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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. Vitamin Packed Chile Peppers Save Lives! Did you know that chiles are a great source of Vitamin C and have saved lives? It's true! Back in 1751, the Santisima Trinidad ship was sailing home from Mexico when the trade winds ceased, which caused the ship to be stranded in the middle of the ocean because it could not sail without wind. Luckily, the Doctor on board had brought dried chiles on board and they were used as an emergency source of Vitamin C to keep the sailors from getting scurvy while they waited for the winds to return...
  3. Cilantro Seeds Do you grow cilantro? Love it or hate it? We love it, it goes so perfectly with hot peppers and tomatoes to make the best salsas! We find that salsa just isn't as good without the punch of that amazing cilantro flavor. Even many of those who hate cilantro think salsa with cilantro is delicious! Something is magical about how the flavors combine with tomatoes, hot peppers, garlic, lime juice, onion and cilantro... fresh homemade salsa is definitely one of our favorite foods!Try some Cilant...
  4. Should I Plant a Garden? Of course you should plant a garden! Gardening is one of the most wonderful things you can do with your time. Once you plant a seed and watch it grow into beautiful flowers, or a huge tomato plant or a robust pepper plant loaded with green chiles, you will fall in love with gardening. When you pick your first vegetable or fruit to eat, it's an amazing feeling of accomplishment and gratitude. When you see the first bumblebee visiting the flowers blooming in your native garden, you will ex...
  5. Free Seeds for Lettuce! NOTE: This offer is expired, stay tuned and signup for our newsletter for future deals.Now through June 30, 2021, you can get Free Seeds for Lettuce from Sandia Seed with the purchase of any of our Get Real Gardening vegetable seeds. We will add a free seed packet of our delicious Little Gem Lettuce in with any vegetable seeds in our Get Real Gardening collection. Looking for more more seed deals? Check out our Discount Seeds » Chef's love Little Gem Lettuce as it is a cross between ...
  6. Salsa Garden Layout SALSA GARDEN LAYOUT Salsa Garden Layout If you're planning a Salsa Garden, here's some tips! Give tomato plants a lot of space! You can plant jalapenos closer together as they don't grow as large as tomato plants. Make sure to give them enough room away from the tomatoes so they don't get engulfed! Cilantro and Green onions can be grown along the sides of your garden as a border or in between the tomatoes and peppers. We put together this sample Salsa Garden Layout above – bu...
  7. 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...
  8. Are peppers herbs or spices? We've been asked: Are peppers herbs or spices?Herbs are typically considered the leafy part of the plant, such as basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, cilantro, and oregano. Spices, on the other hand, are typically come from the root, stem, seed, fruit, flower or bark of a plant or tree. So peppers are usually considered a spice, and they are also a fruit. Although, as with many things, these terms aren't always black and white...Peppers are both considered herbs and spices. In fact, the...
  9. How to grow Tomatillos from Seed How to grow Tomatillos from Seed Tomatillo seeds are surprisingly easy to start from seed! We simply sow the seeds directly into the ground or in large pots and keep them watered and moist until they sprout. They take off quite quickly, and it's good to thin out the extra seedlings. You can start them indoors, but starting them outdoors can be very successful, too, and requires no transplanting. The seedlings do seem to have some cold-hardiness when very young if started outdoors, but if...
  10. How to Grow Bunching Onions from Seed If you like growing vegetables from seed, make sure to plant some easy-to-grow scallions, also known as green onions. These tasty treats are packed with flavor and go with practically everything – chop or cut them with scissors and toss onto salads, sandwiches, soups, burritos, tacos, stir fries and so much more. Scallions are mild in taste, so you won't cry while cutting them. The most intense flavor comes from the white part closer to the stem, but the entire green onion is edible and c...
  11. Wholesale Seeds Sandia Seed offers Wholesale Seeds to anyone who wants to resell seeds in online stores, garden centers, hardware stores, gift shops or other local stores. Sandia Seed offers Wholesale Seeds for all of our 100+ pepper seeds and our top favorite 44+ tomato seeds including lots of heirloom and Vegetable Seeds from around the world. It's easy to become a Sandia Seed seller! We offer new wholesale customers receive 50% off your first order over $300 and then all future reorders with no mini...
  12. Is it ok to reuse potting soil? Here are our Tips for reusing potting soil in pots for growing peppers. Recent customer question:“HELP! I garden in containers and have a nice amount of soil left from growing peppers this past year. I would like to revitalize the soil to use next year for my peppers and tomatoes. I plan on adding new soil too, but what nutrients would you suggest adding?” Answer: Yes, you can reuse potting soil for growing peppers, but it must be amended to replenish nutrients and structure. To replenish the soil, it's good to mix in some slow-release organic fertilizers, wo...
  13. Spicy Refrigerator Pickles Recipe This is a simple recipe that you can make in smaller batches to use up your cucumbers and some peppers in the summer months. Quick and easy, you don't have to water bath these delicious spicy pickles, just store them in your fridge. We find that these refrigerator pickles are much crispier than their preserved cousins, you have to eat them a little faster as they don't last as long and they must be kept refrigerated, but don't worry, they're so good that won't likely be a ...
  14. How to Germinate Pepper Seeds What You will need: Pepper seeds Indoor/Outdoor potting soil Plastic growing tray, at least 2” deep with holes for drainage Seed germination warming mat Grow light or bright window Distilled water Labels. Fill growing tray almost to the top with potting soil. Moisten thoroughly with water and allow to drain completely. Always use distilled water. Make an indentation with a pencil eraser approx. a quarter of an inch deep or less, about every 2 inches in the soil. Place one pepper seed int...
  15. Plant Vegetables in July! Did you know that July is the PERFECT time to get things outside for the fall season for many growing regions? It's not too late to add to your garden!Sandia Seed is excited to share that we just added lots more Vegetable Seeds to go with all of our 140+ different types of chile pepper and tomato seeds! July is a great time to plant any of the leafy greens like lettuce and spinach, and other veggies like carrots, beets, radishes, beans, scallions, and broccoli. July and August are a gr...
  16. GMO-Free Pepper Seeds At Sandia Seed, all of our hot pepper seeds are GMO-Free.All of our seeds are non-GMO. In fact, there are not any 'genetically modified organism' chile seeds developed yet. Many of our seeds are organically-grown heirlooms and have been grown for generations. Heirloom seeds can be collected and grown again the following year. The NuMex varieties of green chile we offer have been hand selected at NMSU for desireable traits. This research takes several years and field grown trials to pr...
  17. 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 organic liquid fertilizer at 1/2 strength – don't overdo it! Peppers don't like to be over fertilized.Once you transplant them outdoors, we find that peppers do best when you feed the soil! How do you feed the soil? We like to add homemade compost or earthworm casti...
  18. Hatch Chile Guacamole Recipe Hatch Chile Guacamole Recipe 2-3 Avocados 1/2 Cup Roasted Hatch Chile, diced1/2 Lime, juiced Cilantro (to taste), chopped (optional*) 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced1/4 cup Tomatoes, Chopped1 fresh Jalapeno, diced (optional for heat and crunch)Salt & Pepper Mash avocado, add lime juice, cilantro, Hatch chile, jalapeno, garlic, salt and pepper, mix lightly. Serve with chips, on tacos, burritos, sandwiches, tostadas... you name it! *Cilantro is optional for those of you who detest it. We ...
  19. Grow a Victory Garden Grow Lots of Food This Year!If you haven't started your vegetable garden yet, now is a great time! Here are our top tips on How to Start a Garden: 1. Grow a Variety of Seeds! Growing different types of vegetables is a great way to harvest over a longer season! While peppers and tomatoes are great for summer growing for fresh eating, pickling, and lots of recipes to use year-round, you can also grow other veggies throughout the seasons. Lettuce, onions, cabbages, radishes, kale, cila...
  20. Jalapeño Pickles Recipe These simple pickles are spicy and delicious! We always love adding lots of fresh sliced Jalapeños from the garden to transform cucumbers into spicy pickles! Jalapeño Pickles Recipe 10-20 Cucumbers (about 6 pounds) 6+ Jalapenos, sliced (or any hot peppers!) 6 cups (500 mL) white vinegar 6 cups (500 mL) water 5 tablespoons (25 mL) pickling salt 6 heads fresh dill or 8 teaspoons dill seeds (20 mL) 6+ small cloves garlic Several fresh leaves from Grape, Raspberry, Blackberry or Horseradish lea...