FarmersCress

Like arugula, this is a member of the large cabbage family. The plants grow in the wild, but a cultivated spot is a real feast: at a height of 20-50 cm, they bloom profusely with white flower clusters. Once the heart-shaped fruits appear, you will see a resemblance to Shepherd's Purse. Field Pennycress has upright, heart-shaped fruits, while Shepherd's Purse has hanging fruits. Ensure fertile soil and sufficient water so that the plant does not bloom too quickly; the leaves are especially tasty before flowering begins, after which they become too bitter. You can eat them raw or cooked (e.g., in soups); the taste is very aromatic with a pleasant bitterness, delicious mixed into salads. The spent stems (full of fruits) are very graceful as a cut flower and very popular! And then the seeds... you can germinate them as sprouts or grind them into powder with a mortar and pestle and mix them into salad (a mustard substitute). Industrially, the seeds can be pressed for oil and may be usable as biofuel.

Names:
Latin: Thlaspi arvense
Dutch: Boerenkers
Also known as: Witte Krodde
English: Field Penny-Cress