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  1. 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! ...
  2. 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...
  3. New Year's Gardening Resolutions New Year’s Gardening Resolutions: 1. I will not overwater my plants.2. I will not underwater my plants.3. I will start more seeds.4. I will grow more food.5. I will plant more native plants.6. I will make lots of compost. Happy New Year! “Anyone who thinks that gardening season begins in the spring & ends in the fall is missing the best part of the year. Gardening season begins in January with the dream.” More Garden Resolution Ideas: Use More Compost: Add or start a new compost pile or...
  4. 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, in January the ground is often frozen or covered in snow, and ongoing frosts are imminent. But there are some cool weather veggies that can be started outdoors, or under cover, and ...
  5. Growing Tomatoes in Pots Yes, you can grow tomatoes in pots! But, we do recommend larger pots – half whiskey barrels or pots of that size are best for most regular tomatoes. What type of tomatoes do well in pots? While you can pretty much grow any tomato in a large pot (don't forget to have trellises or obelisks for support), there are also tomato varieties that were bred to be smaller in plant size and do well in pots. You can even grow them with flowers, herbs and/or peppers to have a colorful veggie pot! W...
  6. How to grow Jalapenos from Seeds Find our top 12 tips for How to grow Jalapenos from Seeds below: 1. Use fresh, high quality Jalapeño seeds:In recent years, jalapeño seeds have experienced what many are calling "Peppergate" – which meant that the seeds did not grow true to seed. Many people who purchased Jalapeno seeds from even some major seed companies experienced that the seeds grew into Banana Peppers. Not that Banana Peppers aren't also delicious, but they are certainly NOT Jalapeños and they didn't ...
  7. October Gardening Tips Happy October! Here are some of our top tips for October Gardening: 1. Harvest your Peppers (and other veggies)! Harvest your peppers and other summer vegetables like tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and eggplants. Did you know you can freeze fresh whole peppers or cored tomatoes for later use? Sometimes that's easier when they come in waves and you're short on time. October is also a great time to pick and roast your chiles to freeze or use right away – learn how to roast chile » 2. Ma...
  8. Seed Catalogs Make sure to check our our new Seed Catalog, packed with peppers and heirloom tomatoes.Safe Seed Pledge:We support the Safe Seed Pledge. As signers, we pledge that we do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants. We wish to support agricultural progress that leads to healthier soils, genetically diverse agricultural ecosystems and ultimately people and communities. Our seeds are non-GMO and untreated. We have over 100 pepper seeds and 44 tomato seeds to look through, ...
  9. Best Seed Catalog for 2020! If you're looking for the Best Seed Catalogs for 2020, make sure to check out Sandia Seed's new Seed Catalog, packed with over 100 different types of pepper seeds from around the world, as well as 44 tomato seeds. Many of our seeds are Organic, and all of them are non-GMO of course! Support our small, woman-owned seed company and spread the love of peppers in your neck of the woods. We specialize in Hatch Chile seeds, which are green chiles grown in the Hatch region of New Mexico. We...
  10. Vegetarian Green Chili Stew Make your own homegrown Vegetarian Green Chili Stew in the fall and winter months! This recipe is completely vegan & vegetarian for those of you who want a hearty healthy vegan meal. VEGETARIAN GREEN CHILE STEW RECIPE: Ingredients: 1½ tbsp olive oil 1-2 cups roasted homegrown green chiles, peeled, deseeded, and diced Mushrooms (optional) 3-5 Potatoes, diced (optional, but we love potatoes in this!) 1 onion, diced 2-4 Garlic Cloves, chopped finely 2 tsp salt 1½ tsp cumin 1½ tsp Mexican ...
  11. Fermented vs Unfermented Hot Sauce Fermented vs Unfermented Hot Sauce:Which is better? We think both fermented hot sauce and unfermented hot sauce are delicious. But, if we had to choose one over the other, we'd pick fermented hot sauce. Why? Because fermented hot sauce has a more complex tangy flavor that you can only get by fermenting. It's like a recipe of time, the fermentation "cooks" up more flavor than you could ever get without it. Plus, it has probiotics (like yogurt or kombucha), so it is really good ...
  12. Fermentation Crock Hot Sauce Recipe Have you made hot sauce in a fermentation crock? We think that fermented hot sauce is the tastiest of hot sauces! Fermentation Crocks are not super well-known, but they are one of the oldest ways that people have been preserving vegetables. The crocks have a gutter or moat in the rim which is filled with water to create an airlock, which helps keep the food from spoiling and growing mold. The water seal also allows for the fermentation gases to escape without burping, making fermentation croc...
  13. Fermented Hot Sauce: Fermentation Crocks Since we grow so may peppers from seed, including hot peppers and super hot peppers like the Carolina Reaper, we love to make hot sauce. Fermented hot sauce is something we're new to – and we recently added a Fermentation Crock to our kitchen lineup! This large ceramic pot has a lid that sits in a "water seal" channel that can be kept filled with water. This prevents air from entering the crock once the water “seal” is poured, but still allows for the CO2 created during fermentat...
  14. New Pepper Seeds Sandia Seed is proud to expand our Peppers of the World seed collection this year to include several new pepper seeds this year! NEW PEPPERS Grow something new this year! In 2025 we have a lot of new peppers to grow in your garden! Gypsy Sweet PepperA fast growing sweet pepper with fantastic sweet flavor that is never bitter! These pepper plants produce a large amount of peppers all season. Enjoy them early when they are yellow-green stage or wait until they fully ripen to or...
  15. Garden Memes Check out our Garden Memes for those who love gardening! What did you do this weekend? Plant people: Gardened. August 8th is National Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day! Got zukes? In a Relationship with Seed Catalogs “Anyone who thinks that gardening season begins in the spring & ends in the fall is missing the best part of the year. Gardening season begins in January with the dream.” While the garden sleeps,the gardener dreams. My Favorite Sport is Garden...
  16. Pepper Plant Pests Pepper plants are not as prone to pests as other vegetables, but they do occasionally have problems with insect damage. We don't usually worry about a few holes in the leaves, but sometimes pests are more troublesome so we have our tips on pest prevention below. We never advise using insecticides or pesticides in your garden (remember, bugs are bird snacks!) instead, read our natural pest prevention and control tips below to keep your pepper garden healthy and happy: Top Pepper Plant Pest...
  17. Discount Seeds Sandia Seed offers lots of Discount Seeds so you can grow more peppers in your garden! Check out our 50% OFF SEEDS:A rotating selection of our seeds that change regularly so check back often for great deals on lots of our varieties. Shown above are our December 2022 deals! Check out our Discount Seeds including our Food Garden Seeds Gift Set, plus 3-Packs with three popular pepper seeds – with a thrifty 15% seed discount. No promo codes or coupon codes needed! We put together t...
  18. Pepper Seeds Pepper Seeds Sandia Seed carries over 100 peppers of the world that you can grow in your garden! Our seeds have very high germination rates and grow into a variety of peppers that are sure to please any pepper lover! We also specialize in New Mexican Chile seeds such as Hatch Chile seeds, Poblano seeds, and other New Mexican favorites.Want sweet, mild, hot or super hot pepper seeds?We got you covered on pepper seeds with every heat level, from no heat at all to wicked hot. Here is a list of o...
  19. Hot Pepper Comic "I'm not sure what the big deal is about Carolina Reapers... They don't have any heat."Hot Pepper Comic featuring the famous Carolina Reaper and a Bird Did you know birds can't feel the heat? In addition to spicing up hot sauce and salsas, some of our pepper seed customers grow our super hot peppers like the Carolina Reaper to dry and add to their seed mixes to discourage squirrels. Birds don't taste the heat but squirrels and other rodents do! Grow your own bird seed...
  20. Gardener Gifts - Top 5 Gift Ideas If 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!...