Best Light for SeedlingsBest Light for Seedlings "What are you guys using as grow lights for seed starting?"We recently had a question from a customer on what kind of lights we're using to start seeds. You can use lots of different lights to start seeds, you'd be surprised, even a regular old standard fluorescent white light will do the trick! These days though you'll find LED lights at any garden center, nursery or hardware store. LED lights work well for starting seeds and getting your see...
Hottest Pepper in the WorldThe hottest pepper in the world in 2023 is now Pepper X! However, you CANNOT buy Pepper X seeds or grow the plants, they are patented by the developer of the hot pod, Ed Currie. It doesn't sound like he's planning on releasing them anytime soon or ever. So, in the meantime, grow his infamous predecessor, the Carolina Reaper, which held the Guinness World Record crown from 2013-2023. The Carolina Reaper was the Guinness world record holder for being the hottest pepper in the world fr...
The best way to Transfer Plants from under Grow Lights to OutdoorsIs it difficult to transfer plants from under grow lights to outdoors? Nope! You just want to gradually expose any seedlings you start to the sun and outdoor conditions. To do this, first set them in dappled shade for a few hours (or put them outside on an overcast day), and then incrementally increase the amount of sun they receive for a period of several days. Once they are acclimated, you can transplant them into the garden or containers. Learn more about hardening off seedlings »
Fresh vs Dried Pepper NamesFresh vs Dried Pepper Names:Did you know peppers have different names depending on whether they are fresh or dried/smoked? Welcome to the world of peppers! Read on... Here are some common dried pepper names: Dried (Smoked) Jalapeños = ChipotleDried Poblanos = AnchoDried Anaheim Chile = Colorado or CaliforniaDried Mirasol** = GuajilloDried Serrano = Chile Seco*(or more specifically: balin, chico, tipico and largo)Dried Chilaca = PasillaDried Chile de Arbol = Chile Seco* Of course, the n...
How long does it take to grow peppers from seed?How long does it take to grow peppers from seed? Well, it depends on the pepper! Some peppers, like our Orange Jalapeno, Yellow Jalapeno and our Early Jalapeno seeds are all super fast growing, which start harvesting at around 65 days after starting from seed. Or you can grow our Sweet Chocolate Bell Pepper seeds, which is our earliest pepper to harvest, with the first peppers ripening at around 57 days! Find other fastest growing peppers here.Growing short season peppers is one way to sh...
New PeppersNEW PEPPERS Grow something new this year! In 2022 we have a lot of new peppers to grow in your garden! We are introducing Hatch Green Mild – Guizeppi as one of the mildest Hatch chile varieties we offer; Alma Paprika, the best paprika for drying; Anaheim Sonora Mild, a delicious and very large pepper; Biquinho Yellow, mild and fruity from Brazil; Cascabella, small and tangy these are the peppers that Mezzetta uses; Cayenne Purple, both the pepper and plant are pretty, Corno de Toro Gai...
Brazilian Pepper SeedsBrazilian Pepper Seeds:Biquinho Pepper SeedsA rare yellow heirloom pepper! Looking to grow Brazilian peppers? Easy to grow from seed, the Biquinho Yellow Pepper is a rare pepper that is crunchy and juicy with a mix of tropical flavors that are described as citrus and fruity with slightly smoky tones. These are citrusy little peppers are also called Sweety Drop Peppers, Inca Reds, or Chupetinho (which literally translates to “little beak.”) These sweet yellow Brazilian peppers are a culinary ...
Growing Chili Peppers in PotsGrowing Chili Peppers in Pots is a great way to expand your pepper garden! Potted pepper plants can be started earlier in the season, and you can bring them in if a late or early frost is forecasted so that you can have a longer harvest season. Some people even bring in their pepper plants and grow them year-round by keeping them under lights in the winter months indoors. Or, if they're even luckier and live in warmer frost-free regions, they don't have to bring in their pepper plants...
Hottest Pepper 2022Hottest Pepper 2022 The hottest pepper in 2022 is, you guessed it, the Carolina Reaper! Yep, the Hottest Pepper in 2022 is still the Carolina Reaper! The wickedly hot Carolina Reaper is still holding the Guinness World Record crown again in 2022 for being the world's hottest pepper.Until a new pepper comes on the scene and invests in getting a pepper tested prior to the end of 2022, the Carolina Reaper will hold the crown. Getting into the book of Guinness Records is difficult...
Best Anaheim Pepper SeedsWe love this recent review our our Anaheim Pepper seedsfrom a happy chile gardener: “After living and working in New Mexico many years, graduate school took me back to the Midwest...where green chile was virtually unknown! So each year I flew back to my favorite state. In the Fall, I brought back as many fresh green chilies as would fit in my golf bag. In the Spring, I hand-carried an entire flat of green chile seedings through the Albuquerque airport and onto the plane. This year, a dear fri...
Hot Pepper Podcast from Craft Hot SauceThanks to Craic Sauce and crafthotsauce.com for the mention of Sandia Seed in their latest Maker Stories Podcast, featuring an interview with Hoot Sauce Co based in England. Their Hoot Sauce sounds delicious! Make sure to give this podcast a listen, they even discuss the loch ness monster in addition to stories about making hot sauce. Check out all their Craft Hot Sauce Podcasts » Many of our seed customers grow peppers for hot sauce, and we love hearing about your hot sauce creations! Hot ...
New Green Chile Seeds!Here are a couple of our new Green Chile seed varieties that we've added to our 2022 collection! Dynamite Green Chile is a very hot green chile that adds tons of heat to any dish, where the Guizeppi Green Chile is the opposite as it's a very mild green chile that has lots of flavor without the heat. See all of our new seeds for 2022 » Happy growing!
Fruity Hot PeppersHere's a question from one of our seed customers asking aboutfruity hot peppers:"I enjoy the earthy flavor of jalapeños on occasions. They’re perfect with tacos but for sauces I prefer habaneros or something more fruity. Can you recommend some of your peppers that have a fruity flavor?" Answer: There are many types of hot peppers. For hot peppers with fruity flavors, Habaneros are always a good bet – check out our Red Caribbean Habanero or try growing our Orange Habanero with ...
What type of peppers does Mezzetta use? Cascabellas!What type of peppers does Mezzetta use? Mezzetta™ Hot Chili Peppers (those jars of spicy yellow pickled peppers) are made from Cascabella peppers. The hot and delicious yellow peppers that they put into jars of Mezzetta Hot Chili Peppers are grown in Northern California, but did you know that you can grow them in your own backyard? They're easy to start from Cascabella seeds! If you're addicted to the deliciously spicy Mezzetta Hot Chili Peppers, then make sure to grow some Cascabe...
Types of JalapenosThere are a lot of different types of Jalapeños! There are many different types of jalapenos – there are super hot jalapenos, and there are mild jalapenos, and they come in different colors, too – some jalapenos ripen to yellow or orange! We have a purple jalapenos hat start out deep green and then change to dark purple and finally mature to red. Sandia Seed has not just one but NINE different types of Jalapeños! Grow any of these jalapeño seeds in your garden for adding to salsas, hot...
Pepper SeedsLooking for Pepper Seeds? Sandia Seed offers a great selection of pepper seeds, from sweet pepper seeds to hot pepper seeds. We have bell pepper seeds, as well as cayenne pepper seeds and poblano pepper seeds.Sandia Seed is part of a sustainable movement to change the way the world buys seeds. We offer heirloom & open-pollinated seeds that are not readily available from large seed companies. Today’s gardeners can grow them and keep their unique genetic makeup viable for future generations...
Chiltepin SeedsMeet the Chiltepin / Tepin - The ancient Chiltepin is called the “mother of all peppers,” and is thought to be the oldest of all Capsicum annum species. The Chiltepin pepper is a native plant in Arizona, Texas, Florida, New Mexico and Central and South America. You can find this plant growing wild in Texas, Arizona and Mexico. Many birds consume the Tepin pepper and disperse the seeds into the wild, but do not feel the ‘heat’ of the pepper like mammals, even though these are super Hot with Sc...
50% Off Seeds for Black Friday!PLUS, GET 50% OFF SEEDS IN OUR ROTATING HALF-OFF COLLECTION:Check out our 50% off seeds deal for Black Friday (extended!) Plus, get our brand new seed catalog free with every order, and free shipping for orders over $20.This offer ended 12/1/25Now's a great time to buy your favorite gardener some seeds! Shop now: sandiaseed.com/collections/50-off-seeds Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks to all our customers for helping our small seed business thrive this season. Hope you all shop small ...
Carolina Reaper Seeds for SaleIf you're looking for Carolina Reaper seeds, make sure to checkout Sandia Seed! We have the least-expensive Carolina Reaper seeds online! At just $3.99 for 10 seeds, our Carolina Reaper Seeds' price is hard to beat. Quality Carolina Reaper Seeds at the Best PriceOur seeds are also quality seeds (not from China!), and we back them up with our Replacement Seeds or Money Back Guarantee: If your seeds fail to germinate, after following our website germination instructions, we will replace...
When should I start my Hatch chile seeds for summer if I live inland near San Diego?Customer Question: When should I start my hatch chile seeds for summer if I live inland near San Diego?Answer:The San Diego Master Gardeners recommend to start peppers like Hatch chiles anytime between April-July, as peppers grow better in warm weather rather than during cool winters. But really, as long as the pepper plants are not out in a frost, you can start anytime – you can start them indoors too in the winter to get more robust plants to plant outside come warmer spring weather. As lo...
Best Light for Seedlings
Best Light for Seedlings "What are you guys using as grow lights for seed starting?"We recently had a question from a customer on what kind of lights we're using to start seeds. You can use lots of different lights to start seeds, you'd be surprised, even a regular old standard fluorescent white light will do the trick! These days though you'll find LED lights at any garden center, nursery or hardware store. LED lights work well for starting seeds and getting your see...
Hottest Pepper in the World
The hottest pepper in the world in 2023 is now Pepper X! However, you CANNOT buy Pepper X seeds or grow the plants, they are patented by the developer of the hot pod, Ed Currie. It doesn't sound like he's planning on releasing them anytime soon or ever. So, in the meantime, grow his infamous predecessor, the Carolina Reaper, which held the Guinness World Record crown from 2013-2023. The Carolina Reaper was the Guinness world record holder for being the hottest pepper in the world fr...
The best way to Transfer Plants from under Grow Lights to Outdoors
Is it difficult to transfer plants from under grow lights to outdoors? Nope! You just want to gradually expose any seedlings you start to the sun and outdoor conditions. To do this, first set them in dappled shade for a few hours (or put them outside on an overcast day), and then incrementally increase the amount of sun they receive for a period of several days. Once they are acclimated, you can transplant them into the garden or containers. Learn more about hardening off seedlings »
Fresh vs Dried Pepper Names
Fresh vs Dried Pepper Names:Did you know peppers have different names depending on whether they are fresh or dried/smoked? Welcome to the world of peppers! Read on... Here are some common dried pepper names: Dried (Smoked) Jalapeños = ChipotleDried Poblanos = AnchoDried Anaheim Chile = Colorado or CaliforniaDried Mirasol** = GuajilloDried Serrano = Chile Seco*(or more specifically: balin, chico, tipico and largo)Dried Chilaca = PasillaDried Chile de Arbol = Chile Seco* Of course, the n...
How long does it take to grow peppers from seed?
How long does it take to grow peppers from seed? Well, it depends on the pepper! Some peppers, like our Orange Jalapeno, Yellow Jalapeno and our Early Jalapeno seeds are all super fast growing, which start harvesting at around 65 days after starting from seed. Or you can grow our Sweet Chocolate Bell Pepper seeds, which is our earliest pepper to harvest, with the first peppers ripening at around 57 days! Find other fastest growing peppers here.Growing short season peppers is one way to sh...
New Peppers
NEW PEPPERS Grow something new this year! In 2022 we have a lot of new peppers to grow in your garden! We are introducing Hatch Green Mild – Guizeppi as one of the mildest Hatch chile varieties we offer; Alma Paprika, the best paprika for drying; Anaheim Sonora Mild, a delicious and very large pepper; Biquinho Yellow, mild and fruity from Brazil; Cascabella, small and tangy these are the peppers that Mezzetta uses; Cayenne Purple, both the pepper and plant are pretty, Corno de Toro Gai...
Brazilian Pepper Seeds
Brazilian Pepper Seeds:Biquinho Pepper SeedsA rare yellow heirloom pepper! Looking to grow Brazilian peppers? Easy to grow from seed, the Biquinho Yellow Pepper is a rare pepper that is crunchy and juicy with a mix of tropical flavors that are described as citrus and fruity with slightly smoky tones. These are citrusy little peppers are also called Sweety Drop Peppers, Inca Reds, or Chupetinho (which literally translates to “little beak.”) These sweet yellow Brazilian peppers are a culinary ...
Growing Chili Peppers in Pots
Growing Chili Peppers in Pots is a great way to expand your pepper garden! Potted pepper plants can be started earlier in the season, and you can bring them in if a late or early frost is forecasted so that you can have a longer harvest season. Some people even bring in their pepper plants and grow them year-round by keeping them under lights in the winter months indoors. Or, if they're even luckier and live in warmer frost-free regions, they don't have to bring in their pepper plants...
Hottest Pepper 2022
Hottest Pepper 2022 The hottest pepper in 2022 is, you guessed it, the Carolina Reaper! Yep, the Hottest Pepper in 2022 is still the Carolina Reaper! The wickedly hot Carolina Reaper is still holding the Guinness World Record crown again in 2022 for being the world's hottest pepper.Until a new pepper comes on the scene and invests in getting a pepper tested prior to the end of 2022, the Carolina Reaper will hold the crown. Getting into the book of Guinness Records is difficult...
Best Anaheim Pepper Seeds
We love this recent review our our Anaheim Pepper seedsfrom a happy chile gardener: “After living and working in New Mexico many years, graduate school took me back to the Midwest...where green chile was virtually unknown! So each year I flew back to my favorite state. In the Fall, I brought back as many fresh green chilies as would fit in my golf bag. In the Spring, I hand-carried an entire flat of green chile seedings through the Albuquerque airport and onto the plane. This year, a dear fri...
Hot Pepper Podcast from Craft Hot Sauce
Thanks to Craic Sauce and crafthotsauce.com for the mention of Sandia Seed in their latest Maker Stories Podcast, featuring an interview with Hoot Sauce Co based in England. Their Hoot Sauce sounds delicious! Make sure to give this podcast a listen, they even discuss the loch ness monster in addition to stories about making hot sauce. Check out all their Craft Hot Sauce Podcasts » Many of our seed customers grow peppers for hot sauce, and we love hearing about your hot sauce creations! Hot ...
New Green Chile Seeds!
Here are a couple of our new Green Chile seed varieties that we've added to our 2022 collection! Dynamite Green Chile is a very hot green chile that adds tons of heat to any dish, where the Guizeppi Green Chile is the opposite as it's a very mild green chile that has lots of flavor without the heat. See all of our new seeds for 2022 » Happy growing!
Fruity Hot Peppers
Here's a question from one of our seed customers asking aboutfruity hot peppers:"I enjoy the earthy flavor of jalapeños on occasions. They’re perfect with tacos but for sauces I prefer habaneros or something more fruity. Can you recommend some of your peppers that have a fruity flavor?" Answer: There are many types of hot peppers. For hot peppers with fruity flavors, Habaneros are always a good bet – check out our Red Caribbean Habanero or try growing our Orange Habanero with ...
What type of peppers does Mezzetta use? Cascabellas!
What type of peppers does Mezzetta use? Mezzetta™ Hot Chili Peppers (those jars of spicy yellow pickled peppers) are made from Cascabella peppers. The hot and delicious yellow peppers that they put into jars of Mezzetta Hot Chili Peppers are grown in Northern California, but did you know that you can grow them in your own backyard? They're easy to start from Cascabella seeds! If you're addicted to the deliciously spicy Mezzetta Hot Chili Peppers, then make sure to grow some Cascabe...
Types of Jalapenos
There are a lot of different types of Jalapeños! There are many different types of jalapenos – there are super hot jalapenos, and there are mild jalapenos, and they come in different colors, too – some jalapenos ripen to yellow or orange! We have a purple jalapenos hat start out deep green and then change to dark purple and finally mature to red. Sandia Seed has not just one but NINE different types of Jalapeños! Grow any of these jalapeño seeds in your garden for adding to salsas, hot...
Pepper Seeds
Looking for Pepper Seeds? Sandia Seed offers a great selection of pepper seeds, from sweet pepper seeds to hot pepper seeds. We have bell pepper seeds, as well as cayenne pepper seeds and poblano pepper seeds.Sandia Seed is part of a sustainable movement to change the way the world buys seeds. We offer heirloom & open-pollinated seeds that are not readily available from large seed companies. Today’s gardeners can grow them and keep their unique genetic makeup viable for future generations...
Chiltepin Seeds
Meet the Chiltepin / Tepin - The ancient Chiltepin is called the “mother of all peppers,” and is thought to be the oldest of all Capsicum annum species. The Chiltepin pepper is a native plant in Arizona, Texas, Florida, New Mexico and Central and South America. You can find this plant growing wild in Texas, Arizona and Mexico. Many birds consume the Tepin pepper and disperse the seeds into the wild, but do not feel the ‘heat’ of the pepper like mammals, even though these are super Hot with Sc...
50% Off Seeds for Black Friday!
PLUS, GET 50% OFF SEEDS IN OUR ROTATING HALF-OFF COLLECTION:Check out our 50% off seeds deal for Black Friday (extended!) Plus, get our brand new seed catalog free with every order, and free shipping for orders over $20.This offer ended 12/1/25Now's a great time to buy your favorite gardener some seeds! Shop now: sandiaseed.com/collections/50-off-seeds Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks to all our customers for helping our small seed business thrive this season. Hope you all shop small ...
Carolina Reaper Seeds for Sale
If you're looking for Carolina Reaper seeds, make sure to checkout Sandia Seed! We have the least-expensive Carolina Reaper seeds online! At just $3.99 for 10 seeds, our Carolina Reaper Seeds' price is hard to beat. Quality Carolina Reaper Seeds at the Best PriceOur seeds are also quality seeds (not from China!), and we back them up with our Replacement Seeds or Money Back Guarantee: If your seeds fail to germinate, after following our website germination instructions, we will replace...
When should I start my Hatch chile seeds for summer if I live inland near San Diego?
Customer Question: When should I start my hatch chile seeds for summer if I live inland near San Diego?Answer:The San Diego Master Gardeners recommend to start peppers like Hatch chiles anytime between April-July, as peppers grow better in warm weather rather than during cool winters. But really, as long as the pepper plants are not out in a frost, you can start anytime – you can start them indoors too in the winter to get more robust plants to plant outside come warmer spring weather. As lo...
