When to Plant Sugar Snap Peas for Fall HarvestIf you're looking for good fall crops to grow from seed, we have you covered! We have a new lineup of our favorite easiest-to-grow vegetable seeds to complement our chile pepper and tomato seed collections. One of the top growers are our Easy-to-Grow Pea Seeds. When to Plant Sugar Snap Peas for Fall Harvest In the fall, plant sugar snap peas in the last 8 to 10 weeks before the first expected frost to guarantee a plentiful harvest. Or, you can also provide cover such as a hoop house o...
Sphagnum Moss vs Peat MossThere is a lot of confusion about the labeling of sphagnum moss and peat moss. The important difference between these two mosses has never been clearly explained to most gardeners. So, this article will try to clear up the confusion and describe how they are both similar, yet two very different soil amendments. Sphagnum moss is pH neutral. Yes, you read that right. Generally, the pH of sphagnum moss is pH neutral. It is soft, pliable, and very water-retentive. It is used to line baskets, a...
Summer Succotash with Peaches & Cream CornSuccotash is a celebration of all the vibrant vegetables coming into season. It is an American dish created where the Three Sisters of corn, beans, and squash are native. Although succotash is mainly composed of vegetables, it is not unusual for bacon to be added for flavor. Succotash knows no limits when it comes to substitutions. The cherry tomatoes have a nice fresh flavor, but when ripe red tomatoes are at their peak, dice and add them for a rich flavor. Early season jalapeños can be us...
White Spots on Peppers: SunscaldAre you finding peppers with white spots on the pods, where it looks like the skin is sunken in, bleached and papery? Some would say they look rotten. But, fear not! This is most likely just sunscald and the rest of the pepper is still edible. Yes, you can still eat peppers with sunscald!We typically just cut off the bad spots and eat the rest of the pepper! Sunscald is just cosmetic, and does not make the pepper un-edible. How to prevent sunscaldand white spots on Peppers: The reason peppe...
What to plant in JanuaryAhhh, the middle of winter! It's just about now that we're excited to start planting seeds for spring. January is a good time to start planning what to plant in your garden if you haven't done it already. Deciding what vegetables to grow each year is part of the fun, though sometimes difficult to narrow down which varieties to grow! With over 100 peppers from around the world plus lots of veggies and tomato seeds, too, our Seed Catalog makes it hard to narrow down the choices! But...
What to do with Hatch Chile after RoastingRecent seed customer question: I am asking for suggestions for what to do with my hatch chilies after I roast them? Well, the possibilities are endless! Roasted Hatch chile can be added to all sorts of recipes. Here are some of our top suggestions on what to do with roasted hatch chile: After roasting, steam them and then deseed and peel the skin off the roasted chile. We like to steam them in a pyrex glass dish with a glass lid to cut down on plastic use. Dice the chile and put them in a ...
Fast Growing SeedsLooking for vegetable seeds that grow fast? It's never too late to start seeds! Whether it's because you're late in planting seeds, or if you are sowing seeds throughout the season and want to tuck more vegetables into your garden, here are our top fast growing seeds: Fastest growing Vegetables: Cherry Belle Radish is one of the earliest radishes to mature in spring - you can harvest these beauties in just 22-30 days from sowing! We direct sow them in the garden and they germ...
What Vegetables to Plant in May & JuneWhat to plant in May & June It's May, have you not planted your vegetable garden yet? Or are you looking to plant more seeds? Here are our top vegetable seeds that grow fast, some of them can be succession sown over the summer for a continual harvest. It's never too late to start seeds! Cherry Belle Radish are super fast growing, ready for harvest in about 22-30 days from sowing, so they are great seeds to plant in May. You can keep sowing these every two weeks in May, June,...
Winter SowingWinter Sowing We just learned about Winter Sowing a couple years ago, it's a wonderful way to start seeds using recycled containers outside! With winter sowing, you don't need room inside to start seeds, you can start them outdoors in the winter/spring months with recycled jugs and other containers. These containers serve as miniature greenhouses that do an incredible job of germinating all sorts of seeds including vegetables, herbs, and native plants. Winter Sowing Seeds in...
Cool Weather VegetablesThere are a lot of cool weather vegetables that are great for winter growing as well as for early spring! Sandia Seed has a good selection of cool season vegetables that are great for growing in the cold months, especially early spring! When to plant cool weather crops:Cool-season vegetables can be planted anytime from several weeks to a couple of months before the last frost date. These early vegetables prefer cooler temperatures for growing. Some people start seeds indoors to get them ...
Companion Plants for Chile PeppersThe reason companion planting is so beneficial is not fully understood, but has been noted by farmers and gardeners for many generations. There are some basic concepts that do make good sense. The physical structure of companion plants with tall strong stems may protect your chile plants from wind damage. The root growth of companion plants with deeper root systems can improve the overall health of the compacted soil by opening up channels for better drainage and air exchange. Herbs produce c...
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...
Green Chile Shepherd's Pie RecipeGreen Chile Shepherd's Pie Recipe If you love green chile, then you have to try out this amazing Green Chile Shepherd's Pie Recipe – it is a New Mexican twist on the the classic Irish dish. INGREDIENTS 4 large potatoes, diced 1 stick of butter (or 1/2 cup of olive oil) 1 onion, chopped 2 cups mixed vegetables (diced carrots, peas, corn) 1 cup of roasted Green Chile (peeled, de-seeded, and chopped) 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef, chicken or pork (or omit the meat for a vegan version...
Vegan Stuffed PeppersVegan Stuffed Peppers Here is a Vegan Stuffed Peppers Recipe below, including lots of delicious variations and ideas for making the best vegan stuffed peppers. These are some great vegan stuffed pepper recipe ideas if you are vegetarian or vegan, or if you have dairy allergies. You can stuff any pepper, although some of our favorite pepper stuffers are Jalapeños, the Mini Orange Bell Pepper, Red Cherry Hot peppers, Pimento Peppers, the large Beaver Dam Pepper. Of course, all of our hatch chi...
Vegetables You Can Plant in SeptemberJust because it's September, gardening season isn't over yet! There are still plenty of veggies you can plant now. Here are some of our top recommendations: Here are some veggies you can still plant in September: Lettuce - Little Gem is a great variety to start in September! It also can tolerate light frosts. Spinach - Bloomsdale Spinach, a cold-hardy beloved heirloom variety known for its thick, crinkly dark green leaves and rich, nutty flavor. Bunching Onions - a hardy, fas...
Seeds to Plant in May - Direct SowingA summer squash above was direct seeded in mounds in May at a community garden in Denver. Squash is best direct sown as it doesn't like to have it's roots disturbed, so we generally plant it directly in the garden in May and June. Is May too late to direct sow seeds? Answer: Nope! May is a great time to direct sow many seeds in most growing regions in most of the Northern Hemisphere! May marks the transition from spring to summer in many regions, and the days are super long in M...
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!
I got these to make Chipotle chilis. These fruit early and are mild-ish when green, but when they ripen, they are perfect for smoking and drying with great flavor and nice heat. Don't plant too many as they are quite prolific.
Seeds grew quickly and in May I transplanted them into my garden. Kept three plants to a container and the did great in the garden without falling over. Great harvest.
I had 6 plants that produced all of the tomatillos that I could use. I gave my neighbors enough for a batch of green salsa too. Easy to germinate and great producers. We live in a short growing season in the mountains of Idaho and they did great!
When to Plant Sugar Snap Peas for Fall Harvest
If you're looking for good fall crops to grow from seed, we have you covered! We have a new lineup of our favorite easiest-to-grow vegetable seeds to complement our chile pepper and tomato seed collections. One of the top growers are our Easy-to-Grow Pea Seeds. When to Plant Sugar Snap Peas for Fall Harvest In the fall, plant sugar snap peas in the last 8 to 10 weeks before the first expected frost to guarantee a plentiful harvest. Or, you can also provide cover such as a hoop house o...
Summer Succotash with Peaches & Cream Corn
Succotash is a celebration of all the vibrant vegetables coming into season. It is an American dish created where the Three Sisters of corn, beans, and squash are native. Although succotash is mainly composed of vegetables, it is not unusual for bacon to be added for flavor. Succotash knows no limits when it comes to substitutions. The cherry tomatoes have a nice fresh flavor, but when ripe red tomatoes are at their peak, dice and add them for a rich flavor. Early season jalapeños can be us...
White Spots on Peppers: Sunscald
Are you finding peppers with white spots on the pods, where it looks like the skin is sunken in, bleached and papery? Some would say they look rotten. But, fear not! This is most likely just sunscald and the rest of the pepper is still edible. Yes, you can still eat peppers with sunscald!We typically just cut off the bad spots and eat the rest of the pepper! Sunscald is just cosmetic, and does not make the pepper un-edible. How to prevent sunscaldand white spots on Peppers: The reason peppe...
What to plant in January
Ahhh, the middle of winter! It's just about now that we're excited to start planting seeds for spring. January is a good time to start planning what to plant in your garden if you haven't done it already. Deciding what vegetables to grow each year is part of the fun, though sometimes difficult to narrow down which varieties to grow! With over 100 peppers from around the world plus lots of veggies and tomato seeds, too, our Seed Catalog makes it hard to narrow down the choices! But...
What to do with Hatch Chile after Roasting
Recent seed customer question: I am asking for suggestions for what to do with my hatch chilies after I roast them? Well, the possibilities are endless! Roasted Hatch chile can be added to all sorts of recipes. Here are some of our top suggestions on what to do with roasted hatch chile: After roasting, steam them and then deseed and peel the skin off the roasted chile. We like to steam them in a pyrex glass dish with a glass lid to cut down on plastic use. Dice the chile and put them in a ...
Fast Growing Seeds
Looking for vegetable seeds that grow fast? It's never too late to start seeds! Whether it's because you're late in planting seeds, or if you are sowing seeds throughout the season and want to tuck more vegetables into your garden, here are our top fast growing seeds: Fastest growing Vegetables: Cherry Belle Radish is one of the earliest radishes to mature in spring - you can harvest these beauties in just 22-30 days from sowing! We direct sow them in the garden and they germ...
What Vegetables to Plant in May & June
What to plant in May & June It's May, have you not planted your vegetable garden yet? Or are you looking to plant more seeds? Here are our top vegetable seeds that grow fast, some of them can be succession sown over the summer for a continual harvest. It's never too late to start seeds! Cherry Belle Radish are super fast growing, ready for harvest in about 22-30 days from sowing, so they are great seeds to plant in May. You can keep sowing these every two weeks in May, June,...
Winter Sowing
Winter Sowing We just learned about Winter Sowing a couple years ago, it's a wonderful way to start seeds using recycled containers outside! With winter sowing, you don't need room inside to start seeds, you can start them outdoors in the winter/spring months with recycled jugs and other containers. These containers serve as miniature greenhouses that do an incredible job of germinating all sorts of seeds including vegetables, herbs, and native plants. Winter Sowing Seeds in...
Cool Weather Vegetables
There are a lot of cool weather vegetables that are great for winter growing as well as for early spring! Sandia Seed has a good selection of cool season vegetables that are great for growing in the cold months, especially early spring! When to plant cool weather crops:Cool-season vegetables can be planted anytime from several weeks to a couple of months before the last frost date. These early vegetables prefer cooler temperatures for growing. Some people start seeds indoors to get them ...
Companion Plants for Chile Peppers
The reason companion planting is so beneficial is not fully understood, but has been noted by farmers and gardeners for many generations. There are some basic concepts that do make good sense. The physical structure of companion plants with tall strong stems may protect your chile plants from wind damage. The root growth of companion plants with deeper root systems can improve the overall health of the compacted soil by opening up channels for better drainage and air exchange. Herbs produce c...
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...
Green Chile Shepherd's Pie Recipe
Green Chile Shepherd's Pie Recipe If you love green chile, then you have to try out this amazing Green Chile Shepherd's Pie Recipe – it is a New Mexican twist on the the classic Irish dish. INGREDIENTS 4 large potatoes, diced 1 stick of butter (or 1/2 cup of olive oil) 1 onion, chopped 2 cups mixed vegetables (diced carrots, peas, corn) 1 cup of roasted Green Chile (peeled, de-seeded, and chopped) 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef, chicken or pork (or omit the meat for a vegan version...
Vegan Stuffed Peppers
Vegan Stuffed Peppers Here is a Vegan Stuffed Peppers Recipe below, including lots of delicious variations and ideas for making the best vegan stuffed peppers. These are some great vegan stuffed pepper recipe ideas if you are vegetarian or vegan, or if you have dairy allergies. You can stuff any pepper, although some of our favorite pepper stuffers are Jalapeños, the Mini Orange Bell Pepper, Red Cherry Hot peppers, Pimento Peppers, the large Beaver Dam Pepper. Of course, all of our hatch chi...
Vegetables You Can Plant in September
Just because it's September, gardening season isn't over yet! There are still plenty of veggies you can plant now. Here are some of our top recommendations: Here are some veggies you can still plant in September: Lettuce - Little Gem is a great variety to start in September! It also can tolerate light frosts. Spinach - Bloomsdale Spinach, a cold-hardy beloved heirloom variety known for its thick, crinkly dark green leaves and rich, nutty flavor. Bunching Onions - a hardy, fas...
Seeds to Plant in May - Direct Sowing
A summer squash above was direct seeded in mounds in May at a community garden in Denver. Squash is best direct sown as it doesn't like to have it's roots disturbed, so we generally plant it directly in the garden in May and June. Is May too late to direct sow seeds? Answer: Nope! May is a great time to direct sow many seeds in most growing regions in most of the Northern Hemisphere! May marks the transition from spring to summer in many regions, and the days are super long in M...
