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Watercress seeds UK: what the packet must say

Updated: 21 October 2026

You are on amazon.co.uk with a shortlist that says cress, nasturtium, organic, or Aqua, and you want the peppery leaf from the supermarket bag rather than a week of cress heads on kitchen paper. Watercress seeds in the UK are packets of Nasturtium officinale. The useful checks are the species on the title, a count or a gram you can believe, and what an organic line actually proves. Prices and the side-by-side rows stay on the [watercress seeds comparison](/hub/herb-seeds/watercress-seeds). This page is the filter before you add one to the basket. Peter F. used these eight listings. There was no germination test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are on amazon.co.uk with a shortlist that says cress, nasturtium, organic, or Aqua, and you want the peppery leaf from the supermarket bag rather than a week of cress heads on kitchen paper.

Our top picks

Just Seed Just Seed watercress, 6,000 seeds

Best overall

Just Seed Just Seed watercress, 6,000 seeds
8.6/10about £3.50
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JustSeed JustSeed watercress, 600 seeds

Best value

JustSeed JustSeed watercress, 600 seeds
8.4/10about £3.10
View offer
Unwins Unwins Watercress Aqua, 1,000 seeds

Alternative

Unwins Unwins Watercress Aqua, 1,000 seeds
7.8/10about £2.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Name the plant before the price
  2. 2.Count, grams, and model numbers
  3. 3.Organic, Defra, and the yellow label
  4. 4.What this comparison’s packets actually state

Name the plant before the price

Three crops share the shop window, and a fourth plant borrows an old scientific name. Watercress is Nasturtium officinale, a perennial of wet ground with white flowers. Garden cress is Lepidium sativum, the quick indoor sprinkle. Land cress is Barbarea verna, which the UK traditional-speciality specification says is often sold wrongly as watercress. The bedding nasturtium is Tropaeolum majus. Plain cress, mustard and cress, or halim is not this comparison. Nasturtium beside the word watercress is the old genus, not a flower packet. Just Seed’s 6,000-seed listing (B0084C72PC, £3.50) prints Nasturtium officinale in the title. JustSeed’s 600-seed listing (B079593G52, £3.10) puts Nasturtium in the plant-type field. If the title has neither watercress nor Nasturtium officinale, stop.

Count, grams, and model numbers

A star rating does not tell you how many seeds are in the bag. Just Seed states 600 seeds at £3.10 and 6,000 at £3.50. The Unwins pictorial Aqua packet (B00NPBRM8E) states 1,000 seeds at £2.99. Semillas Batlle states 1 g at £1.70. Mr Fothergill’s Watercress Aqua (B001THFXHI, £3.29) shows 21236 in the pieces field. That is model 21236, not a seed count. The cheaper Unwins Aqua listing (B00UD3Y6CW, £2.08) states no count. Nika’s title says 3,000 seeds while the items field says 300.
Just Seed Just Seed watercress, 6,000 seeds

Testsieger

Just Seed Just Seed watercress, 6,000 seeds
8.6/10about £3.50
View offer

Organic, Defra, and the yellow label

Organic in an Amazon attribute is a claim until the bag shows a UK control-body code. GOV.UK lists codes such as GB-ORG-05 for the Soil Association and GB-ORG-02 for Organic Farmers & Growers. Northern Ireland uses XI-ORG. Just Seed’s bullets print Defra 7291 and Organic Registered AP23164. AP23164 is not a GB-ORG code. This scrape has no packet photo, so we do not call that seed certified organic. Unwins and Mr Fothergill’s Aqua say Natural. Defra 7291 is a seller’s registration line, not by itself the dark yellow supplier’s label under the Seed Marketing Regulations 2011. None of these saved listings show that label. Species is the title. Quantity is a count or a gram that does not fight another field. Organic is a control-body code on the bag, not a word in a bullet.

What this comparison’s packets actually state

A packet fails this guide if the title is not watercress, if the only quantity is a model number or a contradiction, or if you needed a GB-ORG code and the page only offered AP23164. Batlle at £1.70 states watercress, Spring, and 1 g. The written reviews in the extract are from Spain and Italy. Nika names the Latin species and then disagrees on 3,000 versus 300. It does not fail because Suttons, on a different Aqua card, says sow 0.5 cm deep. That depth is not the rule for Just Seed. Once the bag is the right species, follow the packet you bought.

Common questions

How do I know the packet is watercress and not garden cress?
Look for watercress or Nasturtium officinale on the title. Garden cress is Lepidium sativum, often sold as plain cress, mustard and cress, or a halim pouch for sprouting. Land cress, Barbarea verna, is a different plant that the UK product specification says is sometimes marketed as watercress. If none of those watercress names appear, you are in a different crop.
What does Nasturtium on a Just Seed title mean?
On these watercress listings it is the old genus name for Nasturtium officinale. It is not the orange bedding flower, Tropaeolum majus. The 6,000-seed Just Seed title prints the full Latin name. The 600-seed listing says watercress and puts Nasturtium in the plant-type field. Either can be the right plant. The Latin name on the title is the one you can check without guessing.
Is Organic plus AP23164 certified organic seed?
Not on the evidence in this scrape. UK organic seed is identified by a control-body code, GB-ORG in Great Britain or XI-ORG in Northern Ireland, from a body on the GOV.UK list. AP23164 is printed on Just Seed bullets beside an Organic material feature. No packet photo here shows a GB-ORG mark, so the word stays a claim.
Why does one listing say 600 seeds and a review say about 100?
The title and unit count on B079593G52 say 600. One UK review reported a rough count nearer 100. That is a single report, not a laboratory weigh-in, and the same review set also includes people who grew the seed in a pot and on a windowsill. Open the packet if the count matters to you. Do not replace the title with one anecdote, and do not ignore the anecdote either.
Why is Mr Fothergill’s pieces field 21236?
Because 21236 is the model number on that listing, repeated in the pieces field. It is not a seed count. A garden centre selling article 21236 states 1,000 seeds. Use that only as the other retailer’s claim. On amazon.co.uk this comparison records the count as unknown.
Does a four-pack at £12.40 save money against four singles?
On this snapshot, no. The four-pack is £12.40 and the single 600-seed packet is £3.10, so the unit price matches. The part number matches too, and the extracted reviews match the single, including the short-count complaint. Buy four bags if you want four bags in one order. Do not buy them as a discount or as a second test of the seed.

Related pages

Best watercress seeds

Watercress vs garden cress

How to sow watercress seeds

Watercress seeds

Grow watercress in a pot: wet compost, fresh water

Sources

Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts on these eight listings were read for this comparison. Page updated 21 October 2026.

  1. RHS, Nasturtium officinale (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. Thompson & Morgan, how to grow watercress (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. Love The Garden, watercress (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. Seed Marketing Regulations 2011, Schedule 3 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK, organic food: approved UK control bodies (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK, watercress product specification (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. NatureScot, foraging for wild plants (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. FSA-recognised watercress hygiene guide (2017) (retrieved 21 October 2026)