Can you overwinter New Mexico Chile plants?We were recently asked: Is it a 100% no for overwintering NM Chile plants? If so why? We've found that New Mexico chile plants don't produce as well after being overwintered – they will survive if kept from frost, but they are not usually anywhere near as productive as fresh started plants the next year. Some pepper plants are more suited to overwintering and can live and produce for many years, but New Mexico chile plants seem to be best in their first year. The super hot Rattl...
Homegrown Sriracha Sauce RecipeHomegrown Sriracha Sauce 1.5 pounds Sriracha Peppers, or other red hot peppers such as cayenne, goat horn, fresno, bishop crown, thai hot, or jalapeno peppers ⅓ cup water 6 cloves garlic, peeled 3 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon kosher salt ½ cup white vinegar Cut off stems of peppers, add to a food processor or blender and add water, garlic, brown sugar, and salt.Pulse, then blend until smooth. Add puree into a large glass jar or pitcher, and keep covered in a cool dark location for 3 ...
Fertilizing PeppersFertilizing Peppers: What do you feed your peppers? We don't go crazy with fertilizing peppers, in fact, we don't fertilize pepper seedlings until after they get their first set of leaves. Even then, we like to use a balanced organic liquid fertilizer at 1/2 strength – don't overdo it when they are young and still indoors under lights. As they grow, using well-balanced fertilizers is best (many growers recommend using fertilizers with a ratio of 3-1-2 or 1-1-1.) Always read the di...
What are the easiest peppers to grow?What are the easiest peppers to grow? We think most peppers are easy to grow, but growing faster growing peppers can help improve your success, especially in shorter growing seasons. The fastest germinating peppers are typically in the Capsicum Annuum family, so we'd say they are easiest to grow. This is a big family of peppers, so for an easier garden, you can grow fast-growing jalapeño seeds, serrano seeds, cayenne seeds, Anaheim chile seeds, Hatch chile seeds, and poblano seeds.Green C...
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...
New PeppersNEW PEPPERS Grow something new this year! In 2022 we have a lot of new peppers to grow in your garden! We are introducing Hatch Green Mild – Guizeppi as one of the mildest Hatch chile varieties we offer; Alma Paprika, the best paprika for drying; Anaheim Sonora Mild, a delicious and very large pepper; Biquinho Yellow, mild and fruity from Brazil; Cascabella, small and tangy these are the peppers that Mezzetta uses; Cayenne Purple, both the pepper and plant are pretty, Corno de Toro Gai...
Types of PeppersThere are many types of peppers to grow in your garden! There are the five major types of peppers: Capsicum annuum: Life span: 1.5-3 years These include a lot of the largest peppers including Bell Peppers, sweet/Italian Peppers, Serrano, Cayenne, Paprika, Hatch Chile Peppers, ornamental peppers like the gorgeous NuMex Twilight pepper, and all of the fast growing Jalapeños. These pepper plants can live between 1.5-3 years. We find that the New Mexican Chile varieties really produce t...
Beginner‑Friendly Hot PeppersAt Sandia Seed we LOVE peppers, and we enjoy helping people grow their own peppers from seed! We think some of the best peppers for beginners to grow are the fastest growing peppers, including Jalapeños, Green Chiles, and Serranos. Why? Because they germinate fast, grow quickly, and produce a lot of peppers for a longer season so beginners are more likely to have success! And who doesn't like MORE peppers? Beginner's and experts alike will like all of these peppers we mention below. ...
Hot Sauce Ingredient IdeasHot Sauces are made from lots of ingredients beyond just hot peppers! Many recipes include fruit, juice (lime, lemon), different types of vinegar, ginger, mustard seeds, carrots, garlic, onions and other ingredients to add more flavor and thicken or extend sauces. It's fun to grow many of your own hot sauce ingredients in your garden for the freshest flavors. Hot sauce is a great way to preserve your harvest for year-round use. Grow your own Hot Sauce Garden and make your own hot sauce t...
Hot Sauce GardenGrow your own Hot Sauce Garden One of the reasons many gardeners grow hot peppers is to make their own hot sauces and salsas. Once you start growing peppers, you'll discover the full range of complex flavor and different kinds of heat peppers of the world provide for your tastebuds. It's addictive, too, the more varieties of peppers you taste, the more you want to try! And the more heat you try, the more heat you crave! But you don't need to grow extra hot peppers to make hot sa...
Growing Peppers in ColoradoThere are many different growing zones in Colorado, and you can grow peppers in any areas that you can grow tomatoes and other veggies! For Colorado gardeners, starting peppers indoors is a must with short season gardening, we recommend starting your pepper seeds at least 6-8 weeks before mid-to-late May when you will transplant them into the garden. Use a seedling heat mat to keep the pepper seeds warm during germination, they like to germinate around 80˚F! Choose short season peppers for...
Best Vinegar for Hot SauceMaking your own hot sauce recipes from homegrown hot peppers? Some people like to make fermented hot sauce recipes (and SOMETIMES they add vinegar at the end after it's fermented), some like to cook hot peppers down in a sauce pan and add vinegar for a quick hot sauce, and some people like to pickle whole hot peppers in vinegar for a spicy vinegar treat. You can even add lime or lemon juice to hot sauces for a tropical burst of flavor and acidity. There is no wrong way to make hot sauce, ...
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...
Pepper SeedsLooking for Pepper Seeds? Sandia Seed offers a great selection of pepper seeds, from sweet pepper seeds to hot pepper seeds. We have bell pepper seeds, as well as cayenne pepper seeds and poblano pepper seeds.Sandia Seed is part of a sustainable movement to change the way the world buys seeds. We offer heirloom & open-pollinated seeds that are not readily available from large seed companies. Today’s gardeners can grow them and keep their unique genetic makeup viable for future generations...
2022 Seed CatalogCheck out Sandia Seed's brand new 2022 Seed Catalog that we just designed and got back from the printer! Our 2022 Seed Catalog is packed with seeds for some of your favorites like our Hatch Chile seeds, plus several new peppers of the world, plus organic vegetable seeds and heirloom tomato seeds. Our pepper-packed 2022 Seed Catalog is printed and is now shipping!Check out the 2022 Seed Catalog, it's packed with recipes, growing tips and lots of seeds! Perfect for winter-ti...
No-Peel Canned Salsa with Apples!We have an apple tree, and this year it was loaded with fruit! While we like apple pie, we like salsa better, so we just made the No-Peel version of this Canned Salsa Recipe, below, and we added a few peeled & cored homegrown apples to the batch, for a bit of sweetness. It's spicy and delicious! We simply peeled and cored the four apples and threw them into the food processor along with the tomatoes and chiles. We had some sample tastes before canning, it was delish! We can't wait...
Homegrown Sambal Oelek RecipeHomegrown Sambal Oelek Recipe This delicious spicy condiment is delicious on everything from stir fries to soups to sandwiches or even just with some crackers or chips. Kick it up a notch with hotter peppers, and feel free to mix and match hot peppers for a deeper range of flavor. We like to use whatever hot peppers we have on hand! INGREDIENTS 1 pound of homegrown red chile, washed & de-stemmed(use any kind of red chile you are growing, such as Cayenne peppers, Goat Horn peppers, ripe ...
Types of Peppers to GrowAt Sandia Seed we have seeds for over 101 peppers of the world to grow in your garden! There are many types of peppers to grow, ranging from sweet to super hot, so there is a pepper for everyone. What is the Best Pepper to Grow? Golly, it's really hard to choose just one pepper considering the huge range of flavors, heat levels and colors they provide. Sorry, but it's just too hard to narrow down to just one pepper, so here are a few of our top favorites for the best peppers to ...
How to Dry PeppersHere are our top ways you can dry peppers: 1. Make Chile Ristras!Chile Ristras can be made from lots of different kinds of peppers, not just the common New Mexico and Hatch chile varieties. This is a great way to store your peppers for the winter. You want to string up the peppers so that they get maximum airflow and hang them in a dry sunny place to dry out. Then you can use them in your kitchen for recipes and making red chile sauces. Growing chile that have thin flesh and are suited to d...
Tomatillo & Chile de Arbol Salsa RecipeSomething red and something green... makes a rich amber-colored salsa. A friend said they had a delicious "Brown Salsa" at a Mexican restaurant that they absolutely loved, and they asked what it could be made from. It was likely Tomatillos (or even purple tomatillos) and red chile de arbol, or some variation of it. See a recipe below. This combination of green and red ingredients creates a rich, thick, smoky brown or amber-toned salsa with a complex flavor profile. A Thicker Salsa: To...
Can you overwinter New Mexico Chile plants?
We were recently asked: Is it a 100% no for overwintering NM Chile plants? If so why? We've found that New Mexico chile plants don't produce as well after being overwintered – they will survive if kept from frost, but they are not usually anywhere near as productive as fresh started plants the next year. Some pepper plants are more suited to overwintering and can live and produce for many years, but New Mexico chile plants seem to be best in their first year. The super hot Rattl...
Homegrown Sriracha Sauce Recipe
Homegrown Sriracha Sauce 1.5 pounds Sriracha Peppers, or other red hot peppers such as cayenne, goat horn, fresno, bishop crown, thai hot, or jalapeno peppers ⅓ cup water 6 cloves garlic, peeled 3 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon kosher salt ½ cup white vinegar Cut off stems of peppers, add to a food processor or blender and add water, garlic, brown sugar, and salt.Pulse, then blend until smooth. Add puree into a large glass jar or pitcher, and keep covered in a cool dark location for 3 ...
Fertilizing Peppers
Fertilizing Peppers: What do you feed your peppers? We don't go crazy with fertilizing peppers, in fact, we don't fertilize pepper seedlings until after they get their first set of leaves. Even then, we like to use a balanced organic liquid fertilizer at 1/2 strength – don't overdo it when they are young and still indoors under lights. As they grow, using well-balanced fertilizers is best (many growers recommend using fertilizers with a ratio of 3-1-2 or 1-1-1.) Always read the di...
What are the easiest peppers to grow?
What are the easiest peppers to grow? We think most peppers are easy to grow, but growing faster growing peppers can help improve your success, especially in shorter growing seasons. The fastest germinating peppers are typically in the Capsicum Annuum family, so we'd say they are easiest to grow. This is a big family of peppers, so for an easier garden, you can grow fast-growing jalapeño seeds, serrano seeds, cayenne seeds, Anaheim chile seeds, Hatch chile seeds, and poblano seeds.Green C...
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...
New Peppers
NEW PEPPERS Grow something new this year! In 2022 we have a lot of new peppers to grow in your garden! We are introducing Hatch Green Mild – Guizeppi as one of the mildest Hatch chile varieties we offer; Alma Paprika, the best paprika for drying; Anaheim Sonora Mild, a delicious and very large pepper; Biquinho Yellow, mild and fruity from Brazil; Cascabella, small and tangy these are the peppers that Mezzetta uses; Cayenne Purple, both the pepper and plant are pretty, Corno de Toro Gai...
Types of Peppers
There are many types of peppers to grow in your garden! There are the five major types of peppers: Capsicum annuum: Life span: 1.5-3 years These include a lot of the largest peppers including Bell Peppers, sweet/Italian Peppers, Serrano, Cayenne, Paprika, Hatch Chile Peppers, ornamental peppers like the gorgeous NuMex Twilight pepper, and all of the fast growing Jalapeños. These pepper plants can live between 1.5-3 years. We find that the New Mexican Chile varieties really produce t...
Beginner‑Friendly Hot Peppers
At Sandia Seed we LOVE peppers, and we enjoy helping people grow their own peppers from seed! We think some of the best peppers for beginners to grow are the fastest growing peppers, including Jalapeños, Green Chiles, and Serranos. Why? Because they germinate fast, grow quickly, and produce a lot of peppers for a longer season so beginners are more likely to have success! And who doesn't like MORE peppers? Beginner's and experts alike will like all of these peppers we mention below. ...
Hot Sauce Ingredient Ideas
Hot Sauces are made from lots of ingredients beyond just hot peppers! Many recipes include fruit, juice (lime, lemon), different types of vinegar, ginger, mustard seeds, carrots, garlic, onions and other ingredients to add more flavor and thicken or extend sauces. It's fun to grow many of your own hot sauce ingredients in your garden for the freshest flavors. Hot sauce is a great way to preserve your harvest for year-round use. Grow your own Hot Sauce Garden and make your own hot sauce t...
Hot Sauce Garden
Grow your own Hot Sauce Garden One of the reasons many gardeners grow hot peppers is to make their own hot sauces and salsas. Once you start growing peppers, you'll discover the full range of complex flavor and different kinds of heat peppers of the world provide for your tastebuds. It's addictive, too, the more varieties of peppers you taste, the more you want to try! And the more heat you try, the more heat you crave! But you don't need to grow extra hot peppers to make hot sa...
Growing Peppers in Colorado
There are many different growing zones in Colorado, and you can grow peppers in any areas that you can grow tomatoes and other veggies! For Colorado gardeners, starting peppers indoors is a must with short season gardening, we recommend starting your pepper seeds at least 6-8 weeks before mid-to-late May when you will transplant them into the garden. Use a seedling heat mat to keep the pepper seeds warm during germination, they like to germinate around 80˚F! Choose short season peppers for...
Best Vinegar for Hot Sauce
Making your own hot sauce recipes from homegrown hot peppers? Some people like to make fermented hot sauce recipes (and SOMETIMES they add vinegar at the end after it's fermented), some like to cook hot peppers down in a sauce pan and add vinegar for a quick hot sauce, and some people like to pickle whole hot peppers in vinegar for a spicy vinegar treat. You can even add lime or lemon juice to hot sauces for a tropical burst of flavor and acidity. There is no wrong way to make hot sauce, ...
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...
Pepper Seeds
Looking for Pepper Seeds? Sandia Seed offers a great selection of pepper seeds, from sweet pepper seeds to hot pepper seeds. We have bell pepper seeds, as well as cayenne pepper seeds and poblano pepper seeds.Sandia Seed is part of a sustainable movement to change the way the world buys seeds. We offer heirloom & open-pollinated seeds that are not readily available from large seed companies. Today’s gardeners can grow them and keep their unique genetic makeup viable for future generations...
2022 Seed Catalog
Check out Sandia Seed's brand new 2022 Seed Catalog that we just designed and got back from the printer! Our 2022 Seed Catalog is packed with seeds for some of your favorites like our Hatch Chile seeds, plus several new peppers of the world, plus organic vegetable seeds and heirloom tomato seeds. Our pepper-packed 2022 Seed Catalog is printed and is now shipping!Check out the 2022 Seed Catalog, it's packed with recipes, growing tips and lots of seeds! Perfect for winter-ti...
No-Peel Canned Salsa with Apples!
We have an apple tree, and this year it was loaded with fruit! While we like apple pie, we like salsa better, so we just made the No-Peel version of this Canned Salsa Recipe, below, and we added a few peeled & cored homegrown apples to the batch, for a bit of sweetness. It's spicy and delicious! We simply peeled and cored the four apples and threw them into the food processor along with the tomatoes and chiles. We had some sample tastes before canning, it was delish! We can't wait...
Homegrown Sambal Oelek Recipe
Homegrown Sambal Oelek Recipe This delicious spicy condiment is delicious on everything from stir fries to soups to sandwiches or even just with some crackers or chips. Kick it up a notch with hotter peppers, and feel free to mix and match hot peppers for a deeper range of flavor. We like to use whatever hot peppers we have on hand! INGREDIENTS 1 pound of homegrown red chile, washed & de-stemmed(use any kind of red chile you are growing, such as Cayenne peppers, Goat Horn peppers, ripe ...
Types of Peppers to Grow
At Sandia Seed we have seeds for over 101 peppers of the world to grow in your garden! There are many types of peppers to grow, ranging from sweet to super hot, so there is a pepper for everyone. What is the Best Pepper to Grow? Golly, it's really hard to choose just one pepper considering the huge range of flavors, heat levels and colors they provide. Sorry, but it's just too hard to narrow down to just one pepper, so here are a few of our top favorites for the best peppers to ...
How to Dry Peppers
Here are our top ways you can dry peppers: 1. Make Chile Ristras!Chile Ristras can be made from lots of different kinds of peppers, not just the common New Mexico and Hatch chile varieties. This is a great way to store your peppers for the winter. You want to string up the peppers so that they get maximum airflow and hang them in a dry sunny place to dry out. Then you can use them in your kitchen for recipes and making red chile sauces. Growing chile that have thin flesh and are suited to d...
Tomatillo & Chile de Arbol Salsa Recipe
Something red and something green... makes a rich amber-colored salsa. A friend said they had a delicious "Brown Salsa" at a Mexican restaurant that they absolutely loved, and they asked what it could be made from. It was likely Tomatillos (or even purple tomatillos) and red chile de arbol, or some variation of it. See a recipe below. This combination of green and red ingredients creates a rich, thick, smoky brown or amber-toned salsa with a complex flavor profile. A Thicker Salsa: To...
