Organic Control for Tomato Hornworms on PeppersTomato Hornworms are really big green caterpillars that can devastate your pepper garden. Giant brown moths lay pearl-like eggs on your pepper leaves, from which the monsters will hatch and start to eat voraciously. They can decimate all the leaves on a plant overnight. The best organic control might be picking the caterpillars off the plants, but by then it could be too late to save your plants. Also, touching and pulling them off is gross, but depending on how mad you are, you won’t mind! ...
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...
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...
How to Transplant Pepper PlantsHow to Transplant Pepper Plants Whether you started your own pepper seeds, or if you're transplanting peppers from the garden center, here are our top tips for best success. Transplanting peppers is a simple process, though there are a few tricks to help your pepper transplants thrive. 1. Make sure to harden off your seedlings first! This simply means to bring indoor-started pepper plants outside and expose them to the sun gradually. This will help avoid transplant shock. 2. Create Labe...
How to grow hot peppers: The best advice from pepper growersWhat is the best hot pepper growing advice you have ever received? Just go for it! Some people just don't try. Grow some of the fastest growing peppers to start, as they are easier to germinate and you get to harvest them much sooner than some other varieties such as many of the super hot peppers. These fast growing peppers are also great for short season gardening – so you can get plenty of peppers before your first frost. Start Seeds Indoors: We recommend starting hot pepper seeds ...
Happy June Gardening!It's June 1st, but it's not too late to plant zucchini seeds! Our Summer Squash Black Beauty Zucchini produces a huge crop of tender zucchini squash during the summer - and they are super fast growing, they start to harvest in 55 days! We direct sow the seeds in mounds in the garden, zucchini plants grow fast and don't like to get root bound, so starting them indoors is unnecessary. It's June...Is it too late to plant seeds? There are plenty of other veggies that you can p...
Problems growing carrots?We used to have trouble growing carrots, specifically with sowing carrot seeds, likely because we did not keep them consistently moist during their germination period. Carrot seeds not germinating? Carrot seeds can be planted directly into the garden soil and are easy to grow. But there is a secret to growing carrots and getting the seeds to germinate. If you have problems with carrots in your garden (or at least starting the seeds), use the Carrot Board Trick: For best results, sow car...
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 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...
Gardening ChallengesWhat are your biggest garden challenges? Every gardener has challenges, it's part of what makes gardening fun! Learning something new every year, gardeners accumulate lots of knowledge over time via experience. What are some of your top challenges in your garden? WeatherWeather can be harsh sometimes, especially with late spring storms, hurricanes and tropical storms, non-stop rain, freezing cold temperatures, super hot 90˚F+ temperatures, you name it. We like to start many vegetables suc...
What is the best way to transplant tomato plants?Transplanting tomatoes? Here's our five top tips for the best way to transplant tomato plants into your garden: 1. Harden off your indoor-started tomato seedlings first so they don't get shocked by sun, pick an overcast day, or plant in the morning or evening so you aren't planting in full sun. 2. Amend soil where you will be planting with homemade compost if you have it. You can also put some compost deep into the planting hole. 3. Pinch off some of the lower leaves. 4. Remove s...
I have flowers on my pepper but no peppers!Do your pepper plants have flowers but no peppers? This could be for a variety of reasons: Hot or Cold Weather: Temperatures – Peppers can be fussy when it comes to temperatures, they don't like it too cold or too hot! Peppers fruit best during daily temperatures between 70-80 °F. (Peppers don't like temperatures below 60˚ F and won't likely produce much if too cold – except for these special cool-weather loving peppers). If it's getting into the 90˚ F temperatures, your pep...
Fruity Hot PeppersHere's a question from one of our seed customers asking aboutfruity hot peppers:"I enjoy the earthy flavor of jalapeños on occasions. They’re perfect with tacos but for sauces I prefer habaneros or something more fruity. Can you recommend some of your peppers that have a fruity flavor?" Answer: There are many types of hot peppers. For hot peppers with fruity flavors, Habaneros are always a good bet – check out our Red Caribbean Habanero or try growing our Orange Habanero with ...
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...
Seeds with Free ShippingWe're still offering FREE Shipping on U.S. orders over $30! Sandia Seed is part of a sustainable movement to change the way the world buys seeds. We offer hundreds of heirloom and open-pollinated seed varieties that are not readily available from large seed companies. When growing open-pollinated peppers and tomatoes, keep the seeds from your favorites to grow again next year. Seeds are smart and will continue to adapt to your environment over the seasons. Check out all of our Seeds » ...
No-Peel Salsa Recipe from Homegrown TomatoesCan you leave skin on tomatoes when making salsa?You sure can! This is the easiest way to make salsa!Using your food processor to make canned salsa with your tomatoes and peppers is the perfect way to save some time! No-Peel Tomato Salsa Recipe: • Tomatoes• Hot Peppers• Garlic Cloves, diced • Onion, chopped• Cilantro, chopped• Lime, juiced• Salt, Pepper, tiny bit of sugar to taste• Dash of Cumin (optional) DIRECTIONS: Core your tomatoes and peppers, slice in half. We like to use all types...
Little Gem LettuceHave you grown Little Gem lettuce? Also known as Sweet Gem lettuce and Winter Density, Little Gem lettuce is a small lettuce that is a cross between romaine lettuce and a butterhead type lettuce. Little Gem lettuce has a thinner stalk and thicker, juicier leaves than Romaine lettuce. Cooks and chefs like Little Gem lettuce because of it's crunchy texture, and it even has the ability to withstand heat in cooking. Little Gem is also good for summer lettuce as it is more heat tolerant than...
Packet Contains 30 SeedsWant to maximize your budget? Or are you planting a big garden such as a community garden?Many of our seed packets contain 30 seeds or more. Check out all of these vegetable seeds that have at least 30 seeds so you can plant a large garden and grow a lot of food: Discounted Seed 3-Packs Get the most seeds for your buck with discounted seed packets including three of our most popular varieties. Our Jalapeno M, Poblano and Serrano Tampiqueño 3-pack, each with 30 seeds per packet, with a total ...
Purple PeppersSandia Seed has a wide variety of purple peppers that you can grow easily from seed! Purple in the garden is always a welcome sight! And, when you use purple peppers in your salads and recipes, they really add some great flavor and color! Our favorite purple peppers include both sweet and hot peppers. To start, we'll introduce you to our purple hot peppers. Our Purple Bhut Jolokia Ghost Peppers start out in beautiful purple then ripen to white/pale green and eventually turn to a deep pur...
Pepper Plant CarePepper plant care is not all that complicated, you just have to know a few things: Keep the seeds warm when germinating, they like to be between 80-90˚ F for fastest sprouting. Movement: Once germinated, make sure pepper seedlings have good air circulation and movement. Yes, you can pet your pepper seedlings by brushing or "petting" the pepper plants with your hands. This is good for your indoor seedlings as it will stimulate them to grow thicker stems, and be stockier (less l...
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!
Organic Control for Tomato Hornworms on Peppers
Tomato Hornworms are really big green caterpillars that can devastate your pepper garden. Giant brown moths lay pearl-like eggs on your pepper leaves, from which the monsters will hatch and start to eat voraciously. They can decimate all the leaves on a plant overnight. The best organic control might be picking the caterpillars off the plants, but by then it could be too late to save your plants. Also, touching and pulling them off is gross, but depending on how mad you are, you won’t mind! ...
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...
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...
How to Transplant Pepper Plants
How to Transplant Pepper Plants Whether you started your own pepper seeds, or if you're transplanting peppers from the garden center, here are our top tips for best success. Transplanting peppers is a simple process, though there are a few tricks to help your pepper transplants thrive. 1. Make sure to harden off your seedlings first! This simply means to bring indoor-started pepper plants outside and expose them to the sun gradually. This will help avoid transplant shock. 2. Create Labe...
How to grow hot peppers: The best advice from pepper growers
What is the best hot pepper growing advice you have ever received? Just go for it! Some people just don't try. Grow some of the fastest growing peppers to start, as they are easier to germinate and you get to harvest them much sooner than some other varieties such as many of the super hot peppers. These fast growing peppers are also great for short season gardening – so you can get plenty of peppers before your first frost. Start Seeds Indoors: We recommend starting hot pepper seeds ...
Happy June Gardening!
It's June 1st, but it's not too late to plant zucchini seeds! Our Summer Squash Black Beauty Zucchini produces a huge crop of tender zucchini squash during the summer - and they are super fast growing, they start to harvest in 55 days! We direct sow the seeds in mounds in the garden, zucchini plants grow fast and don't like to get root bound, so starting them indoors is unnecessary. It's June...Is it too late to plant seeds? There are plenty of other veggies that you can p...
Problems growing carrots?
We used to have trouble growing carrots, specifically with sowing carrot seeds, likely because we did not keep them consistently moist during their germination period. Carrot seeds not germinating? Carrot seeds can be planted directly into the garden soil and are easy to grow. But there is a secret to growing carrots and getting the seeds to germinate. If you have problems with carrots in your garden (or at least starting the seeds), use the Carrot Board Trick: For best results, sow car...
When to Plant Cucumber Seeds
Wondering 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 Seeds to Plant in August
Wondering 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...
Gardening Challenges
What are your biggest garden challenges? Every gardener has challenges, it's part of what makes gardening fun! Learning something new every year, gardeners accumulate lots of knowledge over time via experience. What are some of your top challenges in your garden? WeatherWeather can be harsh sometimes, especially with late spring storms, hurricanes and tropical storms, non-stop rain, freezing cold temperatures, super hot 90˚F+ temperatures, you name it. We like to start many vegetables suc...
What is the best way to transplant tomato plants?
Transplanting tomatoes? Here's our five top tips for the best way to transplant tomato plants into your garden: 1. Harden off your indoor-started tomato seedlings first so they don't get shocked by sun, pick an overcast day, or plant in the morning or evening so you aren't planting in full sun. 2. Amend soil where you will be planting with homemade compost if you have it. You can also put some compost deep into the planting hole. 3. Pinch off some of the lower leaves. 4. Remove s...
I have flowers on my pepper but no peppers!
Do your pepper plants have flowers but no peppers? This could be for a variety of reasons: Hot or Cold Weather: Temperatures – Peppers can be fussy when it comes to temperatures, they don't like it too cold or too hot! Peppers fruit best during daily temperatures between 70-80 °F. (Peppers don't like temperatures below 60˚ F and won't likely produce much if too cold – except for these special cool-weather loving peppers). If it's getting into the 90˚ F temperatures, your pep...
Fruity Hot Peppers
Here's a question from one of our seed customers asking aboutfruity hot peppers:"I enjoy the earthy flavor of jalapeños on occasions. They’re perfect with tacos but for sauces I prefer habaneros or something more fruity. Can you recommend some of your peppers that have a fruity flavor?" Answer: There are many types of hot peppers. For hot peppers with fruity flavors, Habaneros are always a good bet – check out our Red Caribbean Habanero or try growing our Orange Habanero with ...
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...
Seeds with Free Shipping
We're still offering FREE Shipping on U.S. orders over $30! Sandia Seed is part of a sustainable movement to change the way the world buys seeds. We offer hundreds of heirloom and open-pollinated seed varieties that are not readily available from large seed companies. When growing open-pollinated peppers and tomatoes, keep the seeds from your favorites to grow again next year. Seeds are smart and will continue to adapt to your environment over the seasons. Check out all of our Seeds » ...
No-Peel Salsa Recipe from Homegrown Tomatoes
Can you leave skin on tomatoes when making salsa?You sure can! This is the easiest way to make salsa!Using your food processor to make canned salsa with your tomatoes and peppers is the perfect way to save some time! No-Peel Tomato Salsa Recipe: • Tomatoes• Hot Peppers• Garlic Cloves, diced • Onion, chopped• Cilantro, chopped• Lime, juiced• Salt, Pepper, tiny bit of sugar to taste• Dash of Cumin (optional) DIRECTIONS: Core your tomatoes and peppers, slice in half. We like to use all types...
Little Gem Lettuce
Have you grown Little Gem lettuce? Also known as Sweet Gem lettuce and Winter Density, Little Gem lettuce is a small lettuce that is a cross between romaine lettuce and a butterhead type lettuce. Little Gem lettuce has a thinner stalk and thicker, juicier leaves than Romaine lettuce. Cooks and chefs like Little Gem lettuce because of it's crunchy texture, and it even has the ability to withstand heat in cooking. Little Gem is also good for summer lettuce as it is more heat tolerant than...
Packet Contains 30 Seeds
Want to maximize your budget? Or are you planting a big garden such as a community garden?Many of our seed packets contain 30 seeds or more. Check out all of these vegetable seeds that have at least 30 seeds so you can plant a large garden and grow a lot of food: Discounted Seed 3-Packs Get the most seeds for your buck with discounted seed packets including three of our most popular varieties. Our Jalapeno M, Poblano and Serrano Tampiqueño 3-pack, each with 30 seeds per packet, with a total ...
Purple Peppers
Sandia Seed has a wide variety of purple peppers that you can grow easily from seed! Purple in the garden is always a welcome sight! And, when you use purple peppers in your salads and recipes, they really add some great flavor and color! Our favorite purple peppers include both sweet and hot peppers. To start, we'll introduce you to our purple hot peppers. Our Purple Bhut Jolokia Ghost Peppers start out in beautiful purple then ripen to white/pale green and eventually turn to a deep pur...
Pepper Plant Care
Pepper plant care is not all that complicated, you just have to know a few things: Keep the seeds warm when germinating, they like to be between 80-90˚ F for fastest sprouting. Movement: Once germinated, make sure pepper seedlings have good air circulation and movement. Yes, you can pet your pepper seedlings by brushing or "petting" the pepper plants with your hands. This is good for your indoor seedlings as it will stimulate them to grow thicker stems, and be stockier (less l...
