{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "record_type": "plant",
  "slug": "watercress",
  "botanical_name": "Nasturtium officinale",
  "categories": [
    "leaf vegetable",
    "salad crop",
    "aquatic crop"
  ],
  "common_name": "Watercress",
  "difficulty": "Moderate",
  "family": "Brassicaceae",
  "growth_habits": [
    "rooting stems",
    "trailing perennial"
  ],
  "lifecycle": "Perennial",
  "requirements": {
    "container": {
      "minimum_diameter_cm": 25,
      "minimum_volume_litres": 5,
      "plants_per_container": 1
    },
    "harvest": {
      "typical_uk_months": [
        "May",
        "November"
      ]
    },
    "light": {
      "minimum_direct_sun_hours": 4,
      "preferred_direct_sun_hours": 6
    },
    "planting_out": {
      "frost_tolerant": true,
      "label": "Establish outdoors",
      "minimum_reliable_temperature_c": 10,
      "note": "Plant young transplants after local frost risk; 10°C is a planning value, not a hardiness limit"
    },
    "soil_ph": {
      "maximum": 7.5,
      "minimum": 6.5
    },
    "spacing": {
      "maximum_cm": 20,
      "minimum_cm": 20
    }
  },
  "summary": "Watercress is a peppery perennial leaf crop for consistently wet growing medium, clean water and regular picking in a controlled container.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "rhs-watercress",
      "publisher": "Royal Horticultural Society",
      "url": "https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/51684/nasturtium-officinale/details",
      "supports": [
        "identity",
        "site",
        "propagation",
        "problems"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "usu-watercress",
      "publisher": "Utah State University Extension",
      "url": "https://extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/research/watercress-in-the-garden",
      "supports": [
        "soil_ph",
        "sowing",
        "spacing",
        "watering",
        "feeding",
        "harvest"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "watercress-growing-faq",
      "publisher": "Watercress.co.uk",
      "url": "https://www.watercress.co.uk/growing-watercress-faq",
      "supports": [
        "UK_season",
        "flowering",
        "pond_caution"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "cdc-fasciola",
      "publisher": "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention",
      "url": "https://www.cdc.gov/liver-flukes/fasciola/index.html",
      "supports": [
        "food_safety",
        "water_contamination"
      ]
    }
  ]
}