Red Chile Sauce RecipeRED CHILE SAUCE from New Mexico Red chile sauce is the best thing ever on a cold January winter day. Make this recipe with your dried red chiles from last seasons harvest of Guajillo Chile and Hatch Red Hot Chile. Of course you can also use any dried chiles you have on hand for this recipe. Grow oregano and onions alongside your peppers this year to use in this recipe. Yield: Makes about 2 1/2 cups ACTIVE TIME: 1 hr TOTAL TIME: 1 hr INGREDIENTS 2 ounces whole dried Hatch Red Hot chi...
Pasilla PeppersPasilla Pepper / Bajio Chilaca Pepper Pasilla peppers are are known as Chile Negro, or Chilaca when picked fresh. The name, ‘Pasilla’ means ‘little raisin’ in Spanish, referring to the dark brown, wrinkled dried pod. The plant height grows 30 inches tall and produces a large fruit in the size of 8 – 10 inches in length and 1 inch diameter. Like most peppers it is astronomically classified as a Capsicum annuum. It carries a very mild Scoville unit rating of 1000, making it a mildly hot fruit. ...
The 6 Most Popular TomatoesThese six tomatoes are the most popular for all the right reasons. Five are hybrids that have proved themselves over several decades of growing seasons. The sixth, Cherokee Purple, is the only non-hybrid on the list. It is one of the most delicious open-pollinated heirloom tomatoes and a winning favorite at taste contests. Better Boy Hybrid – This improved version of Big Boy is more resistant to common tomato diseases, but still has Big Boy's extra-large fruit. Expect an abundant crop of ...
Pepper Seeds for SaleIf you're looking for pepper seeds for sale, you have come to the right place! Sandia Seed offers many varieties of New Mexican Green Chile pepper seeds as well as lots of other hot pepper seeds for sale, plus a selection of sweet pepper seeds and heirloom tomato seeds too! Patsy Coles, our founder, started Sandia Seed in order to offer a better variety of pepper seeds to home gardeners. Her passion has always been gardening, and she graduated from Arizona State University with a...
One of our Favorite Salsa RecipesSandia Seed's Favorite Salsa Recipe 3-4 Large Fresh Tomatoes such as the Abe Lincoln Heirloom TomatoOR 1 Large (28oz) can Whole Tomatoes 1/2 Cup - Fresh Cilantro leaves (use as much as you like)1-2 Jalapenos (I leave in the seeds and rinds to make it spicier)1-2 Green Chiles (any variety, roasted & peeled is always nice!)1/2 Onion (diced, soak in cold water 20+ minutes to sweeten)1-2 Garlic ClovesFresh Lime Juice (1 lime)Teaspoon of Cumin, Chili Powder, and Hot Pepper Flakes to ...
Christmas Bell - Bishop Crown PepperThe heirloom Bishop Crown: or "Christmas Bell" is originally from Brazil. This variety produces one of the most unusual pod shapes of any chile pepper. Bishop Crown is a unique thin-skinned red pepper with the unusual appearance of a tri-cornered hat like a Catholic Bishop’s Crown. The heat level has a very wide range from a medium 5,000 scoville heat units (SHU), all the way up to a very hot 15,000 SHU. Its small size is 1-1/2” long by 2”- 3“ wide with a sweet and fruity taste. B...
Jwala - India finger Hot is Back!This phenomenal pepper is back in our product line up and we could not be more pleased! We've waited 2 years to acquire a dependable seed source and now we can offer it for 2017 and beyond. This is the most popular pepper in India and a must have for preparing Indian cuisine. The plant gets covered in white flowers.They are one of the first peppers to set blooms in Spring and continue to set even when the plant is full of pods. Jwala has a unique flavor raw, but an excellent flavor when r...
Bhut jolokia is viciously HOT!The famous Bhut jolokia at over 1,000,000 scoville heat units is so popular. Could it be that it is rare and unique? Or that only insane people place it on their lips? It is fun to grow and quite a conversation piece. I grow hundreds of them and collect the seeds. It is fun to hand someone a whole pepper, and watch them jump back as if the blistering heat inside the pepper will attack them from 3 ft away. But, once the pepper has been broken open. Watch Out! You must have hand protection, ...
Front Yard Food GardensIt used to be normal for people to grow their own food. Well, here is some food for thought! During the 17th century, rich English and French landowners got the idea they could flaunt their wealth by keeping large tracts of well groomed grass, because they could afford the labor necessary to keep it trim and they could afford to not use it for food production. So common people, trying to show off too, attempted to follow suit and now it's been standardized. A lawn is intrinsically useles...
Organic Control for Tomato Hornworms on PeppersTomato Hornworms are really big green caterpillars that can devastate your pepper garden. Giant brown moths lay pearl-like eggs on your pepper leaves, from which the monsters will hatch and start to eat voraciously. They can decimate all the leaves on a plant overnight. The best organic control might be picking the caterpillars off the plants, but by then it could be too late to save your plants. Also, touching and pulling them off is gross, but depending on how mad you are, you won’t mind! ...
98% of New Mexico Green Chile is Direct SeededNew Mexico Chile is a warm-season crop that requires a long, frost-free season to produce good-quality, high yields. Almost all NM commercial chile is directly planted by seed into warm fertile soil. Keep them warm! Chiles do not thrive when temperatures are between 40° F and 60° F and can die from a light frost. The optimum period for direct seed planting of chile is between March 1 and June 15th. The early green crop will be ready for harvest about 120 days after planting. The red crop will...
NuMex Sandia Select Chile Pepper Seeds are here!The long awaited NuMex Sandia Select pepper seeds are now available from Sandia Seed Company! This new variety has superior flavor, uniform high heat level, better plant and pod uniformity, higher yield and a thick fruit wall. Non-GMO. Approximately 30 seeds per seed packet and also available in bulk 1/2 oz. and 2 oz. quantities. Buy seeds here: NuMex Sandia Select Seeds » This pepper is fantastic! It has good flavor, thick flesh, a nice green color and the production is great. The original ...
Tombstone Ghost Pepper available in Tombstone, ArizonaThe new Tombstone Ghost pepper seed has been a huge success and demand has been great. They are available at the famous Bird Cage Theatre on Allen Street in Tombstone, Arizona very close to where they are grown for seed production. The Bird Cage Theatre is the most authentic attraction in Tombstone, and offers a nightly ghost tour! But you don't have to go to Arizona for seeds! Buy Tombstone Ghost pepper seeds online.
Shishito Seeds in Bulk at Sandia SeedNEW! We are excited to announce that we have expanded our growing network and can now offer Shishito seeds in a larger quantity.Now you can buy Bulk Shishito seeds for $20 for 100 seeds.This Japanese sweet pepper is delicious and one of our most popular seed varieties for good reason. It is super easy to grow and continues to produce an abundance of peppers all season long. It is such a pleasure to go into the garden and pick about 15 mature Shishito peppers and fry them in olive oil and spri...
Plant Spacing in the GardenThere are so many choices when you plant vegetable varieties from seed. Peppers and tomatoes are some of the easiest to grow from seed for transplanting into your home garden. Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the date you intend to set peppers and tomatoes into the garden. As the season gets later, your seeds can also be placed directly in the garden after the soil temperature has risen to at least 65°F at night. Plant spacing for peppers is usually the same distance measurement as the...
Time for Fresh Roasted Green ChileIt’s time again for New Mexico to be blanketed by the perfume of roasting green chiles. Hatch green chiles are grown in a small hot dry valley in the southwest corner of New Mexico. Green chile, which ranges in temperature from spicy to incendiary, are to New Mexican food what tomatoes are to Italian food. They are found everywhere in sauces, stews, salsas, and delicious stuffed and fried for chile rellenos. If you don’t grow your own green chiles from seed, you can try to find them at farme...
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...
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...
Red Chile Sauce Recipe
RED CHILE SAUCE from New Mexico Red chile sauce is the best thing ever on a cold January winter day. Make this recipe with your dried red chiles from last seasons harvest of Guajillo Chile and Hatch Red Hot Chile. Of course you can also use any dried chiles you have on hand for this recipe. Grow oregano and onions alongside your peppers this year to use in this recipe. Yield: Makes about 2 1/2 cups ACTIVE TIME: 1 hr TOTAL TIME: 1 hr INGREDIENTS 2 ounces whole dried Hatch Red Hot chi...
Pasilla Peppers
Pasilla Pepper / Bajio Chilaca Pepper Pasilla peppers are are known as Chile Negro, or Chilaca when picked fresh. The name, ‘Pasilla’ means ‘little raisin’ in Spanish, referring to the dark brown, wrinkled dried pod. The plant height grows 30 inches tall and produces a large fruit in the size of 8 – 10 inches in length and 1 inch diameter. Like most peppers it is astronomically classified as a Capsicum annuum. It carries a very mild Scoville unit rating of 1000, making it a mildly hot fruit. ...
One of our Favorite Salsa Recipes
Sandia Seed's Favorite Salsa Recipe 3-4 Large Fresh Tomatoes such as the Abe Lincoln Heirloom TomatoOR 1 Large (28oz) can Whole Tomatoes 1/2 Cup - Fresh Cilantro leaves (use as much as you like)1-2 Jalapenos (I leave in the seeds and rinds to make it spicier)1-2 Green Chiles (any variety, roasted & peeled is always nice!)1/2 Onion (diced, soak in cold water 20+ minutes to sweeten)1-2 Garlic ClovesFresh Lime Juice (1 lime)Teaspoon of Cumin, Chili Powder, and Hot Pepper Flakes to ...
Organic Control for Tomato Hornworms on Peppers
Tomato Hornworms are really big green caterpillars that can devastate your pepper garden. Giant brown moths lay pearl-like eggs on your pepper leaves, from which the monsters will hatch and start to eat voraciously. They can decimate all the leaves on a plant overnight. The best organic control might be picking the caterpillars off the plants, but by then it could be too late to save your plants. Also, touching and pulling them off is gross, but depending on how mad you are, you won’t mind! ...
98% of New Mexico Green Chile is Direct Seeded
New Mexico Chile is a warm-season crop that requires a long, frost-free season to produce good-quality, high yields. Almost all NM commercial chile is directly planted by seed into warm fertile soil. Keep them warm! Chiles do not thrive when temperatures are between 40° F and 60° F and can die from a light frost. The optimum period for direct seed planting of chile is between March 1 and June 15th. The early green crop will be ready for harvest about 120 days after planting. The red crop will...
NuMex Sandia Select Chile Pepper Seeds are here!
The long awaited NuMex Sandia Select pepper seeds are now available from Sandia Seed Company! This new variety has superior flavor, uniform high heat level, better plant and pod uniformity, higher yield and a thick fruit wall. Non-GMO. Approximately 30 seeds per seed packet and also available in bulk 1/2 oz. and 2 oz. quantities. Buy seeds here: NuMex Sandia Select Seeds » This pepper is fantastic! It has good flavor, thick flesh, a nice green color and the production is great. The original ...
Tombstone Ghost Pepper available in Tombstone, Arizona
The new Tombstone Ghost pepper seed has been a huge success and demand has been great. They are available at the famous Bird Cage Theatre on Allen Street in Tombstone, Arizona very close to where they are grown for seed production. The Bird Cage Theatre is the most authentic attraction in Tombstone, and offers a nightly ghost tour! But you don't have to go to Arizona for seeds! Buy Tombstone Ghost pepper seeds online.
Shishito Seeds in Bulk at Sandia Seed
NEW! We are excited to announce that we have expanded our growing network and can now offer Shishito seeds in a larger quantity.Now you can buy Bulk Shishito seeds for $20 for 100 seeds.This Japanese sweet pepper is delicious and one of our most popular seed varieties for good reason. It is super easy to grow and continues to produce an abundance of peppers all season long. It is such a pleasure to go into the garden and pick about 15 mature Shishito peppers and fry them in olive oil and spri...
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...
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...
