Freezing Jalapeno PoppersKeep it simple and warm up your winters by freezing jalapeño poppers when you have an abundance of jalapeños from the garden. How to freeze jalapeno poppers: 1. To make freeze poppers, first prepare the jalapeños* by slicing in half, and using a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Then, fill them with cream cheese (you can add other ingredients like shredded cheddar, chopped olives, minced garlic, bacon bits, etc if desired). 2. Put them on a baking sheet and "flash freeze" them in a sing...
Best Peppers for Hot SauceWe've picked out our favorite peppers for hot sauce (and some of your favorites) that you can grow in your garden to make hot sauce! Find our favorite hot sauce recipes and make them your own with any of these hot peppers. You can use any hot pepper or combination of peppers to make hot sauce, so don't feel limited, experiment! The sky's the limit. You'll find that some you love some peppers even more than others, but it's fun to try them all. Hot sauce captures the essenc...
November is National Pepper Month!Happy National Pepper Month! All month long we can celebrate peppers! While we love peppers all year long, November is a great time to give these delicious fruits the attention they deserve. Right now, loads of hot sauces, salsas, roasted chile and hot pepper flakes are being enjoyed by people around the world. Sandia Seed loves National Pepper Month because we love peppers! In fact, in 2008, we were the first seed packet company to focus exclusively on pepper seeds from around the world. At ...
Should I harvest peppers before frost?Should I harvest peppers before frost? Absolutely! Don't let the pepper pods freeze outside on the plants, as they will turn to mush. Harvesting peppers before frost: Do you have to harvest your peppers before a frost, but they're not ripe? Here are our suggestions: Pick your Peppers:You can pick the peppers, and if they are close enough to ripe, they may turn color on your counter. Many peppers like jalapeños are often picked green, so enjoy them green – you'll find that super...
Jalapenos Turning Black?Don't worry if your jalapenos are turning black! Most Jalapeños turn black often during their to natural ripening process. Most Jalapeño varieties mature from green to red, and during this time they often turn partially black or deep purple – this is totally normal. You may be worried that there is something wrong with your Jalapeño peppers, but it's common for them to turn partially dark or black as they ripening to red. Green to black to red is how they ripen!Jalapeños peppers can b...
Shishito RecipesThere are lots of delicious Shishito Recipes! Shishitos are great sweet peppers to grow in the garden as they are fast growing so they are one of the first peppers to harvest, and then they just keep producing all season long. They are one of the easiest peppers to grow, and are great for beginner gardeners. Shishitos grow happily in pots, too. You can pick them often to eat fresh or make a variety of dishes with them. Here are a few of our favorite Shishito Recipe ideas: Sautéed Shishitos ...
Safe Seed PledgeSandia Seed Company is proud to sign the Safe Seed Pledge! We believe in selling only non-GMO seeds. THE SEED INTEGRITY PLEDGE: Seeds are essential for the provision of healthy food, our well-being, and that of our environment and planet. We must protect the diversity and genetic integrity of our seeds to provide the foundation for a stable, safe food supply for us and for generations to come. The mechanical alteration of genetic material outside of natural reproductive methods within or bet...
How Cold can Cabbage Tolerate?We love growing cabbage for our spicy Mexican Coleslaw / Cabbage Coleslaw recipe! Brunswick Cabbage is great to grow this time of year, as it can stay growing in the garden with cold temps long after the peppers and tomatoes can... and it's great Cabbage can typically withstand temperatures down to the mid-to-low 20s°F before it begins to freeze, but its exact freezing point depends on the variety and how it has been preconditioned by weather. A light frost (28–32°F) is generally n...
Biggest Selection of Green Chile Seeds - in all heat levels!If you love green chile, make sure to check out our huge selection at Sandia Seed! In 2008, we were founded on the idea that seeds for green chile peppers should be available for everyone. We were the first seed packet company to focus exclusively on pepper seeds from around the world. At that time large seed packet companies sold only one or two peppers alongside their vegetable seed selection and they were not green chile seeds! We decided something had to change, so Sandia Seed started...
Largest Jalapenos you can GrowGrow bigger jalapeños next season! You can do this by growing larger Jalapeño varieties such as Jalapeño Traveler and Jalmundo NuMex – they will reward you with pods that can get up to 4 inches to make the perfect poppers!Note that the size of jalapenos varies depending on the growing conditions. Weather, especially, can affect the size of peppers in general, some seasons result in much larger pods than other seasons. Sometimes pods will start out smaller and get larger as the season progress...
Happy first day of Autumn!Happy first day of Autumn! Wow, where does the time go? May your harvests bring you joy! Did you know? The autumnal equinox marks the moment when day and night are approximately equal in length, signaling the transition from summer to autumn. Harvesting lots of peppers? Try our Chile Recipes to use your harvest »How to make a Ristra to dry your chiles »How to dry peppers without a dehydrator » Can you plant veggies in Autumn? Even if you live in an area with cold winters, You can ...
Hot Pepper Relish Canning RecipeHot Pepper Relish Canning Recipe 5 cups minced/ground sweet peppers (such as Green Bell Peppers, Golden Bell Peppers, Purple Bell Peppers, Red Bell Peppers, Mini Bell Peppers, or you can also use other specialty sweet peppers like Corno Di Toro Giallo, Cubanelles, Fushimi, Marconis, Paprika peppers, or even Habanadas to give your relish some Habanero fruity flavor (roughly 3 to 4 pounds before mincing/grinding) 5 cups minced/ground jalapeño peppers (any variety) or any hot peppers of your ...
Why are bell peppers so hard to grow?Do you have luck growing bell peppers? Or do you struggle growing them? Do they only produce a couple peppers for the season? Growing Bell peppers can be challenging for some growing regions. Bell peppers are tropical natives that enjoy warm temperatures between 65-85˚F, and they generally prefer high humidity with fertile soil. In some regions, like the arid West with it's intense high altitude sun, bell peppers can be more challenging to grow. Bell peppers are especially prone to sunbur...
Chili Recipe with Homegrown Red Chiles!Make this delicious red chili from chiles and other ingredients from your garden! Ingredients: 3 whole dried Guajillo chiles 3 whole dried Ancho chiles 3 whole dried Red New Mexico chiles 1-2+ green bell peppers or roasted/peeled New Mexico or Pueblo Green Chiles, chopped 1 large poblano pepper, chopped, seeds removed (can also roast) 2 (16 oz.) cans red kidney beans 1 (16 oz.) can pinto beans 1 cup of fresh or canned diced tomatoes (optional) 1 Onion 4-6+ Garlic Cloves, minced (2+ ...
What to do with a lot of Peppers? 28+ IdeasWondering what to do with a lot of peppers? This list above and below includes our favorite ways to use your pepper harvest from our latest Seed Catalog, which is packed with recipes and growing tips. Find links to our recipes for many of these ideas below...Too Many Peppers? If you find yourself with an abundance of peppers, there are several effective strategies for making use of them immediately or preserving them for enjoyment throughout the winter months. You can also share your veggie ...
Recipe for Spaghetti Verde – Pasta with Cilantro, Tomatillos, Jalapenos and Olive OilHere is a simple recipe for Spaghetti Verde, our version is pasta tossed with roasted tomatillos, jalapenos (or other spicy green peppers such as Hatch chiles) and cilantro. This is a pesto for those who like it spicy! Ingredients: 3-5+ Tomatillos, roasted and cooled 1-3+ Jalapenos, roasted and cooled (or use any green chiles for this recipe) 3+ Garlic Cloves, roasted 1 Bunch of cilantro 1/2 Cup Olive Oil Salt and pepper to taste Nuts - optional, add toasted No Shell Raw Pepitas, pine nuts...
Hot Sauce QuotesDo you love hot sauce like we do? Here are some fun quotes about Hot Sauce, our favorite condiment: "If peppers are a fruit, then hot sauce is a smoothie." “Everything’s better with Hot Sauce” “The secret ingredient is always Hot Sauce” “Spice up your life” (with Sandia Seed) “Hot sauce is my spirit condiment” “When life gives you peppers, make hot sauce” “Hot sauce: turning bland into grand since forever” “Keep calm and put hot sauce on everything!” “Hot sauce: the real MVP of eve...
Cowboy Candy and Cowgirl Candy RecipeCandied jalapeños, are also known as Cowboy Candy, and Cowgirl Candy refers to a variation that includes pineapple for a sweeter, making a more tropical flavor. This recipe makes a balance of sweet and spicy peppers that can be stored for months. There is no canning involved, just refrigerate your jars. This recipe makes half Cowboy Candy and half Cowgirl Candy (4 to 5 pint jars). Ingredients: 1 lb jalapeños (about 20 peppers), washed and sliced into ¼ inch slices. (wear gloves) 1 cup ap...
Heirloom Pepper Seeds: The Fish PepperFascinating heirloom Fish Pepper plants have variegated foliage and bear lots of delicious hot pods with stripes. The peppers start out green with white stripes and eventually turn to orange with brown stripes and then to red. They are hot and tasty with up to 30,000 Scovilles and are great for salsas, curries, chili and sauces. Easy to grow, great for containers, this is a pepper every chilehead will love to have in their garden! Fish Pepper plants often start out green – the mottled f...
When to Harvest Green ChileKnowing when to harvest Green Chile is important for the best flavors. When to pick your chiles all depends on when you planted, the variety of chile, plus weather and soil conditions. In Hatch, New Mexico, for example, the harvest season typically begins in August and goes through September, with some seasons getting late harvests in October – it all depends on the weather! Depending on where you are growing your green chile will affect when you'll be able to start harvesting pods. Here ...
Freezing Jalapeno Poppers
Keep it simple and warm up your winters by freezing jalapeño poppers when you have an abundance of jalapeños from the garden. How to freeze jalapeno poppers: 1. To make freeze poppers, first prepare the jalapeños* by slicing in half, and using a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Then, fill them with cream cheese (you can add other ingredients like shredded cheddar, chopped olives, minced garlic, bacon bits, etc if desired). 2. Put them on a baking sheet and "flash freeze" them in a sing...
Best Peppers for Hot Sauce
We've picked out our favorite peppers for hot sauce (and some of your favorites) that you can grow in your garden to make hot sauce! Find our favorite hot sauce recipes and make them your own with any of these hot peppers. You can use any hot pepper or combination of peppers to make hot sauce, so don't feel limited, experiment! The sky's the limit. You'll find that some you love some peppers even more than others, but it's fun to try them all. Hot sauce captures the essenc...
November is National Pepper Month!
Happy National Pepper Month! All month long we can celebrate peppers! While we love peppers all year long, November is a great time to give these delicious fruits the attention they deserve. Right now, loads of hot sauces, salsas, roasted chile and hot pepper flakes are being enjoyed by people around the world. Sandia Seed loves National Pepper Month because we love peppers! In fact, in 2008, we were the first seed packet company to focus exclusively on pepper seeds from around the world. At ...
Should I harvest peppers before frost?
Should I harvest peppers before frost? Absolutely! Don't let the pepper pods freeze outside on the plants, as they will turn to mush. Harvesting peppers before frost: Do you have to harvest your peppers before a frost, but they're not ripe? Here are our suggestions: Pick your Peppers:You can pick the peppers, and if they are close enough to ripe, they may turn color on your counter. Many peppers like jalapeños are often picked green, so enjoy them green – you'll find that super...
Jalapenos Turning Black?
Don't worry if your jalapenos are turning black! Most Jalapeños turn black often during their to natural ripening process. Most Jalapeño varieties mature from green to red, and during this time they often turn partially black or deep purple – this is totally normal. You may be worried that there is something wrong with your Jalapeño peppers, but it's common for them to turn partially dark or black as they ripening to red. Green to black to red is how they ripen!Jalapeños peppers can b...
Shishito Recipes
There are lots of delicious Shishito Recipes! Shishitos are great sweet peppers to grow in the garden as they are fast growing so they are one of the first peppers to harvest, and then they just keep producing all season long. They are one of the easiest peppers to grow, and are great for beginner gardeners. Shishitos grow happily in pots, too. You can pick them often to eat fresh or make a variety of dishes with them. Here are a few of our favorite Shishito Recipe ideas: Sautéed Shishitos ...
Safe Seed Pledge
Sandia Seed Company is proud to sign the Safe Seed Pledge! We believe in selling only non-GMO seeds. THE SEED INTEGRITY PLEDGE: Seeds are essential for the provision of healthy food, our well-being, and that of our environment and planet. We must protect the diversity and genetic integrity of our seeds to provide the foundation for a stable, safe food supply for us and for generations to come. The mechanical alteration of genetic material outside of natural reproductive methods within or bet...
How Cold can Cabbage Tolerate?
We love growing cabbage for our spicy Mexican Coleslaw / Cabbage Coleslaw recipe! Brunswick Cabbage is great to grow this time of year, as it can stay growing in the garden with cold temps long after the peppers and tomatoes can... and it's great Cabbage can typically withstand temperatures down to the mid-to-low 20s°F before it begins to freeze, but its exact freezing point depends on the variety and how it has been preconditioned by weather. A light frost (28–32°F) is generally n...
Biggest Selection of Green Chile Seeds - in all heat levels!
If you love green chile, make sure to check out our huge selection at Sandia Seed! In 2008, we were founded on the idea that seeds for green chile peppers should be available for everyone. We were the first seed packet company to focus exclusively on pepper seeds from around the world. At that time large seed packet companies sold only one or two peppers alongside their vegetable seed selection and they were not green chile seeds! We decided something had to change, so Sandia Seed started...
Largest Jalapenos you can Grow
Grow bigger jalapeños next season! You can do this by growing larger Jalapeño varieties such as Jalapeño Traveler and Jalmundo NuMex – they will reward you with pods that can get up to 4 inches to make the perfect poppers!Note that the size of jalapenos varies depending on the growing conditions. Weather, especially, can affect the size of peppers in general, some seasons result in much larger pods than other seasons. Sometimes pods will start out smaller and get larger as the season progress...
Happy first day of Autumn!
Happy first day of Autumn! Wow, where does the time go? May your harvests bring you joy! Did you know? The autumnal equinox marks the moment when day and night are approximately equal in length, signaling the transition from summer to autumn. Harvesting lots of peppers? Try our Chile Recipes to use your harvest »How to make a Ristra to dry your chiles »How to dry peppers without a dehydrator » Can you plant veggies in Autumn? Even if you live in an area with cold winters, You can ...
Hot Pepper Relish Canning Recipe
Hot Pepper Relish Canning Recipe 5 cups minced/ground sweet peppers (such as Green Bell Peppers, Golden Bell Peppers, Purple Bell Peppers, Red Bell Peppers, Mini Bell Peppers, or you can also use other specialty sweet peppers like Corno Di Toro Giallo, Cubanelles, Fushimi, Marconis, Paprika peppers, or even Habanadas to give your relish some Habanero fruity flavor (roughly 3 to 4 pounds before mincing/grinding) 5 cups minced/ground jalapeño peppers (any variety) or any hot peppers of your ...
Why are bell peppers so hard to grow?
Do you have luck growing bell peppers? Or do you struggle growing them? Do they only produce a couple peppers for the season? Growing Bell peppers can be challenging for some growing regions. Bell peppers are tropical natives that enjoy warm temperatures between 65-85˚F, and they generally prefer high humidity with fertile soil. In some regions, like the arid West with it's intense high altitude sun, bell peppers can be more challenging to grow. Bell peppers are especially prone to sunbur...
Chili Recipe with Homegrown Red Chiles!
Make this delicious red chili from chiles and other ingredients from your garden! Ingredients: 3 whole dried Guajillo chiles 3 whole dried Ancho chiles 3 whole dried Red New Mexico chiles 1-2+ green bell peppers or roasted/peeled New Mexico or Pueblo Green Chiles, chopped 1 large poblano pepper, chopped, seeds removed (can also roast) 2 (16 oz.) cans red kidney beans 1 (16 oz.) can pinto beans 1 cup of fresh or canned diced tomatoes (optional) 1 Onion 4-6+ Garlic Cloves, minced (2+ ...
What to do with a lot of Peppers? 28+ Ideas
Wondering what to do with a lot of peppers? This list above and below includes our favorite ways to use your pepper harvest from our latest Seed Catalog, which is packed with recipes and growing tips. Find links to our recipes for many of these ideas below...Too Many Peppers? If you find yourself with an abundance of peppers, there are several effective strategies for making use of them immediately or preserving them for enjoyment throughout the winter months. You can also share your veggie ...
Recipe for Spaghetti Verde – Pasta with Cilantro, Tomatillos, Jalapenos and Olive Oil
Here is a simple recipe for Spaghetti Verde, our version is pasta tossed with roasted tomatillos, jalapenos (or other spicy green peppers such as Hatch chiles) and cilantro. This is a pesto for those who like it spicy! Ingredients: 3-5+ Tomatillos, roasted and cooled 1-3+ Jalapenos, roasted and cooled (or use any green chiles for this recipe) 3+ Garlic Cloves, roasted 1 Bunch of cilantro 1/2 Cup Olive Oil Salt and pepper to taste Nuts - optional, add toasted No Shell Raw Pepitas, pine nuts...
Hot Sauce Quotes
Do you love hot sauce like we do? Here are some fun quotes about Hot Sauce, our favorite condiment: "If peppers are a fruit, then hot sauce is a smoothie." “Everything’s better with Hot Sauce” “The secret ingredient is always Hot Sauce” “Spice up your life” (with Sandia Seed) “Hot sauce is my spirit condiment” “When life gives you peppers, make hot sauce” “Hot sauce: turning bland into grand since forever” “Keep calm and put hot sauce on everything!” “Hot sauce: the real MVP of eve...
Cowboy Candy and Cowgirl Candy Recipe
Candied jalapeños, are also known as Cowboy Candy, and Cowgirl Candy refers to a variation that includes pineapple for a sweeter, making a more tropical flavor. This recipe makes a balance of sweet and spicy peppers that can be stored for months. There is no canning involved, just refrigerate your jars. This recipe makes half Cowboy Candy and half Cowgirl Candy (4 to 5 pint jars). Ingredients: 1 lb jalapeños (about 20 peppers), washed and sliced into ¼ inch slices. (wear gloves) 1 cup ap...
Heirloom Pepper Seeds: The Fish Pepper
Fascinating heirloom Fish Pepper plants have variegated foliage and bear lots of delicious hot pods with stripes. The peppers start out green with white stripes and eventually turn to orange with brown stripes and then to red. They are hot and tasty with up to 30,000 Scovilles and are great for salsas, curries, chili and sauces. Easy to grow, great for containers, this is a pepper every chilehead will love to have in their garden! Fish Pepper plants often start out green – the mottled f...
When to Harvest Green Chile
Knowing when to harvest Green Chile is important for the best flavors. When to pick your chiles all depends on when you planted, the variety of chile, plus weather and soil conditions. In Hatch, New Mexico, for example, the harvest season typically begins in August and goes through September, with some seasons getting late harvests in October – it all depends on the weather! Depending on where you are growing your green chile will affect when you'll be able to start harvesting pods. Here ...
