Best Tomato CagesWhat are the Best Tomato Cages?Sturdy ones. We like using the sturdier thick cages, but they're a little harder to find. If you grow tomatoes, they're probably one of your favorite crops, like ours, and you want to ensure that the plants are healthy and supported so you get a great harvest. What kind of Tomato supports do you use?Those darned flimsy wire "tomato cages" that are sold at hardware stores are useless once a tomato plant gets large, as you can see in these photo...
No-Peel Tomato Sauce RecipeYes, you can leave skin on tomatoes when making sauce! Just use a food processor to transform whole tomatoes into sauce. This saves lots of time from having to boil the tomatoes first to loosen the skin enough to peel. We also figure keeping the skins on retains all the vitamins and minerals that the skin contains. The main reason people peel tomatoes for sauce is that if not processed, then you get little curled up skins in your sauce. But a food processor grinds them all up and even makes a...
How to Roast ChileHow to Roast Chile Do you grow green chile seeds? Then you probably will have a great chile harvest to roast. Here's our top tips on roasting chile at home: Use your Oven to Roast Chile:Set your broiler to 425°F, use a metal cookie sheet and arrange your chile pods on the sheet in a single layer. Some people opt to lightly coat chile with olive oil and line your pan with foil, but you don't have to do this, it's optional. We have an old pan we use to roast chiles so we skip...
Padron Pepper Seeds ReviewWe were happy to get this beautiful shot of Padrón peppers from one of our happy seed customers, here's what Sam had to say: Greetings to the folks at the Sandia Seed Company!I recently purchased a packet of your padrón seeds. I also happened to get my San Diego garden started early this year as well. As a result I have already had two batches of blackened padróns with coarse sea salt as appetizers for meals. You are receiving a photo of the 2nd batch; ... We all know the first ones di...
Can peppers survive 40 degree weather?People have asked, can peppers survive 40˚ F temperatures? Most peppers are not happy when temperatures drop below 50-60˚ F. If you live in a short season climate, we recommend starting pepper seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost of the spring is expected, and wait to transplant outside until it's warmed up to at least 55-60˚ F at night consistently and all chance of frost has passed.Planting peppers outside early in the spring with no protection and cold weather below 50˚ F ca...
Wholesale SeedsSandia Seed offers Wholesale Seeds to anyone who wants to resell seeds in online stores, garden centers, hardware stores, gift shops or other local stores. Sandia Seed offers Wholesale Seeds for all of our 100+ pepper seeds and our top favorite 44+ tomato seeds including lots of heirloom and Vegetable Seeds from around the world. It's easy to become a Sandia Seed seller! We offer new wholesale customers receive 50% off your first order over $300 and then all future reorders with no mini...
Favorite Tomato VarietiesOne of our favorite tomato varieties is the Berkeley Tie-Dye Tomato. Surprisingly, this large beefsteak tomato with beautiful metallic green stripes may not only be one of the prettiest tomatoes you can grow, it is also great for short-season gardens! The flesh is pink with yellow streaks and the flavor is outstanding - sweet, rich, dark heirloom tomato flavor. Despite their large size, these tomatoes are ready for harvest in just 65-75 days (compare that to other beefsteaks which usually ran...
Rainbow PeppersRainbow peppers varieties are great to grow from seed in your garden! We have lots of Ornamental Peppers to bring some rainbows to your garden. One of our favorite Rainbow Peppers includes our NuMex Twilight Pepper. This gorgeous hot pepper is edible, though it hasn't been rated on the Scoville Scale. We love growing it in borders for a burst of rainbow colors, as well as in pots! This gorgeous rainbow pepper plant is very eye-catching in the garden, producing a beautiful array of br...
Is it too late to plant tomato seeds?Is it too late to start tomatoes? Definitely not. You can plant tomato seeds anytime in the spring. Many people around here don’t sow them until April, as they are fast germinators and fast growers. We find they do even better when they are planted in the ground when they're younger (after it warms up and all chance of frost has passed, of course). We are in the West, so we typically start our Tomato seeds in late March or in April. How early you start them depends on how much room you ...
Easiest Peppers to GrowIf you haven't planned a garden yet, now is a great time. We have picked out some of the fastest growing peppers which are also of course the easiest to grow so that you can get your garden growing quickly! Here Is Our Favorites List Of TheEasiest Peppers To Grow: Early Jalapeño Seeds Early Jalapeño - The best pepper for short seasons and cooler climates! These are one of the earliest peppers, and everybody loves jalapeños because they can be prepared in so many different ways. Jalapeñ...
Vegetable Seed CatalogLooking for a vegetable seed catalog? Sandia Seed carries tons of seeds of what we think are the best vegetables you can grow – Chile Peppers and Tomatoes! Our new Vegetable Seed Catalog has over 100 peppers of the world, and over 44 tomato seeds including heirlooms and hybrids, you're sure to find tons of vegetable seeds to choose from! Try growing something new this year, if you like spicy we have lots of hot peppers including the hottest peppers in the world such as the Carolina Reape...
Small Seed CompanySupporting small seed companies is a great way to diversify your garden and the world's seed diversity! To help keep seeds available for your vegetable garden that are not associated with GMOs, Bayer / Monsanto, then purchasing your seeds from small seed companies that sell non-GMO and Heirloom seeds is a small way you can help. Sandia Seed is a small seed company started by Patsy Coles, who loves growing New Mexican green chiles. She founded Sandia Seed as she found it was hard to get Ne...
Seed CatalogsMake sure to check our our new Seed Catalog, packed with peppers and heirloom tomatoes.Safe Seed Pledge:We support the Safe Seed Pledge. As signers, we pledge that we do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants. We wish to support agricultural progress that leads to healthier soils, genetically diverse agricultural ecosystems and ultimately people and communities. Our seeds are non-GMO and untreated. We have over 100 pepper seeds and 44 tomato seeds to look through, ...
Hatch Chile Salsa RecipeIf you grow our Hatch Chile seeds, then you probably know you use Hatch chiles in pretty much any recipe for great flavor and heat. Here's a twist on one of our favorite salsa recipes, using hot hatch chiles for the heat and flavor, and heirloom tomatoes for an amazing salsa. Hatch Chile Salsa Recipe Ingredients: 4 Cups of Diced Fresh Tomatoes (5-10 Heirloom Tomatoes) ~ or ~ 1 large can of whole tomatoes 1/2 Cup of Hatch Chile, roasted, deseeded & diced (use any heat desired, we lik...
Best Mulch for Tomatoes and PeppersThere are lots of options for the Best Mulch for Tomatoes and Peppers, you can use fine wood mulch, compost, grass clippings, paper mulch, fabric, straw, leaves or newspaper. We think the best mulches are grass clippings or good compost as they help feed the soil. Mulching can prevent a lot of problems in the garden. IMPORTANT NOTE: WHATEVER MULCH YOU USE, MAKE SURE NOT TO PILE MULCH UP AGAINST THE STEMS OF YOUR VEGGIES, OR YOU'LL SMOTHER AND ROT THEIR BASE! Shown below is a pepper plant ...
Hardening Off SeedlingsOther than overwatering, one of the most common mistakes new and experienced gardeners alike make when growing vegetables from seed is to not harden off the seedlings before transplanting outdoors. Have you ever planted your precious tomato or pepper seedlings and a few hours later notice that they are all wilted or the leaves get scalded or turn white? This is often from transplant shock and sunscald. If you do not expose your seedlings grown indoors to the sun and breezes before transplanti...
Best Tomato Cages
What are the Best Tomato Cages?Sturdy ones. We like using the sturdier thick cages, but they're a little harder to find. If you grow tomatoes, they're probably one of your favorite crops, like ours, and you want to ensure that the plants are healthy and supported so you get a great harvest. What kind of Tomato supports do you use?Those darned flimsy wire "tomato cages" that are sold at hardware stores are useless once a tomato plant gets large, as you can see in these photo...
No-Peel Tomato Sauce Recipe
Yes, you can leave skin on tomatoes when making sauce! Just use a food processor to transform whole tomatoes into sauce. This saves lots of time from having to boil the tomatoes first to loosen the skin enough to peel. We also figure keeping the skins on retains all the vitamins and minerals that the skin contains. The main reason people peel tomatoes for sauce is that if not processed, then you get little curled up skins in your sauce. But a food processor grinds them all up and even makes a...
How to Roast Chile
How to Roast Chile Do you grow green chile seeds? Then you probably will have a great chile harvest to roast. Here's our top tips on roasting chile at home: Use your Oven to Roast Chile:Set your broiler to 425°F, use a metal cookie sheet and arrange your chile pods on the sheet in a single layer. Some people opt to lightly coat chile with olive oil and line your pan with foil, but you don't have to do this, it's optional. We have an old pan we use to roast chiles so we skip...
Padron Pepper Seeds Review
We were happy to get this beautiful shot of Padrón peppers from one of our happy seed customers, here's what Sam had to say: Greetings to the folks at the Sandia Seed Company!I recently purchased a packet of your padrón seeds. I also happened to get my San Diego garden started early this year as well. As a result I have already had two batches of blackened padróns with coarse sea salt as appetizers for meals. You are receiving a photo of the 2nd batch; ... We all know the first ones di...
Can peppers survive 40 degree weather?
People have asked, can peppers survive 40˚ F temperatures? Most peppers are not happy when temperatures drop below 50-60˚ F. If you live in a short season climate, we recommend starting pepper seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost of the spring is expected, and wait to transplant outside until it's warmed up to at least 55-60˚ F at night consistently and all chance of frost has passed.Planting peppers outside early in the spring with no protection and cold weather below 50˚ F ca...
Wholesale Seeds
Sandia Seed offers Wholesale Seeds to anyone who wants to resell seeds in online stores, garden centers, hardware stores, gift shops or other local stores. Sandia Seed offers Wholesale Seeds for all of our 100+ pepper seeds and our top favorite 44+ tomato seeds including lots of heirloom and Vegetable Seeds from around the world. It's easy to become a Sandia Seed seller! We offer new wholesale customers receive 50% off your first order over $300 and then all future reorders with no mini...
Favorite Tomato Varieties
One of our favorite tomato varieties is the Berkeley Tie-Dye Tomato. Surprisingly, this large beefsteak tomato with beautiful metallic green stripes may not only be one of the prettiest tomatoes you can grow, it is also great for short-season gardens! The flesh is pink with yellow streaks and the flavor is outstanding - sweet, rich, dark heirloom tomato flavor. Despite their large size, these tomatoes are ready for harvest in just 65-75 days (compare that to other beefsteaks which usually ran...
Rainbow Peppers
Rainbow peppers varieties are great to grow from seed in your garden! We have lots of Ornamental Peppers to bring some rainbows to your garden. One of our favorite Rainbow Peppers includes our NuMex Twilight Pepper. This gorgeous hot pepper is edible, though it hasn't been rated on the Scoville Scale. We love growing it in borders for a burst of rainbow colors, as well as in pots! This gorgeous rainbow pepper plant is very eye-catching in the garden, producing a beautiful array of br...
Is it too late to plant tomato seeds?
Is it too late to start tomatoes? Definitely not. You can plant tomato seeds anytime in the spring. Many people around here don’t sow them until April, as they are fast germinators and fast growers. We find they do even better when they are planted in the ground when they're younger (after it warms up and all chance of frost has passed, of course). We are in the West, so we typically start our Tomato seeds in late March or in April. How early you start them depends on how much room you ...
Easiest Peppers to Grow
If you haven't planned a garden yet, now is a great time. We have picked out some of the fastest growing peppers which are also of course the easiest to grow so that you can get your garden growing quickly! Here Is Our Favorites List Of TheEasiest Peppers To Grow: Early Jalapeño Seeds Early Jalapeño - The best pepper for short seasons and cooler climates! These are one of the earliest peppers, and everybody loves jalapeños because they can be prepared in so many different ways. Jalapeñ...
Vegetable Seed Catalog
Looking for a vegetable seed catalog? Sandia Seed carries tons of seeds of what we think are the best vegetables you can grow – Chile Peppers and Tomatoes! Our new Vegetable Seed Catalog has over 100 peppers of the world, and over 44 tomato seeds including heirlooms and hybrids, you're sure to find tons of vegetable seeds to choose from! Try growing something new this year, if you like spicy we have lots of hot peppers including the hottest peppers in the world such as the Carolina Reape...
Small Seed Company
Supporting small seed companies is a great way to diversify your garden and the world's seed diversity! To help keep seeds available for your vegetable garden that are not associated with GMOs, Bayer / Monsanto, then purchasing your seeds from small seed companies that sell non-GMO and Heirloom seeds is a small way you can help. Sandia Seed is a small seed company started by Patsy Coles, who loves growing New Mexican green chiles. She founded Sandia Seed as she found it was hard to get Ne...
Seed Catalogs
Make sure to check our our new Seed Catalog, packed with peppers and heirloom tomatoes.Safe Seed Pledge:We support the Safe Seed Pledge. As signers, we pledge that we do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants. We wish to support agricultural progress that leads to healthier soils, genetically diverse agricultural ecosystems and ultimately people and communities. Our seeds are non-GMO and untreated. We have over 100 pepper seeds and 44 tomato seeds to look through, ...
Hatch Chile Salsa Recipe
If you grow our Hatch Chile seeds, then you probably know you use Hatch chiles in pretty much any recipe for great flavor and heat. Here's a twist on one of our favorite salsa recipes, using hot hatch chiles for the heat and flavor, and heirloom tomatoes for an amazing salsa. Hatch Chile Salsa Recipe Ingredients: 4 Cups of Diced Fresh Tomatoes (5-10 Heirloom Tomatoes) ~ or ~ 1 large can of whole tomatoes 1/2 Cup of Hatch Chile, roasted, deseeded & diced (use any heat desired, we lik...
Best Mulch for Tomatoes and Peppers
There are lots of options for the Best Mulch for Tomatoes and Peppers, you can use fine wood mulch, compost, grass clippings, paper mulch, fabric, straw, leaves or newspaper. We think the best mulches are grass clippings or good compost as they help feed the soil. Mulching can prevent a lot of problems in the garden. IMPORTANT NOTE: WHATEVER MULCH YOU USE, MAKE SURE NOT TO PILE MULCH UP AGAINST THE STEMS OF YOUR VEGGIES, OR YOU'LL SMOTHER AND ROT THEIR BASE! Shown below is a pepper plant ...
Hardening Off Seedlings
Other than overwatering, one of the most common mistakes new and experienced gardeners alike make when growing vegetables from seed is to not harden off the seedlings before transplanting outdoors. Have you ever planted your precious tomato or pepper seedlings and a few hours later notice that they are all wilted or the leaves get scalded or turn white? This is often from transplant shock and sunscald. If you do not expose your seedlings grown indoors to the sun and breezes before transplanti...
