By Debby Looney, gardening expert

I have recently rekindled my love of cooking – for years it has been an uninspiring rota of 10 meals, all of which were fairly nutritious and healthy but monotonous. However, recently I have given myself a shake and started taking an interest in cooking again.

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Why am I writing this in a gardening column, you may ask? Two reasons: firstly, I have been asked on a regular basis why I don’t mention fruit and veg so much anymore, and secondly, I am re-appreciating the importance of the afore mentioned fruit and veg. I read somewhere recently that instead on your five-a-day, we now need to consume seven-a-day due to the decrease in soil nutrients as a result of over use. Now, I have found veg growing at home to be time consuming, and, to be honest, if you work full-time, there is only so much you can do. So next spring, I am going to write more about energy and time effective ways of growing your own, and am going to stick with the plan myself too!

In the meantime, to get back to my new found culinary interests, an ingredient I am coming across frequently is watercress. I have been substituting spinach and rocket as I cannot find watercress in any supermarket. It is actually an ingredient which grows wild in most countries, and Ireland is no exception. In fact it grows ‘everywhere’ once you start looking. It grows in slow running water so it can be found in springs, at the edge of rivers and in drains. It is not recommended to use it from the wild as there is a danger of liver fluke. However, I have grown some from seed, and use part of my pond where there is a nice bit of water movement from the pump, and it is growing ‘mad’! It is the most gratifying vegetable I have ever grown. If you do not have a pond or stream, worry not, it can be easily grown in a minimum of soil as long as it never dries out. I am constructing a watercress nursery for myself out of some shallow barrels joined to each other with water butt connectors to my own water butt over-flow – it sounds complicated, but a little bit of engineering versus zero weed picking is worth it! Basically, if you can grow it in a pot which you can stand in a few inches of rain water, you will be able to grow this wonderful greenery!

The nutrient content of watercress is awesome, it contains potassium, protein, magnesium, calcium and vitamin C, and is being sold as a superfood these days. It is peppery, but not too strong, and is ideal in salads and soups – it adds a freshness which spinach cannot compete with. There is a lot of research being done into the benefits of watercress, with astounding implications into its use for ailments from nappy rash right through to cancer.

So, if you grow nothing else, do give this a try. Basically, if you have a pot which you can stand in a few inches of rain water, you will be able to grow this wonderful greenery!