Presto Cress

Fast-sprouting peppery greens for windowsill sprouting or planting directly in the garden. This variety has been selected and saved on-farm by Tobacco Road Farm for over a decade since it is no longer commercially available (until now!) and it so important to their salad mixes. Over these years, they have adapted this variety to their Northeastern Connecticut year-round farm ecosystem.

Initial photo by Amanda Kopplin of @family4futuremn, showing Presto Cress grown from their saved seed! Used with permission. Following photo used with permission from Jasmine Pahl and her blog post about Presto Cress.

Days to maturity: 36

Seeds per pack: 250

Germination rate: 92% on 02/26/2024

Planting / harvesting notes

Sow seeds every two weeks from early spring until fall. Sow shallowly 10-20 seeds per inch and begin harvest as soon as 1-2 weeks when plants are 2" tall! Alternatively, sow all year indoors.

Seed keeping notes

Allow seed pods to develop fully until dried on the plant. Harvest the aboveground portion of the plant when mostly or entirely dry and allow it to dry further in a well ventilated, dry place. Turn the plants upside down and wack them in a bucket to allow the seeds to drop. Sift out the large plant pieces and use the wind or a fan to carefully winnow off the lightweight chaff.