Planting Samphire
Samphire is a warm season vegetable in the Amaranthaceae family. Getting the timing right is the difference between a strong stand and a disappointing one, so the windows below are given relative to your own last spring frost and first fall frost rather than a generic calendar date. Look up your local frost dates and count back or forward from there.
Sow Samphire directly into the garden 1–2 weeks after your last frost, once the soil has warmed.
Spacing and Planting Depth
Give Samphire room to mature. The figures below come from verified extension and seed-supplier data for typical varieties.
| Spacing in row | 4 inches |
|---|---|
| Row spacing | 8 inches |
| Plants per sq ft | 4.5 |
| Planting depth | 0.25 inches |
| Sun requirement | Full sun |
Plan a square-foot bed with Samphire →
Calculate plants in a bed for Samphire →
Days to Maturity
Samphire reaches maturity in 60–80 days from sowing.
Samphire is ready to harvest after about 70 days. Harvest before the first fall frost, which will end the plant's productive season.
Conditions and Care
As a warm-season vegetable, Samphire needs warm soil and settled weather to thrive, and is set back or killed by frost. It is half-hardy — it withstands light frost but should be protected from a hard freeze.
Samphire needs full sun — give it at least six hours of direct light a day for the best growth and flavor. Sow seed about 0.25 inches deep — small seed is sown shallow and barely covered, then keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings establish.
Samphire belongs to the Amaranthaceae family; rotating where you grow members of this family each year helps limit the build-up of soil-borne pests and disease. Samphire is generally grown as a single planting each season rather than succession sown.
See Samphire in the full planting calendar for your ZIP →
Plan crop rotation for Amaranthaceae →
Growing Notes
Salt-tolerant succulent green (marsh samphire).
Related Crops
Other crops you might grow alongside or instead of Samphire.
In the same family
Samphire is in the Amaranthaceae family. Other Amaranthaceae crops in the Gardenable database:
Similar growing requirements
Crops with similar season and time to maturity — useful if you want a diverse garden on a similar schedule: