg-laying diamondback moths away from nearby brassica crops and then kills the hatching caterpillars with saponins in its leaves - a trap that protects everything planted near it. Sown too young, the same trap becomes a nursery that breeds more moths instead of fewer, so timing decides which way it works. Left to self-sow along bed margins, it naturalizes readily and keeps arriving at the right age on its own, with no annual re-sowing required.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 4–9
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Well-Drained · Moderate
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- 5.8–6.5
- Plant type
- Biennial
- Mature height
- 8–24 in
- Mature spread
- 8–16 in
- Plant spacing
- 3–6 in
- Root type
- Tap
- Spread pattern
- Seed
Keep exploring
Similar plants
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Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & H.Ohashi
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African Eggplant
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Alfalfa
Medicago sativa
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Alsike Clover
Trifolium hybridum
Alsike Clover fixes nitrogen in wet, acid ground too cold and heavy for red clover to thrive in, and its flowers keep bees working all season…
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Amaranth Greens
Amaranthus tricolor
Amaranth greens are one of the few leafy vegetables actually built for peak summer heat rather than one that just tolerates it - sown once…
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Anise
Pimpinella anisum
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Herbaceous · USDA 4–9
The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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