When to Plant Cucumber SeedsWondering when to plant cucumber seeds? Well, it's mid-June and it is the perfect time to plant cucumber seeds! You can plant cucumbers seeds after all chance of frost has past, for many areas in the United States that is from May to June, depending on your growing region. As they are fast growing, you could also plant cucumber seeds in June and early July and still have time for a harvest in late summer and fall. We find that they do best when planted directly in the ground. But, if you ...
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...
How to store cucumbers until you have enough to pickle?Customer question: I finally have cucumbers coming in, with lots more to come this week. What is the best way to store them until Sunday (over 4 days away) when I can pickle them so they stay as crisp/fresh as possible? Thanks for any advice! Here's our advice for storing cucumbers for a few days so they are as fresh as possible when you pickle them: Wash and dry: After you harvest your cucumbers, rinse them gently under cold water and remove any dirt. Pat them dry with a clean towel. M...
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...
Gardening by the Zodiac SignsWhen it comes to planting in your garden, soil, sun and seasons aren't the only factors to consider. It turns out the the zodiac signs can be just as important. For the best results, they should be considered when choosing plants for your garden. What to plant in your garden according to your zodiac sign. ARIES (March 21 to April 20) You are a fiery, energetic, and quick individual who likes spicy, invigorating plants and foods. Growing onion, garlic chives, basil, cayenne peppers, a...
What Seeds to Plant in AugustWondering what to plant in August? In the West, we start seeds for the following vegetables in August:Lettuces, spinach, beets, carrots, green onions, cilantro, basil, bok choy, mizuna, kale, peas, green beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas, radishes and cabbage. Now is a great time to fill in bare spots in your garden or to start seeds to plant into places where cucumbers, basil or other summer veggies are at the end of their production. Vegetables to Plant in August-SeptemberSome of the cool w...
Gardener Gifts - Top 5 Gift IdeasIf you have a gardener in your life, they will always appreciate new seeds to grow! Seeds make the best gardener gifts and they can be grown, shared, and saved for years to use in the garden. And there are so many different kinds of seeds you can give! Seeds offer a wide range of varieties including:Peppers from around the world- experience the huge range of flavor and heatClassic heirloom tomatoes - that have been grown by generationsHerbs - everyone loves having fresh herbs for the kitchen!...
Wholesale SeedsWholesale Seeds for Retailers Are you a local plant nursery, garden center, gift shop or local hardware store and you're looking for wholesale seeds for resale? WE OFFER WHOLESALE SEEDS WITH NO CONTRACTS! Your store, garden center or nursery can buy from our seed catalog at discounted rates anytime you need to restock seeds. Our beautiful Seed display racks look great in your shop, and we'll feature you on our seed store locator map. Sandia Seed offers Wholesale Seeds for all of ou...
September VegetablesIn the West, September means that tomatoes are FINALLY ripening, including all the fat juicy heirlooms you've been waiting all summer for. It also is a great season for harvesting chiles, which are usually loaded with chile peppers in September. And of course, you probably have lots of other vegetables in abundance such as zucchini, tomatillos squash, cucumbers, eggplants, kale, collard greens, herbs and more. What should you do with your harvest? Make fresh meals every night! Here are a...
Ask five gardeners a question and you will get six different answers.😂😂Ask five gardeners a question and you will get six different answers.😂 Ain't that the truth? Gardening is all about experiences, trials and errors... and above all, experimenting! After all, there are no gardening mistakes, only experiments! For example: Some people swear that topping their young peppers will result in more yields. But many people, especially those in short growing seasons, find that the opposite is true – topping peppers only delays their production. Find our advice on...
Best Companion Plant for Peppers that you can plant all season!We have found that our favorite companion plant for peppers is the productive and soil-building bush bean! Bush beans are an excellent choice for companion plants for your peppers. They fix nitrogen in the soil which help feed heavy-feeding peppers and provide light side-shade to protect pepper fruits from sunburn. They also shade the soil to conserve moisture and keep roots cooler in the heat of the summer, which is critical here in the West! You can tuck some bean seeds in pots or in the ga...
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...
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...
How to Identify Squash LeavesTrying to identify squash by their first leaves? Good luck! Squash seedlings emerge with two smooth, rounded, oval-shaped cotyledons (seed leaves) – and they all look identical across most varieties... so it's best to label them if you want to know what you're growing. Unless you have an exceptional memory, of course. The Cucurbitaceae also called cucurbits or the gourd family, includes cucumbers, melons, squash, pumpkins, and are hard to tell apart until the fruits come in!The true...
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. You can harvest just the male blossoms and leave the females to develop the squash for later. There are a ton of recipes out there, but here is our easiest recipe, 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+...
Garden MistakesOne mistake you can make as a gardener is believing you are in charge.Learn to go with the flow in gardening, you'll be a lot happier! Even expert gardeners lose plants or crops, so don't give up! Weather, insects, and diseases are often going to present problems in your garden, so plant a wide variety of veggies for the best success. Every year will be different, and it's important to remember you can't control everything! :)Some tips for success:• Plant several varieties of ...
What Veggies to Plant in MayWondering what seeds you can plant in May for your food garden? May is a great time to direct sow vegetable seeds for summer. While you may have already started seeds for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants indoors 4-8 weeks ago, you likely still have them growing indoors until it has warmed up to 50-60˚F at night consistently. If you haven't started those seeds yet, you could try some of our short season pepper seeds or short season tomato seeds in May as they grow quickly. And of course...
Peppers for PicklingWhat are the best peppers for pickling? What kind of peppers are used in pickling? Most peppers work great for pickling, but some of our favorites for pickling include:Banana PeppersHot Hungarian Wax PeppersSweet Hungarian Wax PeppersCascabellasSweet Cherry peppersHot Cherry PeppersFresno peppersAll Jalapeno Peppers All Wax PeppersPickling peppers is a great way to use up a lot of peppers and preserve the harvest! You can even mix and match different peppers like jalapenos and make eye-catc...
Salad Garden KitHere's the best Salad Garden Kit! This Organic Seed Starter Kit comes bundled with 20 of the easiest-to-grow vegetable seeds so you can have a huge garden to eat from all year-round! We have picked the fastest and easiest-to-grow vegetable seeds so that you can grow plenty for daily salads and beyond! Grow our Little Gem Lettuce Seeds for a very crispy and tasty cross between butterhead and romaine lettuce. Chef's love it! Also in our Salad Garden Kit are our Nasturtiums which are...