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. Optional additions and variations: Chile de Arbol, destemmed Sprigs of Savory, Thyme and/or Oregano Cumin powder Chipotle peppers (gives it a smo...
Growing Spaghetti SquashAre spaghetti squash hard to grow? Growing spaghetti squash seeds are some of the easiest and rewarding squashes to grow! They are easy to start from seed, you can direct sow them in mounds in your garden, no need to start them indoors. In fact, we find that direct sown squash often do better than their indoor-started counterparts, this is in part because they have sensitive root systems that don't like to be disturbed (aka transplanted). Make sure to provide good soil for them, they lik...
How to grow more peppersTo increase your pepper plant harvests, it is important to provide optimal growing conditions, such as in full sun and warm temperatures, plus good, loamy soil with lots of organic matter. Providing a balanced fertilizer, ideally organic, is also good for continued support of growth. Here are more tips on growing more peppers: 1. Choose Productive Pepper Varieties: Pick the fastest growing peppers to ensure a long, productive harvest. While all peppers will eventually produce a ton of pods,...
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 ...
Seeds to plant in JanuaryCan you plant seeds in January? Yes, because for us gardeners, it's hard to resist waiting! And there is no reason to wait. That said, in most growing regions, starting seeds outside in January isn't realistic (at least without cover, read more about that lower below.) In growing regions with cold winters, the ground is usually frozen or covered in snow, and ongoing frosts are imminent. But there are some cool weather veggies that can be started outdoors under cover, and you can start...
Tomato spotted wilt virus - mottled tomatoesThe above photo of some wild looking mottled tomatoes is damage most likely caused by the Tomato spotted wilt virus. Plants infected with Tomato spotted wilt virus exhibit bronzing of the upper sides of young leaves, which later develop distinct, necrotic mottled spots. It looks wild, but it usually results in a less tasty tomato though it is still safe to eat if it doesn't taste too bad. This viral disease is infectious to many other plants including peppers, so it's best to remove ...
What Seeds to Plant in June - Companion Plants!Wondering what seeds you should plant in June? June is a great time to plant companion plants with your peppers, tomatoes and other veggies. There is a great range of seeds to choose from that you can plant in June including cilantro, squash, cucumbers, nasturtium, lettuce, basil, and many more. Read about them below... Cilantro - great for salsas, and the flowers attract lots of beneficial insects and produce more seeds (also known as Coriander) Cherry Belle Radish are super fast gro...
Seeds to Plant in May - Direct SowingA summer squash above was direct seeded in mounds in May at a community garden in Denver. Squash is best direct sown as it doesn't like to have it's roots disturbed, so we generally plant it directly in the garden in May and June. Is May too late to direct sow seeds? Answer: Nope! May is a great time to direct sow many seeds in most growing regions in most of the Northern Hemisphere! May marks the transition from spring to summer in many regions, and the days are super long in M...
Companion Plants for Tomatoes and PeppersThere are a lot of great companion plants that you can pair with tomatoes and peppers in the garden. If you have a small space, companion planting other vegetables and herbs is a great way to get more harvest out of your garden! Can you plant peppers and tomatoes together? While it is said you should plant them apart because they do share pests and diseases and can compete for the same nutrients, often times gardeners just don't have much room in a home garden so we plant peppers and to...
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...
Green Chile Casserole RecipeThis is a simple recipe that's easy to make for brunch, lunch or dinner! In a cast iron pan, sauté around 1 cup of chopped onions and 3-4 cloves of garlic, then add 1 can or cup of drained pinto beans and 1-1.5 cups of diced green chile, dash of cumin and salt and pepper and stir mixture, let cook down for 10-15 minutes. Preheat oven to 375˚ F. After 10-15 minutes, remove pan from heat. Whip 3-4 eggs and pour over the top of the mixture, then sprinkle with shredded cheese, diced onion, sl...
Best Vegetable Seed CatalogLooking for the best vegetable seed catalog?Look no further, if you want to add a great new vegetable seed catalog to your collection, make sure to order one of Sandia Seed's 2025 Seed Catalogs – these full color catalogs are packed with 101 peppers of the world, plus tons of vegetable seeds including easy to grow heirloom tomatoes, squashes, cucumbers, herbs, edible flowers and so much more. This is the perfect vegetable seed catalog for salsa lovers – grow a salsa garden with several va...
Hatch Green Chile RecipeGet out those roasted Hatch chiles in your freezer (or fresh out of the garden and off of your grill) and make up a batch of this delicious stew. This is great served in a bowl, and is also great for smothering burritos or enchiladas. HATCH GREEN CHILE RECIPE: Ingredients: 1½ tbsp olive oil 1 cup roasted homegrown Hatch green chiles, peeled and diced 2 lbs of pork or chicken, cubed (or go vegan and instead use pinto beans, crumbled sauteed tofu and/or mushrooms if desired) 3 Potatoes, di...
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. There are a ton of recipes out there, but here is our easy one, 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+ Blossoms from Pumpkin, Zucchini and Squash (whatever you have)* STUFFING: • 1-2 cups Shredded chee...
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...
I grow your basil seeds every year, they are easy to start from seed and grow into nice bushy plants that we harvest all summer long to use to make caprese salads (when the tomatoes start to ripen), as well as pesto. I like to make a big batch of pesto, then freeze "pucks" of it in a muffin tray to store in a container in the freezer for some summer flavors all winter long. These seeds always have great germination. I also like to let a couple of basil plants bloom as the pollinators love the blooms and they are pretty, too!
Bought the Green Chile Intro - 3-Pack and was able to start indoors the Big Jim Legacy and Sandia Select with a 100% germination rate thanks to the clear instructions provided. As of Mid July in NC zone 7A on the 8 chile plants(6 Big Jim, 2 Sandia) in the garden I have 5-7 large chiles per plant. The smallest chiles are over 7” and I’m already getting another flush of flowers for round 2 of delicious peppers. Highly recommend these chiles!!!
My sister loves gardening, and is quite a seed collector and grower. She'll love all these classic varieties to add to her garden and seed box. Zucchini are an old stand-by, as well as pumpkins, beans, radishes and more. She's never grown spaghetti squash, so that will be a fun addition.
Beautiful, perfect golden tomatoes - very tasty, too!
Perfect looking tomatoes in a golden color with hints of red, they are gorgeous. These Rainbow Tomatoes were definitely the most productive tomatoes of the season last year, so our countertop bowl was filled with their golden deliciousness.
Make sure to use a sturdy tomato cage (not those wirey floppy ones that they most commonly sell!) - we ended up using some wood stakes to create a frame around the plants as they were so huge and loaded with fruit later in the season.
We just planted our seedlings for these this year, looking forward to watching them grow!
Fantastic! I will be ordering from Sandiaseed from now on.
Germination for nearly all of my varieties was 3-5 days (95% - 100% success rate). My varieties include: Red Ghost, Carolina Reaper, Trinidad Scorpion, Devils Tongue, Cayenne Ring of Fire, Habenero Red, Yellow Jamaican, Paprika Numex, and Bolivian Rainbow. Another thing that I really appreciated is that each packet seemed to contain 20% more seeds than indicated (each 10 seed pack contained 12 seeds) - Not sure if that is standard but it was a nice bonus.
I've found that when you combine roasted carrots, habaneros, lime juice and garlic, it will make the best hot sauce of your life. I think it's the sweetness and depth of the carrots that make the sauce even better, and pairs perfectly with the habanero heat. I got the inspiration from one of my favorite store-bought hot sauces, Marie Sharp's Habanero hot sauce. Sometimes I add some of your Chef's orange tomatoes too to make more of it, and they also give more flavor to the hot sauce and help tame the heat a bit. I grow these in my garden every year along with your orange habaneros, orange tomatoes and other hot peppers and veggies. Very reliable.
These fabulous peppers added lots of color to our patio pots. So pretty in multiple colors, plus you can pick them and add to salsa for a nice spicy kick. These are fun in any ornamental edible garden.
We let these hang dry, then ground them up – they made the tastiest pepper flakes. They have a nice kick, but good flavor too. Easy to grow plants, pretty peppers.
Great seeds, good germination, plants grow quickly and produce lots of pods for roasting. Great flavor and just the right amount of spice. We grow these every year in our garden in Utah.
I tried these purple Cherokee seeds on 2024. This is the first time growing these purple Cherokees and were amazed at the ease of germination and taste
These germinated in two days. I started them in midsummer and they fruited by late fall in my zone 10b garden and are overwintering just fine. I’ll have more to harvest by late spring. I made my red sauce for pozole for Christmas with my harvest!
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. Optional additions and variations: Chile de Arbol, destemmed Sprigs of Savory, Thyme and/or Oregano Cumin powder Chipotle peppers (gives it a smo...
Growing Spaghetti Squash
Are spaghetti squash hard to grow? Growing spaghetti squash seeds are some of the easiest and rewarding squashes to grow! They are easy to start from seed, you can direct sow them in mounds in your garden, no need to start them indoors. In fact, we find that direct sown squash often do better than their indoor-started counterparts, this is in part because they have sensitive root systems that don't like to be disturbed (aka transplanted). Make sure to provide good soil for them, they lik...
How to grow more peppers
To increase your pepper plant harvests, it is important to provide optimal growing conditions, such as in full sun and warm temperatures, plus good, loamy soil with lots of organic matter. Providing a balanced fertilizer, ideally organic, is also good for continued support of growth. Here are more tips on growing more peppers: 1. Choose Productive Pepper Varieties: Pick the fastest growing peppers to ensure a long, productive harvest. While all peppers will eventually produce a ton of pods,...
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 ...
Seeds to plant in January
Can you plant seeds in January? Yes, because for us gardeners, it's hard to resist waiting! And there is no reason to wait. That said, in most growing regions, starting seeds outside in January isn't realistic (at least without cover, read more about that lower below.) In growing regions with cold winters, the ground is usually frozen or covered in snow, and ongoing frosts are imminent. But there are some cool weather veggies that can be started outdoors under cover, and you can start...
Tomato spotted wilt virus - mottled tomatoes
The above photo of some wild looking mottled tomatoes is damage most likely caused by the Tomato spotted wilt virus. Plants infected with Tomato spotted wilt virus exhibit bronzing of the upper sides of young leaves, which later develop distinct, necrotic mottled spots. It looks wild, but it usually results in a less tasty tomato though it is still safe to eat if it doesn't taste too bad. This viral disease is infectious to many other plants including peppers, so it's best to remove ...
What Seeds to Plant in June - Companion Plants!
Wondering what seeds you should plant in June? June is a great time to plant companion plants with your peppers, tomatoes and other veggies. There is a great range of seeds to choose from that you can plant in June including cilantro, squash, cucumbers, nasturtium, lettuce, basil, and many more. Read about them below... Cilantro - great for salsas, and the flowers attract lots of beneficial insects and produce more seeds (also known as Coriander) Cherry Belle Radish are super fast gro...
Seeds to Plant in May - Direct Sowing
A summer squash above was direct seeded in mounds in May at a community garden in Denver. Squash is best direct sown as it doesn't like to have it's roots disturbed, so we generally plant it directly in the garden in May and June. Is May too late to direct sow seeds? Answer: Nope! May is a great time to direct sow many seeds in most growing regions in most of the Northern Hemisphere! May marks the transition from spring to summer in many regions, and the days are super long in M...
Companion Plants for Tomatoes and Peppers
There are a lot of great companion plants that you can pair with tomatoes and peppers in the garden. If you have a small space, companion planting other vegetables and herbs is a great way to get more harvest out of your garden! Can you plant peppers and tomatoes together? While it is said you should plant them apart because they do share pests and diseases and can compete for the same nutrients, often times gardeners just don't have much room in a home garden so we plant peppers and to...
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...
Green Chile Casserole Recipe
This is a simple recipe that's easy to make for brunch, lunch or dinner! In a cast iron pan, sauté around 1 cup of chopped onions and 3-4 cloves of garlic, then add 1 can or cup of drained pinto beans and 1-1.5 cups of diced green chile, dash of cumin and salt and pepper and stir mixture, let cook down for 10-15 minutes. Preheat oven to 375˚ F. After 10-15 minutes, remove pan from heat. Whip 3-4 eggs and pour over the top of the mixture, then sprinkle with shredded cheese, diced onion, sl...
Best Vegetable Seed Catalog
Looking for the best vegetable seed catalog?Look no further, if you want to add a great new vegetable seed catalog to your collection, make sure to order one of Sandia Seed's 2025 Seed Catalogs – these full color catalogs are packed with 101 peppers of the world, plus tons of vegetable seeds including easy to grow heirloom tomatoes, squashes, cucumbers, herbs, edible flowers and so much more. This is the perfect vegetable seed catalog for salsa lovers – grow a salsa garden with several va...
Hatch Green Chile Recipe
Get out those roasted Hatch chiles in your freezer (or fresh out of the garden and off of your grill) and make up a batch of this delicious stew. This is great served in a bowl, and is also great for smothering burritos or enchiladas. HATCH GREEN CHILE RECIPE: Ingredients: 1½ tbsp olive oil 1 cup roasted homegrown Hatch green chiles, peeled and diced 2 lbs of pork or chicken, cubed (or go vegan and instead use pinto beans, crumbled sauteed tofu and/or mushrooms if desired) 3 Potatoes, di...
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. There are a ton of recipes out there, but here is our easy one, 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+ Blossoms from Pumpkin, Zucchini and Squash (whatever you have)* STUFFING: • 1-2 cups Shredded chee...
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...
