One reason the traditional green lawn is being replaced in so many areas is that it’s not a very efficient way to use resources. Manicured lawns use a lot of water without providing food or encouraging biodiversity in exchange. In contrast, certain ground covers can turn your yard into a fresh produce aisle. One option that’s ideal for moist areas of the landscape is watercress (Nasturtium officinale).

Watercress has a peppery taste; in fact, it used to serve as a substitute for black pepper in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. It can be eaten either raw or cooked and is an excellent source of vitamins A and C, niacin, riboflavin, and iron. Imagine heading into your yard and snipping some fresh leaves off the lawn for your salad, sandwich, or stir-fry.

Watercress grows on every continent but Antarctica and is commonly sold in grocery stores. On rare occasions, commercial watercress can be contaminated by liver flukes due to livestock upstream (cooking kills these parasites). To enjoy raw watercress worry-free and transform your grass into an edible lawn, all you need is a suitably moist and sunny area.

Watercress is a perennial that naturally grows along waterways or in areas that experience frequent flooding. It can grow either directly in the water or in moist soil. Its light, hollow stems enable it to float in the water. Meanwhile, when in soil, it will creep along the ground and form a dense mat. If you don’t have a nearby stream, you can grow a smaller bed of watercress by digging a basin, lining it, and filling it with a potting mix; once the seedlings are tall enough, you can gradually raise the water level. Alternatively, in drier areas, try growing wintercress (Barbarea vulgaris) instead. It will grow in regular, fertile garden soil and also tastes good in salads.

Watercress requires plenty of sun to grow. Outdoors, it should be sown three weeks before the last frost date. Alternatively, you can start the seeds indoors as long as the temperatures are cool enough — 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal range. Sow the seeds about a ¼ inch deep in the soil and keep the medium consistently moist. They will germinate in around five days. If starting indoors, transplant the seedlings after the last frost, leaving 8 inches between each plant. You can also grow watercress from cuttings.

Watercress is ready to harvest as early as three weeks after seedlings emerge. It will continue getting thicker as you harvest, and while the flavor peaks in the spring, it remains harvestable through the winter. This plant is cold hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9.