Sow, care and use Barbara's herb

Anyone can grow Barbara's herb - the local winter cress is undemanding and is content with a pot as a home. It is also healthy and versatile.

Winter cress has long been used in naturopathy because of its high vitamin content. The inconspicuous herb is undemanding to grow and is also ideal for novice gardeners. Everything you need to know about sowing, caring for and using Barbara's herb is here.

Barbara's herb: origin and properties

The common barbara herb (Barbarea vulgaris) is also called barbara cress or winter cress. The plants belong to the large cruciferous family (Brassicaceae), which also includes rocket (Eruca sativa), Radish (Raphanus sativus) and cabbage (Brassica ssp.). The winter cress can be found in almost all parts of the world in the temperate latitudes. The Barbara's herb probably owes its name to St. December is thought. Because the herb is still green and edible.

In practical terms, the herb makes hardly any demands on its surroundings: Winter cress grows on meadows, on roadsides, embankments, river banks and many other locations. The biennial plants are rosette-shaped in the first year. Only in the second year do they grow to a height of 30 to 90 cm and bloom. In the second year between May and July, the barbara herb forms many compound inflorescences, which consist of yellow single flowers with four petals. If the flowers are fertilized, elongated pods with several seeds appear in autumn. The leaves of the winter cress are multi-pinnate, with several partial leaves per stem. They can be used in salads or cooked leafy vegetables and have a slightly spicy taste.

Tip: If you collect winter cress in nature, you should also consider the ground rock (Sisymbrium officinale) to avoid confusion. It looks similar to the barbara herb especially during flowering. However, the rocket is considered to be slightly poisonous. Its leaves are lanceolate and somewhat pinnate. They look similar to arugula leaves.

Sowing winter cress: this is how it works

Winter cress is easiest to grow from seeds. You can prefer young plants indoors, but the barbara herb also germinates very well outdoors. The herb grows in almost all locations, but particularly well in a partially shaded to sunny place with nutrient-rich, sufficiently moist soil. The seeds can be sown from March to October. The earlier you sow the barbara herb, the earlier the tasty leaves can be harvested. If the seeds are placed in spring, the plants can be harvested that same year. In the case of sandy or very clayey soil, it is advisable to work potting soil into the top 10 cm of soil. You need about 30 liters of soil per square meter. Our Plantura organic herb & potting soil is a good, water-storing base and is also completely peat-free.

Winter cress is one of the light germs. To germinate, the seeds must lie on the ground and be pressed. If a suitable spot has been found, you should ensure that the seeds are about 15 cm apart. After the seeds have been distributed, all that is left to do is water them vigorously. Be careful not to wash the seeds away.

tip: If the winter cress is in a very sunny and hot spot, the leaves become more bitter in taste. For a mild result, you should grow the barbara herb in a partially shaded place.

The most important maintenance measures

The winter cress hardly needs any care and is generally quite robust. Only fleas can seriously damage young plants. As Recognize and fight fleas, learn from this article. If the young plants are too narrow in the bed, thinning out can be helpful. To do this, simply pull the specimens that are too close together out of the ground so that the others can develop better. During the germination phase, the substrate should be kept permanently moist. Fully grown plants only need to be watered if the drought is prolonged. In the first year, the barbara herb usually does not need any additional fertilizers. During the second year of standing, we recommend fertilizing in spring with an organic long-term fertilizer. Our Plantura organic universal fertilizer is well suited for this, for example, and releases nutrients over a period of at least three months.

Tip: In spring and in drought, young winter cress plants can grow through Earth fleasget perforated leaves. Keeping the soil moist with a layer of mulch prevents this - you can find out more about this in our pest article.

Harvest and store real barbarian herb

The leaves of the winter cress can be harvested almost all year round. The hot, spicy green can even be used at the beginning of December. Wrapped in a damp cloth, they can be stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of two days. For the best aroma, the leaves should only be processed fresh. They have a slightly bitter taste during the second year of flowering. For harvesting, pick individual leaves that grow from the rosette. Be careful not to remove too many at once to allow the plant to continue photosynthesizing. After flowering, pods with multiple seeds develop. These can also be harvested and used in a similar way to mustard. To do this, collect the dry pods in autumn and open them over a bowl to catch all the seeds.

By the way: When growing barbara in the greenhouse, different parts of the plant can be harvested all year round.

Barbara's herb: effects and uses

All parts of the Barbara herb are edible, so they are not poisonous for humans and pets. The plants have been used in naturopathy for a long time, mainly because of the high content of vitamins A and C. In addition, Barbara's herb leaves contain bitter substances that aid digestion. Winter cress can be used in many ways in the kitchen: the leaves fit raw in a salad, are processed as a dip or sautéed with spinach. The seeds can also be processed.

In addition to the barbara herb, there are other edible plants with a spicy, pungent taste. Nasturtiums are just as easy to grow and especially delight children with their edible flowers. As Grow nasturtiums, learn from this article.