Nick's Chile Fest in ColoradoOh boy, we went to Nick's Chile Fest this past weekend and it was awesome! So many chile pods and roasting chile - the aroma was intoxicating! They also had tons of free samples from all of their food goodies that they sell at their fabulous garden center. If you love chile, be sure to check out Nick's Garden Center's Chile Fest every year in September! They also had live music, chile smothered food made-to-order, and drinks. What a fun time, thanks to Nick's team for hostin...
Easy Homemade Hot Sauce (no tomatoes)Easy Homemade Hot Sauce (no tomatoes) Ingredients 1 lb. Fresh Chiles, Such As Jalapenos, Serranos, Fresnos, Poblanos, Habaneros, Or A Mix of any hot peppers 1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic 1/2 c. Diced Onion 2 Tbsp. Kosher Salt 1 1/2 c. Distilled White Vinegar Directions Cut off the stems of chiles and remove seeds. Pulse chiles, garlic, onions and kosher salt in a food processor until you have a rough puree. Transfer to a 1-quart glass gar, loosely cover and let stand at room temperature overnight...
Award-Winning ChileOne of our customers, Tom, entered the peppers he grew from our chile seeds in the regional annual fair and had two first place winners. WOW! How cool is that. Just goes to show you can grow chile anywhere you can grow veggies, his pods look awesome! One of the winners was grown from our Guajillo chile seeds, which produce amazingly delicious pods with a very distinctive sweet heat flavor. Want to grow some?Grow your own chile from seed!
Pepper Seeds for Planting in 2025If you're looking for pepper seeds for planting in your garden, look no further than Sandiaseed.com! We have over 100 peppers of the world to plant in your garden, including super hot pepper seeds, hot pepper seeds, mild pepper seeds and sweet pepper seeds. We haven't met a pepper we didn't like! We specialize in New Mexican chile seeds including the infamous Hatch Chile seeds – which we think are some of the best tasting chile peppers in the world! We test all of our seeds for ...
Where to Buy Pepper SeedsLook no further than SandiaSeed.com to buy pepper seeds from around the world! With 100 pepper seed varieties to choose from, you are sure to get your pepper fix at Sandia Seed! We specialize in New Mexico Chile – such as the famous Hatch Chile varieties – and we also offer a wide variety of pepper, tomato and vegetable seeds, including some of the hottest pepper varieties, sweet pepper seeds, and heirloom tomato seeds to make your favorite salsa recipes. Find stores that sell our pepper s...
When to Pick TomatoesThis Chef's Choice Orange Tomato is getting soft and ready to pick. How do you know when your tomatoes are ready? You know that tomatoes are ready to pick when their skin has changed color, is glossy and there is no green tinge. You will also know a tomato is ready to be picked when it begins to lose its firmness. Once they start to turn to their expected color, just gently squeeze your tomatoes to see if it is firm or gives a bit – if they are starting to get soft, tomatoes are ripe and...
2025 Seed CatalogAre you excited for the 2025 growing season? We sure are! Make sure to order our seed catalog to add to your winter reading and dreaming so you can grow peppers of the world plus lots of tomatoes and veggies, too. 2025 Seed Catalog Cover shown above, finalized with Ristras!We just sent our 2025 Seed Catalog to the printer! It's packed with seeds for 101 specialty peppers, 59 tomatoes in all sizes, and 42 easy to grow vegetables. Our Seed Catalog also includes lots of growing tips, pepp...
How long does it take for Padron peppers to grow?How long does it take for Padron peppers to grow? Padron peppers are short season peppers, and they begin to harvest in about 65 days after starting from seed. These heirloom peppers are beloved by gardeners because they are extremely early and highly productive, giving you peppers long before other pepper varieties come to harvest. Planting them in warm conditions is best for fastest growth! Make sure not to overwater or underwater them for the best success – they don't like to have sog...
Hatch Chile RecipesHatch chile are one of our favorite peppers to grow – their flavor, when roasted and peeled, is out of this world! Buttery, smokey, spicy with slightly sweet fruitiness, Hatch Chile offers intense flavor to any dish. Hatch chile seeds can be grown in any vegetable garden, make sure to grow some of these giant flavorful peppers to add flavor and heat to your table! You can simply roast them on a grill, air fryer, or under a broiler until blacked and blistered – then let cool in a covered glas...
Calabacitas RecipeThe go-to fresh vegetable preparation in New Mexico. Calabacitas always contains summer squash, usually with corn and green chile for extra flavor and texture. Preparing calabacitas is fast, easy, and forgiving so feel free to make it your own – people make it a variety of ways, some toss in lime juice and cilantro just before serving, and/or top with cheese. Ingredients 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil 2 Cups of mixed summer squash (such as zucchini, or yellow straight-neck squash), slice...
Sweet and Spicy Pepper RelishSweet and Spicy Pepper Relish This pepper relish spices everything from grilled cheese sandwiches to burgers and hot dogs. Spoon some over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers for an easy appetizer. Prep Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 25 mins Additional Time: 1 hr Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins Servings: 24 Yield: 3 (½-pint) jars Ingredients 1 pound medium-hot red chile peppers or red jalapeños 2 small red or orange bell peppers - stemmed, seeded, ribs removed ½ large onion, peeled and quart...
Chile CornbreadNew Mexico Green Chile Cornbread New Mexican Green Chile Cornbread Muffins Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Total Time 25 minutes Servings 24 Ingredients 1 cup corn meal 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup milk 1 egg 1/4 cup butter melted 1/2 cup chopped green chiles Instructions Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use butter to grease a mini muffin or regular muffin pan. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add in m...
Sautéed Bell PeppersQuick and easy to make in just 15 minutes, these Sautéed Bell Peppers are a wonderful way to add color, flavor, and a veggie to so many meals! These perfect peppers make the ideal side dish or topping for tacos, fajitas, salads, and more. Servings: 4 servings Ingredients 3 bell peppers cut into ½-inch strips OR 3 cups of any sweet peppers 1½ Tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon dried thyme ½ teaspoon salt Instructions Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the s...
Quick Dinner SalsaIngredients 4 medium Tomatoes (halved) 1 small Onion (cut into large chunks) 1/2 cup Fresh cilantro 1 medium Jalapeno or Serrano (seeds removed and coarsely chopped) 3 cloves Garlic (coarsely chopped) 1 tbsp Lime juice 1/4 tsp Sea salt Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Makes about 3 cups. Enjoy with chips or on tacos and burritos. Keeps in refrigerator one week.
Squash Wilting?Why does my squash wilt? If your zucchini, pumpkin, squash or cucumber plants are wilting, it could be a few things: 1. Wilting squash during the Heat of the Day: The most common reason that pumpkin, cucumbers, zucchini and squash leaves wilt is that the cucurbita family has a low root-to-shoot ratio, meaning that they have a shallow root system that supports a very large mass of above ground vegetation. Because of this, during the dry heat of the sunniest part of the day, squash leaves...
Simple Squash Blossom RecipeDo you have squash blossoms from your zucchini, squash or pumpkin plants? These beautiful large orange flowers are perfect for stuffing and pan-frying for a delicious summer treat. You can harvest just the male blossoms and leave the females to develop the squash for later. There are a ton of recipes out there, but here is our easiest recipe, you can also vary up the ingredients for the stuffing, there is no right or wrong way to make these! Simple Squash Blossom Recipe INGREDIENTS: • 6-12+...
August Gardening Tips1. Harvest your Peppers (and other veggies)!Simply harvesting your peppers and other summer vegetables like tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and eggplant can help them continue to produce more fruits over time. Harvesting will encourage the plant to produce more blooms. Does picking peppers make more grow? Yes, the more peppers you pick, the more peppers will continue growing on your plant! Keep harvesting peppers as soon as they are ripe and firm so you can grow more! Read more »2. How to know wh...
Does picking peppers make more grow?Does picking peppers encourage more to grow? Yes, the more peppers you pick, the more peppers will continue growing on your plant! Keep harvesting peppers as soon as they are ripe and firm so you can grow more! How do you know when peppers are ready to pick? Pick peppers when they are the size and color you want.The harvest time depends on the chile pepper, so look at your seed packet to find out the number of days to harvest for a general idea of when to expect to pick your peppers. Howev...
Garden Photo Contest - Win Free Seeds!OUR CONTEST HAS ENDED! Congratulations to our three winners for entering our photo contest in August! Josh, Richard P. and Brant P. were the lucky recipients of $25 gift cards to shop our online seed store, sandiaseed.com. Thanks to EVERYONE who entered, there were so many great photos of your gardens and harvests! Stay tuned for future contests, and keep sharing your photos and tagging us with #sandiaseed so we can see them. Happy growing! Brant's winning photo – he says: My f...
Poblano PepperPoblano peppers are earthy, fruity, and delicious! The Poblano is a mild pepper that originated in Puebla, Mexico. When dried, it is known as ancho or chile ancho. They are so good when stuffed fresh and roasted, and are very popular in chiles rellenos poblanos. Picking these peppers will result in more peppers on your plant, so make sure to harvest them often! Here are three varieties of Poblano seeds we offer: Classic Poblano Pepper:Fresh green poblanos make some of the best rellenos bec...
Nick's Chile Fest in Colorado
Oh boy, we went to Nick's Chile Fest this past weekend and it was awesome! So many chile pods and roasting chile - the aroma was intoxicating! They also had tons of free samples from all of their food goodies that they sell at their fabulous garden center. If you love chile, be sure to check out Nick's Garden Center's Chile Fest every year in September! They also had live music, chile smothered food made-to-order, and drinks. What a fun time, thanks to Nick's team for hostin...
Easy Homemade Hot Sauce (no tomatoes)
Easy Homemade Hot Sauce (no tomatoes) Ingredients 1 lb. Fresh Chiles, Such As Jalapenos, Serranos, Fresnos, Poblanos, Habaneros, Or A Mix of any hot peppers 1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic 1/2 c. Diced Onion 2 Tbsp. Kosher Salt 1 1/2 c. Distilled White Vinegar Directions Cut off the stems of chiles and remove seeds. Pulse chiles, garlic, onions and kosher salt in a food processor until you have a rough puree. Transfer to a 1-quart glass gar, loosely cover and let stand at room temperature overnight...
Award-Winning Chile
One of our customers, Tom, entered the peppers he grew from our chile seeds in the regional annual fair and had two first place winners. WOW! How cool is that. Just goes to show you can grow chile anywhere you can grow veggies, his pods look awesome! One of the winners was grown from our Guajillo chile seeds, which produce amazingly delicious pods with a very distinctive sweet heat flavor. Want to grow some?Grow your own chile from seed!
Pepper Seeds for Planting in 2025
If you're looking for pepper seeds for planting in your garden, look no further than Sandiaseed.com! We have over 100 peppers of the world to plant in your garden, including super hot pepper seeds, hot pepper seeds, mild pepper seeds and sweet pepper seeds. We haven't met a pepper we didn't like! We specialize in New Mexican chile seeds including the infamous Hatch Chile seeds – which we think are some of the best tasting chile peppers in the world! We test all of our seeds for ...
Where to Buy Pepper Seeds
Look no further than SandiaSeed.com to buy pepper seeds from around the world! With 100 pepper seed varieties to choose from, you are sure to get your pepper fix at Sandia Seed! We specialize in New Mexico Chile – such as the famous Hatch Chile varieties – and we also offer a wide variety of pepper, tomato and vegetable seeds, including some of the hottest pepper varieties, sweet pepper seeds, and heirloom tomato seeds to make your favorite salsa recipes. Find stores that sell our pepper s...
When to Pick Tomatoes
This Chef's Choice Orange Tomato is getting soft and ready to pick. How do you know when your tomatoes are ready? You know that tomatoes are ready to pick when their skin has changed color, is glossy and there is no green tinge. You will also know a tomato is ready to be picked when it begins to lose its firmness. Once they start to turn to their expected color, just gently squeeze your tomatoes to see if it is firm or gives a bit – if they are starting to get soft, tomatoes are ripe and...
2025 Seed Catalog
Are you excited for the 2025 growing season? We sure are! Make sure to order our seed catalog to add to your winter reading and dreaming so you can grow peppers of the world plus lots of tomatoes and veggies, too. 2025 Seed Catalog Cover shown above, finalized with Ristras!We just sent our 2025 Seed Catalog to the printer! It's packed with seeds for 101 specialty peppers, 59 tomatoes in all sizes, and 42 easy to grow vegetables. Our Seed Catalog also includes lots of growing tips, pepp...
How long does it take for Padron peppers to grow?
How long does it take for Padron peppers to grow? Padron peppers are short season peppers, and they begin to harvest in about 65 days after starting from seed. These heirloom peppers are beloved by gardeners because they are extremely early and highly productive, giving you peppers long before other pepper varieties come to harvest. Planting them in warm conditions is best for fastest growth! Make sure not to overwater or underwater them for the best success – they don't like to have sog...
Hatch Chile Recipes
Hatch chile are one of our favorite peppers to grow – their flavor, when roasted and peeled, is out of this world! Buttery, smokey, spicy with slightly sweet fruitiness, Hatch Chile offers intense flavor to any dish. Hatch chile seeds can be grown in any vegetable garden, make sure to grow some of these giant flavorful peppers to add flavor and heat to your table! You can simply roast them on a grill, air fryer, or under a broiler until blacked and blistered – then let cool in a covered glas...
Calabacitas Recipe
The go-to fresh vegetable preparation in New Mexico. Calabacitas always contains summer squash, usually with corn and green chile for extra flavor and texture. Preparing calabacitas is fast, easy, and forgiving so feel free to make it your own – people make it a variety of ways, some toss in lime juice and cilantro just before serving, and/or top with cheese. Ingredients 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil 2 Cups of mixed summer squash (such as zucchini, or yellow straight-neck squash), slice...
Sweet and Spicy Pepper Relish
Sweet and Spicy Pepper Relish This pepper relish spices everything from grilled cheese sandwiches to burgers and hot dogs. Spoon some over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers for an easy appetizer. Prep Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 25 mins Additional Time: 1 hr Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins Servings: 24 Yield: 3 (½-pint) jars Ingredients 1 pound medium-hot red chile peppers or red jalapeños 2 small red or orange bell peppers - stemmed, seeded, ribs removed ½ large onion, peeled and quart...
Chile Cornbread
New Mexico Green Chile Cornbread New Mexican Green Chile Cornbread Muffins Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Total Time 25 minutes Servings 24 Ingredients 1 cup corn meal 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup milk 1 egg 1/4 cup butter melted 1/2 cup chopped green chiles Instructions Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use butter to grease a mini muffin or regular muffin pan. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add in m...
Sautéed Bell Peppers
Quick and easy to make in just 15 minutes, these Sautéed Bell Peppers are a wonderful way to add color, flavor, and a veggie to so many meals! These perfect peppers make the ideal side dish or topping for tacos, fajitas, salads, and more. Servings: 4 servings Ingredients 3 bell peppers cut into ½-inch strips OR 3 cups of any sweet peppers 1½ Tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon dried thyme ½ teaspoon salt Instructions Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the s...
Quick Dinner Salsa
Ingredients 4 medium Tomatoes (halved) 1 small Onion (cut into large chunks) 1/2 cup Fresh cilantro 1 medium Jalapeno or Serrano (seeds removed and coarsely chopped) 3 cloves Garlic (coarsely chopped) 1 tbsp Lime juice 1/4 tsp Sea salt Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Makes about 3 cups. Enjoy with chips or on tacos and burritos. Keeps in refrigerator one week.
Squash Wilting?
Why does my squash wilt? If your zucchini, pumpkin, squash or cucumber plants are wilting, it could be a few things: 1. Wilting squash during the Heat of the Day: The most common reason that pumpkin, cucumbers, zucchini and squash leaves wilt is that the cucurbita family has a low root-to-shoot ratio, meaning that they have a shallow root system that supports a very large mass of above ground vegetation. Because of this, during the dry heat of the sunniest part of the day, squash leaves...
Simple Squash Blossom Recipe
Do you have squash blossoms from your zucchini, squash or pumpkin plants? These beautiful large orange flowers are perfect for stuffing and pan-frying for a delicious summer treat. You can harvest just the male blossoms and leave the females to develop the squash for later. There are a ton of recipes out there, but here is our easiest recipe, you can also vary up the ingredients for the stuffing, there is no right or wrong way to make these! Simple Squash Blossom Recipe INGREDIENTS: • 6-12+...
August Gardening Tips
1. Harvest your Peppers (and other veggies)!Simply harvesting your peppers and other summer vegetables like tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and eggplant can help them continue to produce more fruits over time. Harvesting will encourage the plant to produce more blooms. Does picking peppers make more grow? Yes, the more peppers you pick, the more peppers will continue growing on your plant! Keep harvesting peppers as soon as they are ripe and firm so you can grow more! Read more »2. How to know wh...
Does picking peppers make more grow?
Does picking peppers encourage more to grow? Yes, the more peppers you pick, the more peppers will continue growing on your plant! Keep harvesting peppers as soon as they are ripe and firm so you can grow more! How do you know when peppers are ready to pick? Pick peppers when they are the size and color you want.The harvest time depends on the chile pepper, so look at your seed packet to find out the number of days to harvest for a general idea of when to expect to pick your peppers. Howev...
Garden Photo Contest - Win Free Seeds!
OUR CONTEST HAS ENDED! Congratulations to our three winners for entering our photo contest in August! Josh, Richard P. and Brant P. were the lucky recipients of $25 gift cards to shop our online seed store, sandiaseed.com. Thanks to EVERYONE who entered, there were so many great photos of your gardens and harvests! Stay tuned for future contests, and keep sharing your photos and tagging us with #sandiaseed so we can see them. Happy growing! Brant's winning photo – he says: My f...
Poblano Pepper
Poblano peppers are earthy, fruity, and delicious! The Poblano is a mild pepper that originated in Puebla, Mexico. When dried, it is known as ancho or chile ancho. They are so good when stuffed fresh and roasted, and are very popular in chiles rellenos poblanos. Picking these peppers will result in more peppers on your plant, so make sure to harvest them often! Here are three varieties of Poblano seeds we offer: Classic Poblano Pepper:Fresh green poblanos make some of the best rellenos bec...
