Samphire - anyone grown any?

What I'd love to grow is the delicious stuff that you get on the coast and has a lovely salty taste. I've never picked any wild just bought it at seaside fishmongers.

I bought some Samphire seed today from DT Brown

Samphire Seeds

I've only just realised there are two sorts of Samphire. I hope it's the right one I've bought.

Anyone grown any? Is it possible to create the right growing conditions on a dry, chalky hill-side? Am I expecting miracles?

 

It comes with growing instructions, I won't be able to do anything like that though :DOH:

I was thinking of creating a small sunken bed with pond liner and filling with peat to create a bog.

 

Ah not peat, mud then, hmmm, will have to think where I can find some of that round here. Might have to 'borrow' a bagful next time I go down to Portsea.

So you've tried growing established plants Ziggy? And failed. Well I might be onto a loser then. If it doesn't like rain water all I can think of is distilled water and thats going to be too expensive.

 

I've ordered the seed already so they will have two chances

 

As you know, I'm useless at DIY so this may be a rubbish suggestion.

How about getting an old, largish, fish tank (won't matter if it's damaged), put the required mixture of mud/sand in it. Form the mixture in a slope, plant at the upper end, sea/brackish water at the lower end. It would need some rain to replace evaporation but keep a sheet of glass to put over the top of the tank to keep heavy rain off.

If people can create artificial conditions for tropical and salt water fish and the plants that go with them then I'm sure you can do it for just some plants.

 

Good idea shiney. I'll wait to see what the growing instructions say first. My daughter has an old unused fish tank I was thinking of using as a seed propagator this spring.

 

Ziggy, according to Mr Google, Marsh Samphire will happily grow in a pot of sandy compost, provided it is only watered with rain water with sea salt added at a teaspoon per litre. It must be pure sea salt and not contain anti-caking agent. Maybe I have no need for a fancy flooding mechanism which I've spent half the day designing in my head.