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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. World Wildlife Day Happy World Wildlife Day! Want to support more wildlife in your garden? Grow a diverse range of flowering herbs and vegetables to attract lots of wildlife like birds, pollinators and beneficial insects to help naturally with pest control. Check out our Pollinator Garden Seed Bundle for an easy way to get started.Expand your culinary journey and wildlife-supporting garden with our Pollinator Seeds Garden Bundle, featuring six must-have pollinator flowers: Basil, Cilantro, Dill, Oregano, Scarle...
  4. What seed company is not owned by Monsanto? Sandia Seed company is NOT owned by Monsanto (now owned by Bayer.) We are a small woman-owned seed company based in Castle Rock, Colorado. We only sell non-gmo, untreated seeds. We have signed and support the Seed Integrity 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 healthier people and communities. ...
  5. Best Seed Catalogs Check out the best seed catalog for 2025! We just got these in and are excited to be mailing them out – make sure to order one today for fall and winter reading and dreaming of the season to come! While there are lots of beautiful seed catalogs out there, we think the best seed catalog is our own! We'll admit, we're a little biased, but we love peppers! Our Sandia Seed Catalog is packed with over 101 of our favorite chile peppers from around the world, plus 59 varieties of tomato ...
  6. 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...
  7. Growing Peppers from Seed: Our Top 12 Tips Growing Peppers from SeedOur Top 12 Tips 1. Use Fresh Pepper Seeds When stored in perfect conditions, pepper seeds can be viable for up to 25 years, but generally 2-5 years is more realistic for good germination rates. Sandia Seed only sells fresh seeds that were harvested from the previous season, and we ensure all of our seeds have a 85% germination rate or higher to guarantee your success. Keep in mind that the older the seeds get, the less likely they will sprout. Store seeds in a cool,...
  8. Best Presents for Gardeners Looking for the best Presents for Gardeners? Here's our list of our seven favorite present ideas for gardeners. #1 Best Presents for Gardeners:SEEDS!You can never go wrong with seeds! Gardeners always are collecting seeds, and new varieties are always a treat to grow! Sandia Seed offers over 100 chile peppers from around the world, plus over 44 Tomato seeds including lots of heirloom and organic varieties. View our full seed catalog » Our Organic Food Garden Seed Collection is the per...
  9. Growing Hot Peppers in Pots Growing Hot Peppers in Pots is easy! Here are some of our top tips:Some varieties do better than others, so choose wisely, and make sure to plant them in a well-draining larger pot that is at least 5+ gallons in size. You want to make sure you have well-draining potting soil (not garden soil) with plenty of drainage holes so that the roots don't stay soggy. Here are all of our peppers that grow well in pots » OUR TOP TIPS:Growing Super Hot Peppers like the Carolina Reaper in Containers:...
  10. Growing Peppers in Containers Growing Peppers in Containers is easy! Many peppers grow well in containers, you can grow peppers in any type of container if it's big enough and has good drainage. You want to make sure to use good well-draining potting soil, and make sure the containers have holes in the bottom to let water out because peppers HATE wet feet! Containers can actually be good in the early spring when the ground may still be cold, as peppers love warm soil. So placing your container in the sun will help war...
  11. Unusual Gifts for Gardeners Pepper Seeds from around the world make the perfect unusual gift for gardeners in your life. Gardeners always love growing something new, and most of us are seed-collectors (maybe seed-hoarders), haha! But we know that seeds are a wonderful gift of magic – they grow into delicious homegrown vegetables that are a treat for the tastebuds! New Mexican Green Chile is a hard-to-find delicacy that belongs in every garden around the world! When you roast these large pods on the grill they have th...
  12. A Gardener's Night Before Christmas A GARDENER’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor University of Vermont T’was the night before Christmas and under the snow, Perennials now dormant were waiting to grow. The roses were mulched, the soil piled high, To protect the graft union so the plants wouldn’t die. The strawberries were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of fertilizer (organic or not) danced in their heads. The orchard was clean, the fruit trees at rest, No diseases w...
  13. 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, ...
  14. 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...
  15. 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 ...
  16. 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...
  17. 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 ...
  18. 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...
  19. Grow the Biggest Peppers Wondering how to grow the biggest peppers? What is the trick to growing larger peppers? First, start off with the largest pepper varieties, such as the Legacy Big Jim chile. This giant was recognized by Guinness World Records for being the largest chile pepper in the world, and is beloved by chileheads. These New Mexican chiles have great flavor, thick flesh, and mild to medium heat with 2,000 - 4,000 Scovilles. These chile giants can grow up to 14" in length, but typically range from 8...
  20. Why grow your own vegetables? Why do some people prefer growing food themselves?Why grow vegetables vs just buying them at the store?Why is it better to grow your own produce?There are many reasons that people love growing their own vegetables! For one, they just taste better. And, it's just so rewarding to pick food from your garden that you grew from seed! But there are many benefits, here are a few more reasons that people love growing their own vegetables: Homegrown vegetables taste better! Fresh Nutrition &...