Books about PeppersIf you love peppers, and love growing peppers, here are some great books about peppers! One of our favorite books about peppers was a book called Hot Peppers: The Story of Cajuns and Capsicum by Richard Schwid that goes into the history of peppers and goes into depth about Tabasco peppers. An interesting read! The whole time while reading I was craving hot sauce. Chasing Chiles: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail by Gary Paul Nabhan, Kraig Kraft, and Kurt Michael Friese is also good to read. ...
What to plant with TomatoesWondering what to plant with tomatoes to help them thrive? Here are some of our top suggestions: Basil – basil and tomatoes are the perfect companions! It's been said that growing a basil plant next to your tomatoes can improve the growth and taste of tomatoes. Basil also helps repel garden pests like aphids and spider mites, while attracting pollinators with it's blooms. It's also perfect to grow basil with tomatoes because they complement each other in the kitchen! Think tomat...
Fresh Tomato Salsa RecipeFresh Tomato Salsa Recipe Fresh tomatoes make the best salsa! You can make pico-de-gallo or this delicious restaurant-style salsa recipe below: 3-4 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped* 1 cup diced onion (green onions, or use a red or white onion) ¼ cup diced fresh cilantro (you can dice up stems and all!) 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (~1 lime) 1-2 jalapeño peppers* (diced, including seeds) ½ teaspoon ground cumin 1-3 cloves of garlic, minced Salt and pepper to taste *You can use any mixture o...
How to Start a Seed LibrarySharing seeds is one of the best ways for communities to share the love of gardening and growing food! Here are our top tips for starting a seed library in your community: Step 1: Find a community space for the Seed Library A well-visited community space is your best bet! Choose a venue that is free and open to the general public such as a local public library or community center.Some people are starting to create outdoor "Little Free Seed Libraries" alongside the book versions ...
Best Tomatoes for Salsa - Grow from seeds!The best tomatoes for salsa include a wide range of tomato varieties. Don't limit yourself to just one kind of tomato for your salsa! Often, fresh chopped tomato salsas like pico-de-gallo are made with firm, fleshy tomatoes such as San Marzanos or Roma Tomatoes. However, this is because those are the types that you can find in the stores. But that doesn't mean they are the only (or best) tomatoes for salsa! Good heirloom tomatoes are not often available at the grocery store. But you ...
What are the best pepper seeds for beginners?What are the best pepper seeds for beginners? Beginners should start with some of the fastest growing peppers. These peppers are great for people who are just starting to grow pepper seeds as they germinate quickly and grow into productive pepper plants even in short seasons. Many of these peppers are great for container gardening and for short seasons with late or early frosts in the spring and fall. These easy pepper seeds will give you the confidence to grow more and more each season. Som...
Best Pepper Seeds for PlantingIf you're looking for the best pepper seeds for planting, you've come to the right place! Sandia Seed carries over 101+ pepper seeds from super hot peppers to sweet peppers and everything in between. Check out our List of Peppers by Heat to find a heat level that is just right for you. Our Peppers of the World are easy to grow in any vegetable garden, so you can taste some of the best flavors from all over the planet. Peppers don't all taste the same, they have a wide variety of f...
What can I plant in April?Spinach, shown above, is a great seed to direct sow in your garden in April. Of course, what you can plant in April depends on your growing region! Here in the front range of Colorado in growing zone 5b, our last frost is usually in mid-to-late-May. Indoors, we can start lots of warm weather veggie seeds under lights like pepper seeds, tomato seeds, basil seeds, eggplant seeds in April. Outside, we can start seeds for Lettuce, Spinach, Beets, Carrots, Radishes, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cilantro, Or...
Seed Starting Setup Contest!Seed Starting Setup Photo Contest Winners Congratulations to Daniel C., the winner of our $25 Gift Card for our Seedling Setup Photo Contest! Here's his fun up-potting photo with a special guest appearance. Our second $25 gift card winner for is Rana! Wow, that's a lot of seedlings! Nice looking plants. Running a fan on seedlings for a few hours a day is always a good idea to keep the plants growing stout and strong. See more of the entries in the collage below or on our Facebook page...
Are rainbow peppers real?Yes, rainbow peppers are real! Check out the Bolivian Rainbow Pepper for a gorgeous colorful pepper plant that is sure to please. They look great in pots, or in flower gardens... and they're edible too! They are spicy and good for adding to salsas or hot sauces, or to dry and turn into hot pepper flakes! The 24" tall plants have purple tinged foliage and purple flowers. Fruits are small at 3/4" and turn from purple to yellow and then to red when mature. All colors are on the plant...
Short Season Pepper & Tomato Seeds on Sale!25% off Short Season Pepper & Tomato Seeds Sale! This sale is good on any of our seeds in our Short Season Peppers & Tomatoes collection » USE DISCOUNT CODE: FAST2025 You can still start super fast growing peppers and tomatoes for a harvest this summer with these short season varieties! So don't delay, order your seeds today. We have the fastest seed shipping so you can get your seeds planted sooner this season. Happy growing! Offer good from: Thursday, April 17 thru Sunday, Apri...
Red or Green Chile Sale!Get 25% off seeds in our Red Or Green Collection with discount code: REDORGREEN Plus, we'll send a FREE Marigold seed packet with any sale using this discount code! Offer good now thru Saturday, April 5, 2025.APPLY DISCOUNT CODE & SHOP COLLECTION: CLICK HERE »
What is eating my cucumber seedlings?If you've had the problem of direct seeding cucumber seeds in your garden, and they germinate and look great, but then before they even grow true leaves their heads get eaten, leaving just a stem behind? Well, you're not alone. There are a lot of insects and creatures that enjoy cucumber sprouts. They must be tasty! The culprit we think in this case was a cutworm, as we found one curled up nearby in the leaf mulch. To get around this issue, there are a few techniques: Sow seeds i...
What month do you plant hot peppers?Wondering when to plant hot pepper seeds? It depends on your growing region and gardening plan. We generally like to sow pepper seeds indoors about 8 weeks before the last frost date. However, if you're planting hot peppers, you can plant them earlier, up to 12+ weeks indoors before your last expected frost date. This is because hot peppers, especially the hottest peppers seeds take a long time to germinate (7-21+ days) and they also need a long growing season to produce a lot of pods. So...
No-Heat HabanerosLooking for no-heat Habaneros because you love the Habanero flavor but want to tame the heat? We have two varieties of no-heat Habaneros that have the complex fruity flavor of habaneros but without the heat. Here are our 2 no-heat Habaneros: 1. The Habanada is a sweet habanero pepper with crisp, thin skin with exotic, floral flavor. Now you can enjoy the bright tropical sweetness of habaneros without a hint of heat. These are great to use to make mild salsa recipes, or, to combine with ...
Why are my pepper seedlings growing slowly?Question: I planted Hatch Chile seeds from seed 3 weeks ago they are only 1 1/4" tall... why are they not growing faster? Answer: Peppers can take some time to get growing, give them time and be patient. Keeping them warm helps! Chile pepper seedlings thrive when temperatures are warm. Being sensitive to the cold, ideal temperatures are 70°F to 80°F during the day, and 60°F to 70° F at night. But don't worry if your pepper seedlings are taking some time to grow larger, they don&#...
ChileheadsThe term "Chileheads" refers to passionate connoisseurs of chile (chili) peppers. Chileheads appreciate the range of spicy heat levels and flavors that peppers provide – and often get addicted to ever-spicier peppers like the Carolina Reaper. Hot sauce (including homemade Hot Sauce Recipes) takes up a whole shelf in their fridge, and chili-cookoffs are considered a good challenge. While Chileheads are usually known for their addiction to spicy heat, they also love the different flavo...
Turquoise PepperCheck out our new turquoise jalapeño pepper! This extra hot jalapeño is turquoise-blue in color and sure to delight your eyes! You can make some blue-purple salsa with some of our purple tomatoes with these babies. ... Happy April Fools‘ Day!We don't sell fake peppers here. 😂 We have ornamental pepper seeds including purple peppers though if you're looking for different peppers that are sure to delight. For the closest thing to a blue pepper, check out the gorgeous Easter Pepper ...
Hottest Peppers ScaleHottest Peppers Scale Sandia Seed's list of their 101 peppers of the world, in order of their heat Scoville scale ratings: Bell Chocolate Sweet - 0 ScovillesBell Golden Cal Wonder - 0Bell Green Cal Wonder - 0Bell Orange Mini Snacker 0Bell Purple Beauty - 0Cubanelle - 0Fushimi - 0Jimmy Nardello - 0Marconi Red - 0Pimiento - 0Shishito - 0Sweet Cherry - 0Trick or Treat NuMex Habanero - 0Gypsy Pepper - 0Padron 0-100Paprika 0-100Alma Paprika 0-500Piquillo 0-500Pimento Sheepnose 0-500Sweet Ba...
Best Soil for Starting Seeds IndoorsStart A Garden: STEP 1 - Seedling Mix Starting a garden is easy with the right information. This first step to success is using seedling mix to plant your seeds. You want to use the best soil for starting seeds indoors for success. Watch now and learn how to fill trays and how to determine the proper moisture content of your mix. Make sure to use only the best soil for starting peppers! Learn more about the Best Soil for Peppers » Want to learn more about growing peppers from seed? Check o...
So, as a life long BOC fan and an avid gardener who loves the quality of seeds I’ve always received from Sandia Seeds. I just had to have this shirt. It rocks! I ordered a couple more for some fellow BOC fans as well. Great quality and the graphic is outstanding!
I'm going to grow these every year, they are HOT!! They make great poppers and salsa. Very productive, easy to grow, quick germination and fast growing plants. Thank you for the stellar seeds.
I planted several cultivars from wholesale seed. These were prolific. See all that RED (and green)?!? Looking forward to harvesting in a few days. Thank You Sandia Seed!
I pretty much use Sandia seeds exclusively! A few years ago I just happened to order your Jalapeño M. To me it's the perfect Jalapeño! Really nice size! Perfect heat for what we like! Wonderful flavor with a meatyness that's perfect for many different uses! I make my own Sriracha so I wait for them to turn red. They're one of my base peppers for my sauce! I praise them to all my personal friends and to members of groups that I belong to!
Serrano Hidalgo Seeds fromSandia Seed produce even in the HOT drought of central Illinois this year! I love adding a little Mexican kick to my salsa but also tossing these on the grill! They have great flavor and produce all summer long!
I had looked high & low, and searched the web with many word combinations ‘looking’ specifically for my favorite chili, the Dynamite xx Hot… so I could grow my own. The peppers were sold in Colorado at select places during roasting season, but you couldn’t buy seeds for them… anywhere!
Finally, as luck and persistence would have it, I discovered Sandia Seed Company.
Thank you Sandia! I planted them and had a great crop this year. I plan on growing them every year as well as trying some of their other seeds,
There's just something fun about growing a jalapeno that is light enough in color that some people think it's a banana pepper. LOL! I picked these just for color variety, and I'm very pleased that my plants have been loaded with them all season! We donated about 50 lbs of mixed peppers this year from our garden and I still had enough to freeze some and can more jars of recipes than we'll probably be able to use before next season. All my peppers were from Sandia Seed Company. I've never had such great pepper production before using these seeds!!
This spinach germinated well, and produced way more spinach than I'd initially expected. It grew really well, was slow to bolt in the summer, and has a really nice mild flavor for salads or steamed.
This was my first time growing these and I will definitely be growing them from now on. Great germination and very sturdy plants that have withstood some really high winds. Huge long peppers that are excellent green or red, very easy to peel skin.
Growing these in Florida, (Recent transplant of NM).
Lovely peppers. Took a couple weeks is all and wow! I have several budding; 2 large enough to nickname. They're still in their infancy, but I can tell they are going to be great! Love the seeds!
Books about Peppers
If you love peppers, and love growing peppers, here are some great books about peppers! One of our favorite books about peppers was a book called Hot Peppers: The Story of Cajuns and Capsicum by Richard Schwid that goes into the history of peppers and goes into depth about Tabasco peppers. An interesting read! The whole time while reading I was craving hot sauce. Chasing Chiles: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail by Gary Paul Nabhan, Kraig Kraft, and Kurt Michael Friese is also good to read. ...
What to plant with Tomatoes
Wondering what to plant with tomatoes to help them thrive? Here are some of our top suggestions: Basil – basil and tomatoes are the perfect companions! It's been said that growing a basil plant next to your tomatoes can improve the growth and taste of tomatoes. Basil also helps repel garden pests like aphids and spider mites, while attracting pollinators with it's blooms. It's also perfect to grow basil with tomatoes because they complement each other in the kitchen! Think tomat...
Fresh Tomato Salsa Recipe
Fresh Tomato Salsa Recipe Fresh tomatoes make the best salsa! You can make pico-de-gallo or this delicious restaurant-style salsa recipe below: 3-4 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped* 1 cup diced onion (green onions, or use a red or white onion) ¼ cup diced fresh cilantro (you can dice up stems and all!) 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (~1 lime) 1-2 jalapeño peppers* (diced, including seeds) ½ teaspoon ground cumin 1-3 cloves of garlic, minced Salt and pepper to taste *You can use any mixture o...
How to Start a Seed Library
Sharing seeds is one of the best ways for communities to share the love of gardening and growing food! Here are our top tips for starting a seed library in your community: Step 1: Find a community space for the Seed Library A well-visited community space is your best bet! Choose a venue that is free and open to the general public such as a local public library or community center.Some people are starting to create outdoor "Little Free Seed Libraries" alongside the book versions ...
Best Tomatoes for Salsa - Grow from seeds!
The best tomatoes for salsa include a wide range of tomato varieties. Don't limit yourself to just one kind of tomato for your salsa! Often, fresh chopped tomato salsas like pico-de-gallo are made with firm, fleshy tomatoes such as San Marzanos or Roma Tomatoes. However, this is because those are the types that you can find in the stores. But that doesn't mean they are the only (or best) tomatoes for salsa! Good heirloom tomatoes are not often available at the grocery store. But you ...
What are the best pepper seeds for beginners?
What are the best pepper seeds for beginners? Beginners should start with some of the fastest growing peppers. These peppers are great for people who are just starting to grow pepper seeds as they germinate quickly and grow into productive pepper plants even in short seasons. Many of these peppers are great for container gardening and for short seasons with late or early frosts in the spring and fall. These easy pepper seeds will give you the confidence to grow more and more each season. Som...
Best Pepper Seeds for Planting
If you're looking for the best pepper seeds for planting, you've come to the right place! Sandia Seed carries over 101+ pepper seeds from super hot peppers to sweet peppers and everything in between. Check out our List of Peppers by Heat to find a heat level that is just right for you. Our Peppers of the World are easy to grow in any vegetable garden, so you can taste some of the best flavors from all over the planet. Peppers don't all taste the same, they have a wide variety of f...
What can I plant in April?
Spinach, shown above, is a great seed to direct sow in your garden in April. Of course, what you can plant in April depends on your growing region! Here in the front range of Colorado in growing zone 5b, our last frost is usually in mid-to-late-May. Indoors, we can start lots of warm weather veggie seeds under lights like pepper seeds, tomato seeds, basil seeds, eggplant seeds in April. Outside, we can start seeds for Lettuce, Spinach, Beets, Carrots, Radishes, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cilantro, Or...
Seed Starting Setup Contest!
Seed Starting Setup Photo Contest Winners Congratulations to Daniel C., the winner of our $25 Gift Card for our Seedling Setup Photo Contest! Here's his fun up-potting photo with a special guest appearance. Our second $25 gift card winner for is Rana! Wow, that's a lot of seedlings! Nice looking plants. Running a fan on seedlings for a few hours a day is always a good idea to keep the plants growing stout and strong. See more of the entries in the collage below or on our Facebook page...
Are rainbow peppers real?
Yes, rainbow peppers are real! Check out the Bolivian Rainbow Pepper for a gorgeous colorful pepper plant that is sure to please. They look great in pots, or in flower gardens... and they're edible too! They are spicy and good for adding to salsas or hot sauces, or to dry and turn into hot pepper flakes! The 24" tall plants have purple tinged foliage and purple flowers. Fruits are small at 3/4" and turn from purple to yellow and then to red when mature. All colors are on the plant...
Short Season Pepper & Tomato Seeds on Sale!
25% off Short Season Pepper & Tomato Seeds Sale! This sale is good on any of our seeds in our Short Season Peppers & Tomatoes collection » USE DISCOUNT CODE: FAST2025 You can still start super fast growing peppers and tomatoes for a harvest this summer with these short season varieties! So don't delay, order your seeds today. We have the fastest seed shipping so you can get your seeds planted sooner this season. Happy growing! Offer good from: Thursday, April 17 thru Sunday, Apri...
Red or Green Chile Sale!
Get 25% off seeds in our Red Or Green Collection with discount code: REDORGREEN Plus, we'll send a FREE Marigold seed packet with any sale using this discount code! Offer good now thru Saturday, April 5, 2025.APPLY DISCOUNT CODE & SHOP COLLECTION: CLICK HERE »
What is eating my cucumber seedlings?
If you've had the problem of direct seeding cucumber seeds in your garden, and they germinate and look great, but then before they even grow true leaves their heads get eaten, leaving just a stem behind? Well, you're not alone. There are a lot of insects and creatures that enjoy cucumber sprouts. They must be tasty! The culprit we think in this case was a cutworm, as we found one curled up nearby in the leaf mulch. To get around this issue, there are a few techniques: Sow seeds i...
What month do you plant hot peppers?
Wondering when to plant hot pepper seeds? It depends on your growing region and gardening plan. We generally like to sow pepper seeds indoors about 8 weeks before the last frost date. However, if you're planting hot peppers, you can plant them earlier, up to 12+ weeks indoors before your last expected frost date. This is because hot peppers, especially the hottest peppers seeds take a long time to germinate (7-21+ days) and they also need a long growing season to produce a lot of pods. So...
No-Heat Habaneros
Looking for no-heat Habaneros because you love the Habanero flavor but want to tame the heat? We have two varieties of no-heat Habaneros that have the complex fruity flavor of habaneros but without the heat. Here are our 2 no-heat Habaneros: 1. The Habanada is a sweet habanero pepper with crisp, thin skin with exotic, floral flavor. Now you can enjoy the bright tropical sweetness of habaneros without a hint of heat. These are great to use to make mild salsa recipes, or, to combine with ...
Why are my pepper seedlings growing slowly?
Question: I planted Hatch Chile seeds from seed 3 weeks ago they are only 1 1/4" tall... why are they not growing faster? Answer: Peppers can take some time to get growing, give them time and be patient. Keeping them warm helps! Chile pepper seedlings thrive when temperatures are warm. Being sensitive to the cold, ideal temperatures are 70°F to 80°F during the day, and 60°F to 70° F at night. But don't worry if your pepper seedlings are taking some time to grow larger, they don&#...
Chileheads
The term "Chileheads" refers to passionate connoisseurs of chile (chili) peppers. Chileheads appreciate the range of spicy heat levels and flavors that peppers provide – and often get addicted to ever-spicier peppers like the Carolina Reaper. Hot sauce (including homemade Hot Sauce Recipes) takes up a whole shelf in their fridge, and chili-cookoffs are considered a good challenge. While Chileheads are usually known for their addiction to spicy heat, they also love the different flavo...
Turquoise Pepper
Check out our new turquoise jalapeño pepper! This extra hot jalapeño is turquoise-blue in color and sure to delight your eyes! You can make some blue-purple salsa with some of our purple tomatoes with these babies. ... Happy April Fools‘ Day!We don't sell fake peppers here. 😂 We have ornamental pepper seeds including purple peppers though if you're looking for different peppers that are sure to delight. For the closest thing to a blue pepper, check out the gorgeous Easter Pepper ...
Hottest Peppers Scale
Hottest Peppers Scale Sandia Seed's list of their 101 peppers of the world, in order of their heat Scoville scale ratings: Bell Chocolate Sweet - 0 ScovillesBell Golden Cal Wonder - 0Bell Green Cal Wonder - 0Bell Orange Mini Snacker 0Bell Purple Beauty - 0Cubanelle - 0Fushimi - 0Jimmy Nardello - 0Marconi Red - 0Pimiento - 0Shishito - 0Sweet Cherry - 0Trick or Treat NuMex Habanero - 0Gypsy Pepper - 0Padron 0-100Paprika 0-100Alma Paprika 0-500Piquillo 0-500Pimento Sheepnose 0-500Sweet Ba...
Best Soil for Starting Seeds Indoors
Start A Garden: STEP 1 - Seedling Mix Starting a garden is easy with the right information. This first step to success is using seedling mix to plant your seeds. You want to use the best soil for starting seeds indoors for success. Watch now and learn how to fill trays and how to determine the proper moisture content of your mix. Make sure to use only the best soil for starting peppers! Learn more about the Best Soil for Peppers » Want to learn more about growing peppers from seed? Check o...
