Beans not getting soft?If you cook beans from scratch (dried beans), you may have noticed that they sometimes don't get soft no matter how long you cook them. There are a couple reasons that beans might not be getting soft: Old beans may not get soft, so use fresh beans. Why? As dried beans age, moisture evaporates, giving pectin time to age and harden the skin, which results in beans that refuse to get fully soft. Beans can remain hard if acidic ingredients are added before they get soft. Tomatoes, vinega...
Pinto Beans Recipe - a simple classic!EASY PINTO BEANS RECIPE: Enjoy homemade pinto beans with this classic and simple recipe: Soak beans overnight. Rinse. Add beans to pot. Add water. Add salt, add a whole onion (or dice it up) and a head of garlic. Bring to boil, then bring down to simmer. When they get soft, taste and add more salt if desired. This usually takes about 2-3 hours. Once the beans are cooked and soft, you can add any other ingredients to spice it up! Optional additions and variations: Chile de Arbol, destemmed...
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...
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...
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 ...
Tabasco Pepper Salsa RecipeSandia Seed's Tabasco Pepper Salsa Recipe Make this delicious salsa with fresh or dried Tabasco peppers. They have great flavor and make a killer salsa, so don't just think of them for hot sauce. They also dry easily and are delicious when crushed and used as hot pepper flakes and seasoning for all sorts of dishes. RECIPE INGREDIENTS: 2-6+ Tabasco PeppersAdd as many fresh or dried Tabasco peppers as desired, of course more equals more heat. Note: You can also use ANY fresh or dried...
Yellow Scotch BonnetThe Yellow Scotch Bonnet (Bahamian, Bahama Mama, Jamaican Hot or Martinique Pepper) is a very hot pepper, closely related to the Habanero and has about the same heat levels. The shape is different and resembles a Scot’s Bonnet, hence the name. The Yellow Scotch Bonnet is very important in the Jamaican cuisine and the Cayman Islands. That’s why Jamaican Jerk and other Caribbean dishes have a unique taste. Jerk is a way of cooking that is originated in Jamaica. Meat is rubbed with a very sharp ...
Good Crop Rotation is ImportantA good crop rotation plan is critical for a productive vegetable garden. One of the rules of organic gardening is to rotate plant families from one season to the next, so related crops are not planted in the same spot more often than every three years. The purpose of crop rotation is to help maintain the balance of nutrients, organic matter, and micro-organisms necessary for healthy soil. When the same vegetable, like hot peppers, are planted year after year in the same plot, they become dise...
Types of Habaneros - Listed by Heat!Types of Habaneros: We think Habaneros are one of the best tasting hot peppers, and we have many varieties of Habaneros that you can grow in your garden! Habaneros are aromatic chile peppers with intense and pungent heat. Their spicy heat and citrusy fresh flavor go well with so many foods, and they make delicious hot sauces and salsas. Habaneros are easy to grow, and do great in pots. How many different types of Habanero peppers are there?There are many varieties of Habaneros, we have listed...
Pepper Plant CompanionsWondering what to plant with your chile peppers to help them thrive? Flowers, chives, carrots, radishes, squash, basil, parsley, dill, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, cucumbers, eggplant, and onions all do well when grown in close proximity to peppers. But don't plant them too close that they will shade your pepper plants: Squash and cucumbers, for example, need ample space so we plant them at least 3-4' away from our pepper patch. You can also use trellises for your cucumbers to grow th...
Vegan Stuffed PeppersVegan Stuffed Peppers Here is a Vegan Stuffed Peppers Recipe below, including lots of delicious variations and ideas for making the best vegan stuffed peppers. These are some great vegan stuffed pepper recipe ideas if you are vegetarian or vegan, or if you have dairy allergies. You can stuff any pepper, although some of our favorite pepper stuffers are Jalapeños, the Mini Orange Bell Pepper, Red Cherry Hot peppers, Pimento Peppers, the large Beaver Dam Pepper. Of course, all of our hatch chi...
How to Prune Pepper Plants for Maximum YieldHow to Prune Pepper Plants for Maximum YieldWhen growing peppers from seed, you want to make sure you get the maximum yield from your plants. There are many theories on how to prune peppers for the highest yield. We've tried multiple ways of pruning such as topping pepper plants, but we haven't found that topped plants have necessarily produced more peppers than their un-topped counterparts. In fact, in short seasons, it seemed to just put off the harvest a little longer as the plants...
Green Chile Shepherd's Pie RecipeGreen Chile Shepherd's Pie Recipe If you love green chile, then you have to try out this amazing Green Chile Shepherd's Pie Recipe – it is a New Mexican twist on the the classic Irish dish. Who doesn't like a little spice?! INGREDIENTS 4 large potatoes, diced 1 stick of butter (or 1/2 cup of olive oil) 1 onion, chopped 2 cups mixed vegetables (diced carrots, peas, corn) 1 cup of roasted Green Chile (peeled, de-seeded, and chopped) 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef, chicken or pork (...
Harissa Recipe - with Homegrown Hatch ChilesHarissa is a spice mix used in Tunisian cuisine, and can be used on everything from vegetables to soups to rice or couscous. This Harissa recipe uses the famous New Mexican Red Hatch Chiles, which are roasted and peeled to make this delicious spice. 3 fresh* or frozen Hatch Red Chiles (any variety of red chile will do!) 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp coriander seeds 3 tbsp olive oil 1 red onion, chopped 2 tsp tomato paste 6 cloves garlic, chopped 6 hot red chiles, (use super hot peppers like Caro...
Orange Pepper Seeds - An Orange Habanero with no Heat!Grow Orange pepper seeds for some delightful color in your recipes! We have lots of different orange peppers to choose from – ranging from hot to sweet. Looking for a sweet orange pepper? Our Habanada is a sweet habanero pepper with crisp, thin skin and great exotic, floral flavor – all the great parts of a hot Habanero but without even a hint of heat.The Habanada has all the great flavor and the aroma of a hot Orange Habanero, but without any capsaicin to burn your tongue. These are great...
What seeds can you plant in July?What seeds can you plant in July? In July, it's not too late to fill your garden with more vegetables!Fill the gaps and sow more seeds to grow more food this summer.Sometimes you have space that opened up from where you were growing spring lettuce or radishes, or perhaps you had a plant that fizzled out, or just haven't planted an area yet. Well, there is no better time than July to sow some more veggie seeds and increase your harvests this summer! Seeds to sow in July for a bou...
Spicy Vegetarian Chili RecipeSPICY VEGETARIAN CHILI RECIPE INGREDIENTS: 6-8 Cups of fresh diced tomatoes (or 1 large (28oz) can of diced tomatoes) 2-4+ diced hot peppers such as Serranos 4 chopped sweet red peppers or bell peppers 2 onions, chopped 6 cloves of garlic, minced 2 cans (15 oz) of kidney beans, drained 2 cans (15 oz) of black beans, drained (or use other beans like pinto beans) 1-2 cups of water (or broth of choice) 1 Cup of Corn, optional 2 tablespoons of chile powder 1 teaspoons of ground cumin Salt &...
Best Habanero SeedsDo you love habaneros? If you haven't tried them, and you like hot peppers, you should grow habaneros!We think habaneros are one of the tastiest of all peppers – they have a great fruity flavor, aroma and lots of heat! Habaneros make some of the most flavorful hot sauces, and they are awesome in salsas. Easy to grow, Habanero seeds can be started indoors to get the plants growing strong before transplanting outside once the weather warms up and all chance of frost has passed. We have s...
Habanero Pepper SeedsThe flavor of Habaneros are unlike any other hot pepper – they seem to be oozing with addictive flavor. We have recently been getting into Habanero-based hot sauces as the flavor is just so delicious, you can't stop drizzling on more. It's hard to describe, but most say they taste very spicy with fruity and sweet flavor. This mouth-watering hot pepper pairs nicely with carrots and fruits in hot sauces. We're going to save room for a Habanero Patch in our garden this year, and gro...
Grow Peppers in PotsDid you know you can grow peppers in pots? Most pepper varieties do great in pots! Check our list of Best Peppers to Grow in Pots Add some peppers to your garden this year! Growing peppers in pots is a great way to expand your garden, or peppers if you don't have a garden bed! You can place pots on patios, decks, or balconies to increase your harvest each season. The Easter Pepper, shown above, makes an absolutely stunning centerpiece in a tall ceramic pot in a pollinator garden. The lar...
Beans not getting soft?
If you cook beans from scratch (dried beans), you may have noticed that they sometimes don't get soft no matter how long you cook them. There are a couple reasons that beans might not be getting soft: Old beans may not get soft, so use fresh beans. Why? As dried beans age, moisture evaporates, giving pectin time to age and harden the skin, which results in beans that refuse to get fully soft. Beans can remain hard if acidic ingredients are added before they get soft. Tomatoes, vinega...
Pinto Beans Recipe - a simple classic!
EASY PINTO BEANS RECIPE: Enjoy homemade pinto beans with this classic and simple recipe: Soak beans overnight. Rinse. Add beans to pot. Add water. Add salt, add a whole onion (or dice it up) and a head of garlic. Bring to boil, then bring down to simmer. When they get soft, taste and add more salt if desired. This usually takes about 2-3 hours. Once the beans are cooked and soft, you can add any other ingredients to spice it up! Optional additions and variations: Chile de Arbol, destemmed...
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...
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...
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 ...
Tabasco Pepper Salsa Recipe
Sandia Seed's Tabasco Pepper Salsa Recipe Make this delicious salsa with fresh or dried Tabasco peppers. They have great flavor and make a killer salsa, so don't just think of them for hot sauce. They also dry easily and are delicious when crushed and used as hot pepper flakes and seasoning for all sorts of dishes. RECIPE INGREDIENTS: 2-6+ Tabasco PeppersAdd as many fresh or dried Tabasco peppers as desired, of course more equals more heat. Note: You can also use ANY fresh or dried...
Types of Habaneros - Listed by Heat!
Types of Habaneros: We think Habaneros are one of the best tasting hot peppers, and we have many varieties of Habaneros that you can grow in your garden! Habaneros are aromatic chile peppers with intense and pungent heat. Their spicy heat and citrusy fresh flavor go well with so many foods, and they make delicious hot sauces and salsas. Habaneros are easy to grow, and do great in pots. How many different types of Habanero peppers are there?There are many varieties of Habaneros, we have listed...
Pepper Plant Companions
Wondering what to plant with your chile peppers to help them thrive? Flowers, chives, carrots, radishes, squash, basil, parsley, dill, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, cucumbers, eggplant, and onions all do well when grown in close proximity to peppers. But don't plant them too close that they will shade your pepper plants: Squash and cucumbers, for example, need ample space so we plant them at least 3-4' away from our pepper patch. You can also use trellises for your cucumbers to grow th...
Vegan Stuffed Peppers
Vegan Stuffed Peppers Here is a Vegan Stuffed Peppers Recipe below, including lots of delicious variations and ideas for making the best vegan stuffed peppers. These are some great vegan stuffed pepper recipe ideas if you are vegetarian or vegan, or if you have dairy allergies. You can stuff any pepper, although some of our favorite pepper stuffers are Jalapeños, the Mini Orange Bell Pepper, Red Cherry Hot peppers, Pimento Peppers, the large Beaver Dam Pepper. Of course, all of our hatch chi...
How to Prune Pepper Plants for Maximum Yield
How to Prune Pepper Plants for Maximum YieldWhen growing peppers from seed, you want to make sure you get the maximum yield from your plants. There are many theories on how to prune peppers for the highest yield. We've tried multiple ways of pruning such as topping pepper plants, but we haven't found that topped plants have necessarily produced more peppers than their un-topped counterparts. In fact, in short seasons, it seemed to just put off the harvest a little longer as the plants...
Green Chile Shepherd's Pie Recipe
Green Chile Shepherd's Pie Recipe If you love green chile, then you have to try out this amazing Green Chile Shepherd's Pie Recipe – it is a New Mexican twist on the the classic Irish dish. Who doesn't like a little spice?! INGREDIENTS 4 large potatoes, diced 1 stick of butter (or 1/2 cup of olive oil) 1 onion, chopped 2 cups mixed vegetables (diced carrots, peas, corn) 1 cup of roasted Green Chile (peeled, de-seeded, and chopped) 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef, chicken or pork (...
Harissa Recipe - with Homegrown Hatch Chiles
Harissa is a spice mix used in Tunisian cuisine, and can be used on everything from vegetables to soups to rice or couscous. This Harissa recipe uses the famous New Mexican Red Hatch Chiles, which are roasted and peeled to make this delicious spice. 3 fresh* or frozen Hatch Red Chiles (any variety of red chile will do!) 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp coriander seeds 3 tbsp olive oil 1 red onion, chopped 2 tsp tomato paste 6 cloves garlic, chopped 6 hot red chiles, (use super hot peppers like Caro...
Orange Pepper Seeds - An Orange Habanero with no Heat!
Grow Orange pepper seeds for some delightful color in your recipes! We have lots of different orange peppers to choose from – ranging from hot to sweet. Looking for a sweet orange pepper? Our Habanada is a sweet habanero pepper with crisp, thin skin and great exotic, floral flavor – all the great parts of a hot Habanero but without even a hint of heat.The Habanada has all the great flavor and the aroma of a hot Orange Habanero, but without any capsaicin to burn your tongue. These are great...
What seeds can you plant in July?
What seeds can you plant in July? In July, it's not too late to fill your garden with more vegetables!Fill the gaps and sow more seeds to grow more food this summer.Sometimes you have space that opened up from where you were growing spring lettuce or radishes, or perhaps you had a plant that fizzled out, or just haven't planted an area yet. Well, there is no better time than July to sow some more veggie seeds and increase your harvests this summer! Seeds to sow in July for a bou...
Spicy Vegetarian Chili Recipe
SPICY VEGETARIAN CHILI RECIPE INGREDIENTS: 6-8 Cups of fresh diced tomatoes (or 1 large (28oz) can of diced tomatoes) 2-4+ diced hot peppers such as Serranos 4 chopped sweet red peppers or bell peppers 2 onions, chopped 6 cloves of garlic, minced 2 cans (15 oz) of kidney beans, drained 2 cans (15 oz) of black beans, drained (or use other beans like pinto beans) 1-2 cups of water (or broth of choice) 1 Cup of Corn, optional 2 tablespoons of chile powder 1 teaspoons of ground cumin Salt &...
Best Habanero Seeds
Do you love habaneros? If you haven't tried them, and you like hot peppers, you should grow habaneros!We think habaneros are one of the tastiest of all peppers – they have a great fruity flavor, aroma and lots of heat! Habaneros make some of the most flavorful hot sauces, and they are awesome in salsas. Easy to grow, Habanero seeds can be started indoors to get the plants growing strong before transplanting outside once the weather warms up and all chance of frost has passed. We have s...
Habanero Pepper Seeds
The flavor of Habaneros are unlike any other hot pepper – they seem to be oozing with addictive flavor. We have recently been getting into Habanero-based hot sauces as the flavor is just so delicious, you can't stop drizzling on more. It's hard to describe, but most say they taste very spicy with fruity and sweet flavor. This mouth-watering hot pepper pairs nicely with carrots and fruits in hot sauces. We're going to save room for a Habanero Patch in our garden this year, and gro...
Grow Peppers in Pots
Did you know you can grow peppers in pots? Most pepper varieties do great in pots! Check our list of Best Peppers to Grow in Pots Add some peppers to your garden this year! Growing peppers in pots is a great way to expand your garden, or peppers if you don't have a garden bed! You can place pots on patios, decks, or balconies to increase your harvest each season. The Easter Pepper, shown above, makes an absolutely stunning centerpiece in a tall ceramic pot in a pollinator garden. The lar...
