September VegetablesIn the West, September means that tomatoes are FINALLY ripening, including all the fat juicy heirlooms you've been waiting all summer for. It also is a great season for harvesting chiles, which are usually loaded with chile peppers in September. And of course, you probably have lots of other vegetables in abundance such as zucchini, tomatillos squash, cucumbers, eggplants, kale, collard greens, herbs and more. What should you do with your harvest? Make fresh meals every night! Here are a...
Pumpkin Spice ain't got nothing on Green ChilePumpkin Spice ain't got nothing on Green ChileTRUTH! :) The smell and flavor of roasted green chile is amazing! We'd take green chile over pumpkin spice any day. You?! Grow your own Green Chile Seeds »View more of our Chile Memes » Happy growing!
How deep should a container be for Peppers?Peppers have fairly large root systems, so the deeper the container, the better for healthy plants, and larger harvests. We recommend at least 14" deep, with an ideal depth of 18-24" (think whiskey barrel size.) For the best harvests and healthy plants, we like to plant pepper plants in deep beds, we recommend 18-24" of soil depth. Small peppers (less than one foot high) can grow well in two-gallon containers, but bigger plants need at least five-gallon pots, and all peppers th...
Big Jim ChileDid you know that the Big Jim Chile holds the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest chile pepper in the world? These chiles are HUGE averaging around 8-10" but have been known to grow to 14" in length! The beautiful & huge Legacy Big Jim Chile pods have great flavor and thick flesh. The record-holder peppers produces an abundant crop on 30” tall Big Jim chile plants. When full size and green in color, this New Mexico chile is perfect for big stuffed rellenos. After roa...
Spicy Pickles RecipeGrow and make your own spicy pickles! Here's a couple recipes: Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickle Recipe » Jalapeno Pickles Recipe » Spicy pickles are one of the easiest ways to preserve your cucumber harvest for year-round enjoyment. You can make spears or slices so you can use them on sandwiches, burgers, or just as a snack anytime. Of course, we think spicy pickles are the best, and we like to experiment with using different chiles to flavor them. Try adding Hatch Chiles for a Ne...
Can peppers survive 40 degree weather?People have asked, can peppers survive 40˚ F temperatures? Yes, pepper plants can SURVIVE 40˚ F temperatures, but they won't be happy about it and it will likely stunt their growth. Most peppers are not happy when temperatures drop below 50-60˚ F. They will survive, but they most certainly will not thrive if kept too long in cool temps!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...
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...
Leggy Seedlings?One of the best ways to keep seedlings from getting leggy is to pet or brush them with your hands. Yes, you heard that right, we "pet" our seedlings to stimulate them to grow stockier and not get leggy. You can also use a small fan on them to keep them from getting leggy and spindly. Air circulation is important to keep seedlings healthy, and keep them from succumbing to dampening off, a common seedling ailment that causes them to shrivel and die. We grow a lot of pepper seeds and tom...
Can you put pepper plants together in one big pot?Should you put more than one pepper plant in a pot? Our answer: It depends on how big the pot is – the bigger the better if you want to grow more than one pepper plant per pot. We think it's best to separate them. We like to use 5-7 gallon pots for peppers, as we find that too small of a pot, they dry out too quickly and hinder the growth. Some people plant up to 3 plants per five gallon bucket, but we've found that they won't do as well as if each one had their own bucket. ...
Purple PeppersLooking for purple peppers? We not only have several varieties of purple peppers you can grow, but we also have purple tomatoes, too! Growing purple peppers and tomatoes adds lots of color to the garden and your harvest. We have sweet purple peppers such as the purple bell pepper as well as hot purple peppers like the Purple Bhut Jolokia ghost pepper. You can make a deep purple salsa if you grow some of our purple tomatoes and purple peppers – which is sure to be a spicy delight to ...
How deep do Hatch Chile roots grow?We often get this question from gardeners, especially those with raised beds: “How deep do Hatch Chile roots grow?” A:For the best harvests and healthy plants, we like to plant green chile plants in deep beds, we recommend 18-24" of soil depth.Many larger chile plants, such as the Legacy Big Jim, grow to a height of 30" so having a deep root system helps them stay strong to hold up those huge green chile pods. How deep can pepper plants' roots grow?Typically most larger pepper...
Seed HoardingAND... JUST LIKE THAT I WENT FROM SEED HOARDING, TO BEING PREPARED!;)Perhaps like us, you might hoard seeds! Every year we find ourselves hoarding seeds... well, we decided we're just being prepared, right?! We also share and donate our seeds with seed libraries and at seed swaps and with other gardeners. It's easy to share seeds! So we don't consider it seed hoarding, we are simply prepared, right? We are determined to grow out all of our seeds, but limited garden space foils...
Succession PlantingIt is smart to succession plant seeds for lettuce, radishes, beets, carrots, cucumbers, nasturtium, green onions, and peas all season long to keep the harvests coming. Our Little Gem Lettuce is a Chef's favorite! A cross between butterhead and romaine, Little Gem has the unique trait of having romaine’s crunch with the sweetness and small size of a butterhead. It grows 8" high producing a sweet and compact heart that is the perfect size for interplanting with your other veggies! We r...
Grow Carolina Reaper Peppers - Part 1Here is one method you can use to grow Carolina Reaper seeds into big pepper producing plants. Start with great seeds that will grow true Carolina Reaper peppers from a well-established company. Plant them into a deep 72 cell round insert tray with a solid tray underneath to catch the water. Fill the cells with seed starter mix and then gently push your fingers into cells. This will remove any large pockets of air and make the soil level with the top of the cells. A great seedling mix is Co...
Growing Carolina Reaper Peppers - Part 2We begin Part 2 (see Part 1) with Carolina Reaper plants that are more than 12 weeks old and still growing in a cell tray. They have already been hardened off to withstand normal outdoor conditions. Note - Some seedlings will be ready to be transplanted directly to the outdoor garden at this time, and some will enjoy being bumped up to the next container size and remaining inside under artificial lighting. These plants will be bumped up to the next container size and stay outside. Fill all 7...
Hot Pepper Companion PlantsDo you plant marigolds with your peppers and tomatoes? We think they help keep the plants healthy and pest-free! Marigolds can help repel beetles, nematodes, aphids, potato bugs and squash bugs on not only peppers but other veggies, too! We love planting marigolds among our pepper plants and tomato plants. Marigolds also release a substance from their roots that wards off nematodes and eel worms, which target peppers and other veggies in the garden. Nasturtium flowers are also great compan...
Gardening Questions?Do you have local gardening questions? When do I start my tomatoes in my area? What veggie seeds can I direct sow, and when are the best times? What is the best time to start seeds indoors? Should I direct sow beans, or start them indoors in my area? Depending on your area, the answer may be different! You can always ask your own state’s cooperative extension service to answer questions on when to start vegetable seeds and what types of veggies grow best in your area. These local expert...
Spicy Beet Greens RecipeWe love growing beets!! They are so delicious and so easy to grow. Did you know you can also eat the greens? Recipe posted below! Spicy Beet Greens Recipe: Ingredients: Olive oil Beet greens, washed and cut into 2-inch pieces 3+ cloves garlic, minced Crushed hot pepper flakes to taste Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper Directions: Heat up the oil in a heavy sautée pan. Sautée the beet greens and garlic until the greens are wilted and tender, 5 to 8...
FREE SEEDS with PurchaseEXPIRED OFFER: Get a Free Packet of Watermelon seeds to plant in May 2021 when you buy any seeds in our Get Real Gardening Collection! NOTE: This offer is expired, stay tuned and signup for our newsletter for future deals. You can direct sow watermelon seeds, we like to soak them overnight first to help them get nice and saturated before direct sowing in mounds in the garden. Shop now » FUN FACT: We are named Sandia Seed after the Sandia mountains in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sandía mea...
How deep should I plant my seeds?The rule of thumb is to plant seeds at a depth equal to two or three times their width. For a pepper seed that would be about 1/4 to 3/8” deep. A common mistake is to plant them too deep. This inhibits their growth, not only because they may not germinate at all, but also because their stems may not be designed to push through the heavy pile of soil above them. It is better to plant seeds too shallow than too deep. Read the seed packet carefully, for detailed information about how deep to pla...
September Vegetables
In the West, September means that tomatoes are FINALLY ripening, including all the fat juicy heirlooms you've been waiting all summer for. It also is a great season for harvesting chiles, which are usually loaded with chile peppers in September. And of course, you probably have lots of other vegetables in abundance such as zucchini, tomatillos squash, cucumbers, eggplants, kale, collard greens, herbs and more. What should you do with your harvest? Make fresh meals every night! Here are a...
Pumpkin Spice ain't got nothing on Green Chile
Pumpkin Spice ain't got nothing on Green ChileTRUTH! :) The smell and flavor of roasted green chile is amazing! We'd take green chile over pumpkin spice any day. You?! Grow your own Green Chile Seeds »View more of our Chile Memes » Happy growing!
How deep should a container be for Peppers?
Peppers have fairly large root systems, so the deeper the container, the better for healthy plants, and larger harvests. We recommend at least 14" deep, with an ideal depth of 18-24" (think whiskey barrel size.) For the best harvests and healthy plants, we like to plant pepper plants in deep beds, we recommend 18-24" of soil depth. Small peppers (less than one foot high) can grow well in two-gallon containers, but bigger plants need at least five-gallon pots, and all peppers th...
Big Jim Chile
Did you know that the Big Jim Chile holds the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest chile pepper in the world? These chiles are HUGE averaging around 8-10" but have been known to grow to 14" in length! The beautiful & huge Legacy Big Jim Chile pods have great flavor and thick flesh. The record-holder peppers produces an abundant crop on 30” tall Big Jim chile plants. When full size and green in color, this New Mexico chile is perfect for big stuffed rellenos. After roa...
Spicy Pickles Recipe
Grow and make your own spicy pickles! Here's a couple recipes: Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickle Recipe » Jalapeno Pickles Recipe » Spicy pickles are one of the easiest ways to preserve your cucumber harvest for year-round enjoyment. You can make spears or slices so you can use them on sandwiches, burgers, or just as a snack anytime. Of course, we think spicy pickles are the best, and we like to experiment with using different chiles to flavor them. Try adding Hatch Chiles for a Ne...
Can peppers survive 40 degree weather?
People have asked, can peppers survive 40˚ F temperatures? Yes, pepper plants can SURVIVE 40˚ F temperatures, but they won't be happy about it and it will likely stunt their growth. Most peppers are not happy when temperatures drop below 50-60˚ F. They will survive, but they most certainly will not thrive if kept too long in cool temps!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...
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...
Leggy Seedlings?
One of the best ways to keep seedlings from getting leggy is to pet or brush them with your hands. Yes, you heard that right, we "pet" our seedlings to stimulate them to grow stockier and not get leggy. You can also use a small fan on them to keep them from getting leggy and spindly. Air circulation is important to keep seedlings healthy, and keep them from succumbing to dampening off, a common seedling ailment that causes them to shrivel and die. We grow a lot of pepper seeds and tom...
Can you put pepper plants together in one big pot?
Should you put more than one pepper plant in a pot? Our answer: It depends on how big the pot is – the bigger the better if you want to grow more than one pepper plant per pot. We think it's best to separate them. We like to use 5-7 gallon pots for peppers, as we find that too small of a pot, they dry out too quickly and hinder the growth. Some people plant up to 3 plants per five gallon bucket, but we've found that they won't do as well as if each one had their own bucket. ...
Purple Peppers
Looking for purple peppers? We not only have several varieties of purple peppers you can grow, but we also have purple tomatoes, too! Growing purple peppers and tomatoes adds lots of color to the garden and your harvest. We have sweet purple peppers such as the purple bell pepper as well as hot purple peppers like the Purple Bhut Jolokia ghost pepper. You can make a deep purple salsa if you grow some of our purple tomatoes and purple peppers – which is sure to be a spicy delight to ...
How deep do Hatch Chile roots grow?
We often get this question from gardeners, especially those with raised beds: “How deep do Hatch Chile roots grow?” A:For the best harvests and healthy plants, we like to plant green chile plants in deep beds, we recommend 18-24" of soil depth.Many larger chile plants, such as the Legacy Big Jim, grow to a height of 30" so having a deep root system helps them stay strong to hold up those huge green chile pods. How deep can pepper plants' roots grow?Typically most larger pepper...
Seed Hoarding
AND... JUST LIKE THAT I WENT FROM SEED HOARDING, TO BEING PREPARED!;)Perhaps like us, you might hoard seeds! Every year we find ourselves hoarding seeds... well, we decided we're just being prepared, right?! We also share and donate our seeds with seed libraries and at seed swaps and with other gardeners. It's easy to share seeds! So we don't consider it seed hoarding, we are simply prepared, right? We are determined to grow out all of our seeds, but limited garden space foils...
Succession Planting
It is smart to succession plant seeds for lettuce, radishes, beets, carrots, cucumbers, nasturtium, green onions, and peas all season long to keep the harvests coming. Our Little Gem Lettuce is a Chef's favorite! A cross between butterhead and romaine, Little Gem has the unique trait of having romaine’s crunch with the sweetness and small size of a butterhead. It grows 8" high producing a sweet and compact heart that is the perfect size for interplanting with your other veggies! We r...
Grow Carolina Reaper Peppers - Part 1
Here is one method you can use to grow Carolina Reaper seeds into big pepper producing plants. Start with great seeds that will grow true Carolina Reaper peppers from a well-established company. Plant them into a deep 72 cell round insert tray with a solid tray underneath to catch the water. Fill the cells with seed starter mix and then gently push your fingers into cells. This will remove any large pockets of air and make the soil level with the top of the cells. A great seedling mix is Co...
Growing Carolina Reaper Peppers - Part 2
We begin Part 2 (see Part 1) with Carolina Reaper plants that are more than 12 weeks old and still growing in a cell tray. They have already been hardened off to withstand normal outdoor conditions. Note - Some seedlings will be ready to be transplanted directly to the outdoor garden at this time, and some will enjoy being bumped up to the next container size and remaining inside under artificial lighting. These plants will be bumped up to the next container size and stay outside. Fill all 7...
Hot Pepper Companion Plants
Do you plant marigolds with your peppers and tomatoes? We think they help keep the plants healthy and pest-free! Marigolds can help repel beetles, nematodes, aphids, potato bugs and squash bugs on not only peppers but other veggies, too! We love planting marigolds among our pepper plants and tomato plants. Marigolds also release a substance from their roots that wards off nematodes and eel worms, which target peppers and other veggies in the garden. Nasturtium flowers are also great compan...
Gardening Questions?
Do you have local gardening questions? When do I start my tomatoes in my area? What veggie seeds can I direct sow, and when are the best times? What is the best time to start seeds indoors? Should I direct sow beans, or start them indoors in my area? Depending on your area, the answer may be different! You can always ask your own state’s cooperative extension service to answer questions on when to start vegetable seeds and what types of veggies grow best in your area. These local expert...
Spicy Beet Greens Recipe
We love growing beets!! They are so delicious and so easy to grow. Did you know you can also eat the greens? Recipe posted below! Spicy Beet Greens Recipe: Ingredients: Olive oil Beet greens, washed and cut into 2-inch pieces 3+ cloves garlic, minced Crushed hot pepper flakes to taste Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper Directions: Heat up the oil in a heavy sautée pan. Sautée the beet greens and garlic until the greens are wilted and tender, 5 to 8...
FREE SEEDS with Purchase
EXPIRED OFFER: Get a Free Packet of Watermelon seeds to plant in May 2021 when you buy any seeds in our Get Real Gardening Collection! NOTE: This offer is expired, stay tuned and signup for our newsletter for future deals. You can direct sow watermelon seeds, we like to soak them overnight first to help them get nice and saturated before direct sowing in mounds in the garden. Shop now » FUN FACT: We are named Sandia Seed after the Sandia mountains in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sandía mea...
How deep should I plant my seeds?
The rule of thumb is to plant seeds at a depth equal to two or three times their width. For a pepper seed that would be about 1/4 to 3/8” deep. A common mistake is to plant them too deep. This inhibits their growth, not only because they may not germinate at all, but also because their stems may not be designed to push through the heavy pile of soil above them. It is better to plant seeds too shallow than too deep. Read the seed packet carefully, for detailed information about how deep to pla...
