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How to Grow Land Cresses Canada | Complete Growing Guide

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Land Cress (Barbarea verna)

A land cress rosette of deeply-lobed leaves — “Barbarea verna 2016-04-19 7994” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons

4 sources cited · Verified

Land cresses (Barbarea verna) — biennial.

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural and university-extension sources — see References.

At a Glance

A cluster of small yellow land cress flowers — “Barbarea verna 2017-05-05 9594” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Barbarea verna 2017-05-05 9594” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Barbarea verna Land Cress Flea beetles PESTS

Quick Facts

A land cress rosette of deeply-lobed leaves — “Barbarea verna 2016-04-19 7994” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Barbarea verna 2016-04-19 7994” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Factor Value
Drainage Moist but well-drained
Lifecycle biennial
Edible parts leaves

Growth Stages

A single land cress flowering stem — “Barbarea verna kz08” by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Barbarea verna kz08” by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Stage BBCH Notes
Sowing and germination 0 Sow direct outdoors from early spring through autumn, thinly in drills about 0.5cm deep, rows 15cm apart; germinates in 7-10 days at 10-20C (PlotMyGarden).
Rosette establishment 1 Rosette of deeply-lobed, dark green leaves develops in full sun to partial shade; partial shade preferred in summer to avoid bolting (RHS, PlotMyGarden).
Cut-and-come-again harvest 3 Leaves are cropped nearly year-round with staggered sowings; avoid overhead watering to reduce fungal disease risk (PlotMyGarden).
Second-year flowering 6 In spring or summer of its second year, upright stems bear clusters of small yellow four-petalled flowers (RHS).

Harvest & Storage

A land cress rosette of deeply-lobed leaves — “Barbarea verna 2016-04-19 7994” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Barbarea verna 2016-04-19 7994” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

When to pick: RHS: "cropped virtually all year by staggering sowing dates"; plant outdoors "when large enough to handle (around 10in/25cm in height)". UMD: sow in March or September, "harvest at a few inches tall".

Storage

Best used fresh

Pests

A tall flowering land cress stem — “Barbarea verna 2017-05-05 9592” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons
“Barbarea verna 2017-05-05 9592” by Salicyna is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Flea beetles

Chrysomelidae: Alticini (various spp.)

References

  1. country=INTL

  2. country=USA

  3. country=UK

  4. country=UK

4 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.

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SoilCommander Editorial Team

Canadian vegetable growing guides · Checked against provincial agriculture & university extension guidance

Every SoilCommander guide is written and maintained by our editorial team for real Canadian growing conditions, and checked against provincial agriculture and Canadian university extension guidance, and against frost-date and growing-season data, before publication.

Vegetable Growing Guides Canada

Last verified 2026-08-30

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