Interesting Sweet Pepper Varieties with Zero HeatIf you want to share your pepper harvest with friends and family (including kids) who don’t tolerate spiciness... but you still want some flavorful, unusual specialty peppers, check out this list of interesting sweet peppers. At Sandia Seed, we carry sweet peppers from around the world so you can taste the rainbow of pepper colors and flavors picked fresh from your garden. Cubanelles are loved by chefs and are sweet and crispy with thin skins - great for stir fries or salads. Fushimis are ...
Tumbling Tomatoes for PotsOne of our all-time favorite tomatoes is the Tumbling Tom Tomato. This cascading tomato plant is perfect for pots, and is a good producer of larger-sized orange-yellow cherry tomatoes that are meaty and great for salads or making sauces. Tumbling Tom pairs perfectly in pots with pepper plants, so you can have a salsa garden in a container! Plant Tumbling Tom, and a Jalapeno plant, and then tuck in some cilantro or green onions. Or grow it with basil or bush beans for the perfect food garden...
Why grow cherry tomatoes?Cherry tomatoes are the easiest tomatoes to grow! They produce fruit faster, have better heat tolerance and offer a continuous harvest compared to most full-sized tomatoes. Everyone should be growing at least one or two cherry tomato varieties in their garden. There are a ton of different kinds of cherry tomatoes, too, so try growing some different ones each year in addition to your favorites. Here are some of our top reasons to grow cherry tomatoes: Faster Harvests: They start coming in ...
Chile FestivalsWe just compiled a list of all the festivals we've heard about, check them out below. Let us know if we missed any! NEW MEXICO CHILE FESTIVALS: Hatch Chile Festival Sept 5–6, 2026 Hatch, New MexicoAnnual harvest celebration of everything Hatch Chile held every Labor Day weekend. This is the quintessential harvest celebration featuring the legendary chile queen pageant, massive roasting, and a parade. We're definitely going to this one! Green Chile Fest - AlbuquerqueSept 18-2...
What are peppers called when dried?Peppers often have different names in their dried form, depending on the region. For example, 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* *Read more about fresh vs. dried pepper names »
The Best Peppers to Grow from Seed: Sandia Seed’s Most Popular Varieties for Every GardenPeppers are one of the most rewarding crops to grow from seed! Sandia Seed offers options for beginners, salsa-makers, chile lovers, and heat seekers. Peppers are great for food gardens as they are productive and there are so many ways to preserve the harvest – you can make pickled peppers, hot sauces, salsas, or dry peppers to use for hot pepper flakes and sauces all year long. Shishito peppers, above, are super easy to grow and SO productive, perfect for beginners! These Japanese peppers ...
Health Benefits of Hot PeppersWe just read Washington Post's article titled: Eating this food regularly could lead to greater longevity Above: Aleppo peppers may help you live longer! How interesting! Their article gives us lots more reasons to love hot peppers! Here's what we learned from reading it: Spicy foods that include hot peppers have a solid scientific basis for health benefits... Large studies link frequent spicy food consumption to lower mortality risk (about 13–14%) and reduced deaths from cance...
Key Tips for Watering PeppersWatering peppers correctly is important. Here are our top tips: Water Deeply & Less Frequently: Instead of a light splash every day, water deeply 1 to 2 times a week so the moisture reaches deep into the root zone. The Finger Test: Stick your finger 1 to 2 inches into the soil before watering. If the soil at that depth feels dry, it's time to water; if it still feels damp, hold off. Adjust for Climate & Heat: During mid-summer heatwaves or dry spells, outdoor pepper pl...
Why Are My Tomato Leaves Rolling?Why Are My Tomato Leaves Rolling? It could be heat stress, not disease! This tomato plant (above) looked fine a couple weeks ago, but this Denver garden has had highs of over 95˚ F ever since, and you can see from it's rolling leaves that it is suffering from the heat. Noticing your tomato leaves curling or rolling upward in this super hot summer heat? Did the tomato plants look fine a couple weeks ago before the heat-wave? Don’t worry, this is often a natural response called physiologi...
Pepper Flower DropAre your pepper plants dropping blossoms and not producing peppers? Pepper flower drop is typically a stress response to extreme temperatures or other issues, and it's not uncommon. The most common causes include extreme temperatures (daytime above 85°F–95°F or nighttime below 50°F–60°F), irregular watering, nutrient imbalances (like excess nitrogen), poor pollination, and natural shedding because the plant produces more flowers than it can support. Natural shedding of pepper flowers: yo...
Big Jim Chiles Seed Review with Photo"First harvest, today, of Big Jims from three of my home garden plants grown from your seed. I’m sure the taste isn’t as good as if they were Hatch-grown but I’ve already roasted a few from these plants and they are damn close. I transplanted the seedlings on April 9, 2026 in Cornelius, NC and looking forward to many more harvests to come as they are loaded with new fruit and blossoms. Thanks so much for the high quality seed!" ~ James from NC Thanks James, for sharing your photo an...
25% OFF SEEDS TO GROW MORE FOODThis sale has ended. Want more deals on seeds? Get 10% off any of our seeds + more deals when you Subscribe » Check out our rotating selection of 50% Off Seeds » Check out our Discounted Seed Bundles » FILL IN THE GAPS & GROW MORE FOOD!GET 25% OFF on seeds in our “Grow more food” collection!Use discount code: GROWMOREFOODOffer expired July 15, 2026.It is not too late to sow more veggie seeds in your garden in July! You can fill in gaps in the garden where you may have already harvest...
Jalapeno Poppers RecipeJalapeno Popper Recipe 8-12 jalapeños (use as many as you like) 6 ounces cream cheese softened* 1 cup of Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded* 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic or garlic powder (optional) 2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic chives (optional) ¼ cup Panko bread crumbs (optional) 1 tablespoon butter (optional) Green onions (for topping, optional) Instructions Preheat the oven or grill to 400°F. Cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise, and use a small spoon to scoop out the seeds. Mix ...
Seed ViabilitySandia Seed Company is proud to offer excellent seed viability for all of our seed packets! We test and ensure all of our high-quality seeds have germination rates above 85%. We only sell the freshest seeds from the prior season and stand behind our packets with a Seed Germination Guarantee. We also guarantee that our seeds grow true to type! No mystery peppers here! We are also proud to have signed and fully support the Seed Integrity Pledge. As signers, we pledge that we do not knowingly b...
Best Mulch for VegetablesMulch in veggie gardens helps suppress weeds, retain moisture, and also breaks down to enrich the soil life which then feeds your plants. The best mulch for a vegetable garden include organic, biodegradable materials like untreated grass clippings, clean straw, leaves, and pruned plants and herbs.IMPORTANT TO NOTE:Keep mulch 1-2 inches away from around the base your plants to keep them from rotting. Piling mulch against the stems of your vegetables can trap moisture and create an environment ...
20% OFF ALL OF OUR FASTEST GROWING VEGETABLE SEEDS!SORRY, THIS SALE HAS ENDED! Signup for our newsletter to get our future deals!20% OFF ALL OF OUR FASTEST GROWING VEGETABLE SEEDS! Use discount code: FASTERHARVEST to save big on all of our Fastest Growing Vegetable Seeds Collection!Now through Sunday, May 24, 2026!This collection has all of our fastest growing peppers, tomatoes plus lots of companion vegetables that make great companions for your peppers.Lettuce, chives, carrots, radishes, beans, cilantro, squash, basil, parsley, dill, orega...
Conserve Nutrients & Moisture in your Vegetable Pots with MulchConserve Nutrients & Moisture in your Vegetable Pots with Mulch Shown above, a new pepper plant has been transplanted into a large pot that has some lettuce growing in it currently. This pot was mulched with grass clippings to conserve moisture (which is important in our dry Western climate) and feed the soil life. Conserve Nutrients in your Veggie Pots:Adding mulch to your veggie pots can help them hold onto nutrients. Growing veggies in pots is a great way to expand your growing spac...
WIN FREE SEEDS: in our Pepper Progress Photo ContestANNOUNCING THE WINNERS! Thanks to everyone who posted photos! We love seeing your pepper seedlings and plants in the garden!These three winners are receiving a $20 gift card:Jessica R.Tricia L. T.YOrganics Homestead Stay tuned for more contests by subscribing to our newsletter »Original contest (now over): Share your pepper progress pics for a chance to WIN A $20 GIFT CARD! Post a photo featuring your pepper seeds, seedlings, or plants in the garden!1. Post a photo on Instagram and tag wi...
Best Hot Sauces: Our Top Picks for Heat and FlavorWe are starting this post to talk about our favorite hot sauces! As spice-addicted chileheads, we love both homemade hot sauce recipes and commercial hot sauces – and we have a whole fridge shelf full of them and the selection is ever-changing. What are your favorite hot sauces? Best Hot Sauces: Our Top Picks for Heat and Flavor Marie Sharp's is one of the best hot sauce companies out there, we haven't met one of their hot sauces that we didn't like. Based in Belize, Marie Sharp ...
20% OFF OUR FASTEST GROWING TOMATO SEEDS20% OFF OUR FASTEST GROWING TOMATO SEEDS SORRY, THIS SALE HAS ENDED! Signup for our newsletter to get our future deals!Use discount code: FASTERTOMATOES to save big on all of our Short Season Tomato Seeds CollectionNow through Sunday, May 17, 2026. Some of our favorite short season tomatoes include Sun Gold, a very sweet cherry tomato; Super Sweet 100, another productive and flavorful cherry type; Black Prince, which is valued for its rich, heirloom taste; New Yorker, a reliable early slic...
Interesting Sweet Pepper Varieties with Zero Heat
If you want to share your pepper harvest with friends and family (including kids) who don’t tolerate spiciness... but you still want some flavorful, unusual specialty peppers, check out this list of interesting sweet peppers. At Sandia Seed, we carry sweet peppers from around the world so you can taste the rainbow of pepper colors and flavors picked fresh from your garden. Cubanelles are loved by chefs and are sweet and crispy with thin skins - great for stir fries or salads. Fushimis are ...
Tumbling Tomatoes for Pots
One of our all-time favorite tomatoes is the Tumbling Tom Tomato. This cascading tomato plant is perfect for pots, and is a good producer of larger-sized orange-yellow cherry tomatoes that are meaty and great for salads or making sauces. Tumbling Tom pairs perfectly in pots with pepper plants, so you can have a salsa garden in a container! Plant Tumbling Tom, and a Jalapeno plant, and then tuck in some cilantro or green onions. Or grow it with basil or bush beans for the perfect food garden...
Why grow cherry tomatoes?
Cherry tomatoes are the easiest tomatoes to grow! They produce fruit faster, have better heat tolerance and offer a continuous harvest compared to most full-sized tomatoes. Everyone should be growing at least one or two cherry tomato varieties in their garden. There are a ton of different kinds of cherry tomatoes, too, so try growing some different ones each year in addition to your favorites. Here are some of our top reasons to grow cherry tomatoes: Faster Harvests: They start coming in ...
Chile Festivals
We just compiled a list of all the festivals we've heard about, check them out below. Let us know if we missed any! NEW MEXICO CHILE FESTIVALS: Hatch Chile Festival Sept 5–6, 2026 Hatch, New MexicoAnnual harvest celebration of everything Hatch Chile held every Labor Day weekend. This is the quintessential harvest celebration featuring the legendary chile queen pageant, massive roasting, and a parade. We're definitely going to this one! Green Chile Fest - AlbuquerqueSept 18-2...
What are peppers called when dried?
Peppers often have different names in their dried form, depending on the region. For example, 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* *Read more about fresh vs. dried pepper names »
The Best Peppers to Grow from Seed: Sandia Seed’s Most Popular Varieties for Every Garden
Peppers are one of the most rewarding crops to grow from seed! Sandia Seed offers options for beginners, salsa-makers, chile lovers, and heat seekers. Peppers are great for food gardens as they are productive and there are so many ways to preserve the harvest – you can make pickled peppers, hot sauces, salsas, or dry peppers to use for hot pepper flakes and sauces all year long. Shishito peppers, above, are super easy to grow and SO productive, perfect for beginners! These Japanese peppers ...
Health Benefits of Hot Peppers
We just read Washington Post's article titled: Eating this food regularly could lead to greater longevity Above: Aleppo peppers may help you live longer! How interesting! Their article gives us lots more reasons to love hot peppers! Here's what we learned from reading it: Spicy foods that include hot peppers have a solid scientific basis for health benefits... Large studies link frequent spicy food consumption to lower mortality risk (about 13–14%) and reduced deaths from cance...
Key Tips for Watering Peppers
Watering peppers correctly is important. Here are our top tips: Water Deeply & Less Frequently: Instead of a light splash every day, water deeply 1 to 2 times a week so the moisture reaches deep into the root zone. The Finger Test: Stick your finger 1 to 2 inches into the soil before watering. If the soil at that depth feels dry, it's time to water; if it still feels damp, hold off. Adjust for Climate & Heat: During mid-summer heatwaves or dry spells, outdoor pepper pl...
Why Are My Tomato Leaves Rolling?
Why Are My Tomato Leaves Rolling? It could be heat stress, not disease! This tomato plant (above) looked fine a couple weeks ago, but this Denver garden has had highs of over 95˚ F ever since, and you can see from it's rolling leaves that it is suffering from the heat. Noticing your tomato leaves curling or rolling upward in this super hot summer heat? Did the tomato plants look fine a couple weeks ago before the heat-wave? Don’t worry, this is often a natural response called physiologi...
Pepper Flower Drop
Are your pepper plants dropping blossoms and not producing peppers? Pepper flower drop is typically a stress response to extreme temperatures or other issues, and it's not uncommon. The most common causes include extreme temperatures (daytime above 85°F–95°F or nighttime below 50°F–60°F), irregular watering, nutrient imbalances (like excess nitrogen), poor pollination, and natural shedding because the plant produces more flowers than it can support. Natural shedding of pepper flowers: yo...
Big Jim Chiles Seed Review with Photo
"First harvest, today, of Big Jims from three of my home garden plants grown from your seed. I’m sure the taste isn’t as good as if they were Hatch-grown but I’ve already roasted a few from these plants and they are damn close. I transplanted the seedlings on April 9, 2026 in Cornelius, NC and looking forward to many more harvests to come as they are loaded with new fruit and blossoms. Thanks so much for the high quality seed!" ~ James from NC Thanks James, for sharing your photo an...
25% OFF SEEDS TO GROW MORE FOOD
This sale has ended. Want more deals on seeds? Get 10% off any of our seeds + more deals when you Subscribe » Check out our rotating selection of 50% Off Seeds » Check out our Discounted Seed Bundles » FILL IN THE GAPS & GROW MORE FOOD!GET 25% OFF on seeds in our “Grow more food” collection!Use discount code: GROWMOREFOODOffer expired July 15, 2026.It is not too late to sow more veggie seeds in your garden in July! You can fill in gaps in the garden where you may have already harvest...
Jalapeno Poppers Recipe
Jalapeno Popper Recipe 8-12 jalapeños (use as many as you like) 6 ounces cream cheese softened* 1 cup of Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded* 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic or garlic powder (optional) 2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic chives (optional) ¼ cup Panko bread crumbs (optional) 1 tablespoon butter (optional) Green onions (for topping, optional) Instructions Preheat the oven or grill to 400°F. Cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise, and use a small spoon to scoop out the seeds. Mix ...
Seed Viability
Sandia Seed Company is proud to offer excellent seed viability for all of our seed packets! We test and ensure all of our high-quality seeds have germination rates above 85%. We only sell the freshest seeds from the prior season and stand behind our packets with a Seed Germination Guarantee. We also guarantee that our seeds grow true to type! No mystery peppers here! We are also proud to have signed and fully support the Seed Integrity Pledge. As signers, we pledge that we do not knowingly b...
Best Mulch for Vegetables
Mulch in veggie gardens helps suppress weeds, retain moisture, and also breaks down to enrich the soil life which then feeds your plants. The best mulch for a vegetable garden include organic, biodegradable materials like untreated grass clippings, clean straw, leaves, and pruned plants and herbs.IMPORTANT TO NOTE:Keep mulch 1-2 inches away from around the base your plants to keep them from rotting. Piling mulch against the stems of your vegetables can trap moisture and create an environment ...
20% OFF ALL OF OUR FASTEST GROWING VEGETABLE SEEDS!
SORRY, THIS SALE HAS ENDED! Signup for our newsletter to get our future deals!20% OFF ALL OF OUR FASTEST GROWING VEGETABLE SEEDS! Use discount code: FASTERHARVEST to save big on all of our Fastest Growing Vegetable Seeds Collection!Now through Sunday, May 24, 2026!This collection has all of our fastest growing peppers, tomatoes plus lots of companion vegetables that make great companions for your peppers.Lettuce, chives, carrots, radishes, beans, cilantro, squash, basil, parsley, dill, orega...
Conserve Nutrients & Moisture in your Vegetable Pots with Mulch
Conserve Nutrients & Moisture in your Vegetable Pots with Mulch Shown above, a new pepper plant has been transplanted into a large pot that has some lettuce growing in it currently. This pot was mulched with grass clippings to conserve moisture (which is important in our dry Western climate) and feed the soil life. Conserve Nutrients in your Veggie Pots:Adding mulch to your veggie pots can help them hold onto nutrients. Growing veggies in pots is a great way to expand your growing spac...
WIN FREE SEEDS: in our Pepper Progress Photo Contest
ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS! Thanks to everyone who posted photos! We love seeing your pepper seedlings and plants in the garden!These three winners are receiving a $20 gift card:Jessica R.Tricia L. T.YOrganics Homestead Stay tuned for more contests by subscribing to our newsletter »Original contest (now over): Share your pepper progress pics for a chance to WIN A $20 GIFT CARD! Post a photo featuring your pepper seeds, seedlings, or plants in the garden!1. Post a photo on Instagram and tag wi...
Best Hot Sauces: Our Top Picks for Heat and Flavor
We are starting this post to talk about our favorite hot sauces! As spice-addicted chileheads, we love both homemade hot sauce recipes and commercial hot sauces – and we have a whole fridge shelf full of them and the selection is ever-changing. What are your favorite hot sauces? Best Hot Sauces: Our Top Picks for Heat and Flavor Marie Sharp's is one of the best hot sauce companies out there, we haven't met one of their hot sauces that we didn't like. Based in Belize, Marie Sharp ...
20% OFF OUR FASTEST GROWING TOMATO SEEDS
20% OFF OUR FASTEST GROWING TOMATO SEEDS SORRY, THIS SALE HAS ENDED! Signup for our newsletter to get our future deals!Use discount code: FASTERTOMATOES to save big on all of our Short Season Tomato Seeds CollectionNow through Sunday, May 17, 2026. Some of our favorite short season tomatoes include Sun Gold, a very sweet cherry tomato; Super Sweet 100, another productive and flavorful cherry type; Black Prince, which is valued for its rich, heirloom taste; New Yorker, a reliable early slic...
