Watercress grows wild in and around Christchurch especially along the Coastline in areas like Diamond Harbour,
Governors Bay and near the Estuary.
I collected a green bag full yesterday from one of the places put up on the Otautahi map,
dropped half of it off at a friends place around the road, and she suggested making a soup with it.
Yum!
#1 by Tessa on August 10th, 2009
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It also grows in a remarkable number of roadside ditches – there is a lot along Halswell Junction rd
#2 by Greg on August 11th, 2009
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Soup looks good… we’ll have to try some of that ourselves!
#3 by Susan on August 24th, 2009
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I’ve always been told to be careful of collecting watercress from nearby streams because of salmonella and other potential nasties. I assume this is only a problem if you eat the watercress raw. Any opinions??
#4 by judesfude on August 25th, 2009
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regarding watercress, you can catch liver fluke from these tiny snails that live in the cress. this is a big problem overseas so that most is grown hydroponically. it is more of a risk near where cattle are. i could not confirm whether this is a problem in caterbury but is an issue in the north island apparently. i got my watercress from near the governers bay walk and washed it thoroughly and then grew my own in a fish bin. grows well sprinkle of fertiliser every now and then
#5 by Susan on August 31st, 2009
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From doing a little more research — this can be a problem whenever there are sheep or cattle upstream. Apparently cooking wild watercress solves this problem and the potential for infection with salmonella and giardia.
See http://www.retune.co.nz/health/Wild_Watercress_Soup_(Nasturtium_officinale).html
and
http://www.cullyandsully.com/content/watercress