What to do in your Garden in SeptemberAbove: Picking Shishitos will keep them coming long into fall if the temperatures are good. What to do in your Garden in September It depends on where you live, but here in the West, our 5B growing season can end as early as late September, or can last through October or even November, depending on the weather! We always hope for a long summer without frosts until November, but mother nature does her thing as she likes. Here are some of the things we do in September in our garden: Harvest an...
What are the benefits of garlic chives?Garlic Chives are very easy to grow, and are a perennial* herb that will last for years in the garden. They are very useful in the kitchen, plus the blooms are beautiful and attract a ton of pollinators and beneficial insects. If you love garlic, then you'll love garlic chives! Above: A beautiful gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus) butterfly on Garlic Chives – not only are they useful in the kitchen, they also attract a ton of pollinators including bees, moths, hoverflies, and beneficial...
Tumbling Tomatoes for PotsOne of our all-time favorite tomatoes is the Tumbling Tom Tomato. This cascading tomato plant is perfect for pots, and is a good producer of larger-sized orange-yellow cherry tomatoes that are meaty and great for salads or making sauces. Tumbling Tom pairs perfectly in pots with pepper plants, so you can have a salsa garden in a container! Plant Tumbling Tom, and a Jalapeno plant, and then tuck in some cilantro or green onions. Or grow it with basil or bush beans for the perfect food garden...
Why grow cherry tomatoes?Cherry tomatoes are the easiest tomatoes to grow! They produce fruit faster, have better heat tolerance and offer a continuous harvest compared to most full-sized tomatoes. Everyone should be growing at least one or two cherry tomato varieties in their garden. There are a ton of different kinds of cherry tomatoes, too, so try growing some different ones each year in addition to your favorites. Here are some of our top reasons to grow cherry tomatoes: Faster Harvests: They start coming in ...
Chile FestivalsWe just compiled a list of all the festivals we've heard about, check them out below. Let us know if we missed any! NEW MEXICO CHILE FESTIVALS: Hatch Chile Festival Sept 5–6, 2026 Hatch, New MexicoAnnual harvest celebration of everything Hatch Chile held every Labor Day weekend. This is the quintessential harvest celebration featuring the legendary chile queen pageant, massive roasting, and a parade. We're definitely going to this one! Green Chile Fest - AlbuquerqueSept 18-2...
What are peppers called when dried?Peppers often have different names in their dried form, depending on the region. For example, here are some common dried pepper names: Dried (Smoked) Jalapeños = ChipotleDried Poblanos = AnchoDried Anaheim Chile = Colorado or CaliforniaDried Mirasol** = GuajilloDried Serrano = Chile Seco*(or more specifically: balin, chico, tipico and largo)Dried Chilaca = PasillaDried Chile de Arbol = Chile Seco* *Read more about fresh vs. dried pepper names »
Seeds to Sow in August for a Fall HarvestIt's not too late to sow more seeds and enjoy more food from your garden this season. August is a great time to plant fall crops so that you can enjoy and preserve the abundance before winter arrives. Seeds to Sow in August for a bountiful Fall Harvest Bush Beans - Ready in just 50 days!, bush beans are the perfect pairing with tomatoes or peppers, you can easily tuck in these fast growing edible plants in your garden. Beans are great companion plants and they also boost the soil nut...
Vegetable Garden HacksHere are some vegetable garden hacks from fellow gardeners to try: I plant my peppers in pots as I'm in a short season climate, so I can move them to a warm place during late spring cool weather or early fall cool weather and frosts to extend the season. I also use a small garden bed hoop house with greenhouse film to cover them on cold nights below 50˚in spring and fall. Adding alfalfa pellets to my beds for slow release nitrogen to feed the beneficial bacteria in the soil not the plant...
Sharing VeggiesThere is nothing better than growing your food than also sharing your homegrown produce! Share your extra garden harvests with neighbors, friends and family, or by trading produce in local online groups, setting up a free driveway stand, or donating fresh harvest to community pantries and food banks. When you grow your own food, you often have way more than you need, and it's so rewarding to share your bounty with others. Above: Herbs Share in the neighborhood: What a fun front-yard comm...
Ask five gardeners a question and you will get six different answers.😂😂Ask five gardeners a question and you will get six different answers.😂 Ain't that the truth? Gardening is all about experiences, trials and errors... and above all, experimenting! After all, there are no gardening mistakes, only experiments! For example: Some people swear that topping their young peppers will result in more yields. But many people, especially those in short growing seasons, find that the opposite is true – topping peppers only delays their production. Find our advice on...
Tabasco Pepper Salsa RecipeSandia Seed's Tabasco Pepper Salsa Recipe Make this delicious salsa with fresh or dried Tabasco peppers. They have great flavor and make a killer salsa, so don't just think of them for hot sauce. They also dry easily and are delicious when crushed and used as hot pepper flakes and seasoning for all sorts of dishes. RECIPE INGREDIENTS: 2-6+ Tabasco PeppersAdd as many fresh or dried Tabasco peppers as desired, of course more equals more heat. Note: You can also use ANY fresh or dried...
Half Off Seeds - Save a bundle on pepper and vegetable seeds!We just added a ton more seeds to our HALF OFF SEEDS SALE! We have a ton of seed packets for under $2!! Save BIG on the best seeds now! Get a great deal on select seeds, many that you can plant now. Many of these are our top selllers that gardener's grow every year, so stock up and save while supplies last. Get 50% off Over 70 different seed varieties. No discount code needed, limited quantities, while supplies last! While supplies last, get our Banana Pepper Seeds for just $1.25...
Best Companion Plant for Peppers that you can plant all season!We have found that our favorite companion plant for peppers is the productive and soil-building bush bean! Bush beans are an excellent choice for companion plants for your peppers. They fix nitrogen in the soil which help feed heavy-feeding peppers and provide light side-shade to protect pepper fruits from sunburn. They also shade the soil to conserve moisture and keep roots cooler in the heat of the summer, which is critical here in the West! You can tuck some bean seeds in pots or in the ga...
Green Chili Recipe (Vegetarian)Green Chili Recipe (Vegetarian) This delicious chili is the perfect meal in itself or used for smothering! Ingredients 1 white onion, diced4 cloves garlic, minced4 potatoes, diced (optional)6 c. vegetable broth (or water)2 Cups diced New Mexico Green Chile, Hatch green chile or Pueblo Chile*1-2 cans or cups of cooked pinto beans, rinsed & drained (optional)1 tbsp. cumin1 tbsp. red chile powder1/8 tsp. black pepper~ 1/2 tsp. salt (to taste, more if not using stock) Instructions In a st...
Jalapeno Poppers RecipeJalapeno Popper Recipe 8-12 jalapeños (use as many as you like) 6 ounces cream cheese softened* 1 cup of Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded* 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic or garlic powder (optional) 2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic chives (optional) ¼ cup Panko bread crumbs (optional) 1 tablespoon butter (optional) Green onions (for topping, optional) Instructions Preheat the oven or grill to 400°F. Cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise, and use a small spoon to scoop out the seeds. Mix ...
The Best Peppers to Grow from Seed: Sandia Seed’s Most Popular Varieties for Every GardenPeppers are one of the most rewarding crops to grow from seed! Sandia Seed offers options for beginners, salsa-makers, chile lovers, and heat seekers. Peppers are great for food gardens as they are productive and there are so many ways to preserve the harvest – you can make pickled peppers, hot sauces, salsas, or dry peppers to use for hot pepper flakes and sauces all year long. Shishito peppers, above, are super easy to grow and SO productive, perfect for beginners! These Japanese peppers ...
Best Mulch for VegetablesMulch in veggie gardens helps suppress weeds, retain moisture, and also breaks down to enrich the soil life which then feeds your plants. The best mulch for a vegetable garden include organic, biodegradable materials like untreated grass clippings, clean straw, leaves, and pruned plants and herbs.IMPORTANT TO NOTE:Keep mulch 1-2 inches away from around the base your plants to keep them from rotting. Piling mulch against the stems of your vegetables can trap moisture and create an environment ...
Health Benefits of Hot PeppersWe just read Washington Post's article titled: Eating this food regularly could lead to greater longevity Above: Aleppo peppers may help you live longer! How interesting! Their article gives us lots more reasons to love hot peppers! Here's what we learned from reading it: Spicy foods that include hot peppers have a solid scientific basis for health benefits... Large studies link frequent spicy food consumption to lower mortality risk (about 13–14%) and reduced deaths from cance...
Key Tips for Watering PeppersWatering peppers correctly is important. Here are our top tips: Water Deeply & Less Frequently: Instead of a light splash every day, water deeply 1 to 2 times a week so the moisture reaches deep into the root zone. The Finger Test: Stick your finger 1 to 2 inches into the soil before watering. If the soil at that depth feels dry, it's time to water; if it still feels damp, hold off. Adjust for Climate & Heat: During mid-summer heatwaves or dry spells, outdoor pepper pl...
Why Are My Tomato Leaves Rolling?Why Are My Tomato Leaves Rolling? It could be heat stress, not disease! This tomato plant (above) looked fine a couple weeks ago, but this Denver garden has had highs of over 95˚ F ever since, and you can see from it's rolling leaves that it is suffering from the heat. Noticing your tomato leaves curling or rolling upward in this super hot summer heat? Did the tomato plants look fine a couple weeks ago before the heat-wave? Don’t worry, this is often a natural response called physiologi...
What to do in your Garden in September
Above: Picking Shishitos will keep them coming long into fall if the temperatures are good. What to do in your Garden in September It depends on where you live, but here in the West, our 5B growing season can end as early as late September, or can last through October or even November, depending on the weather! We always hope for a long summer without frosts until November, but mother nature does her thing as she likes. Here are some of the things we do in September in our garden: Harvest an...
What are the benefits of garlic chives?
Garlic Chives are very easy to grow, and are a perennial* herb that will last for years in the garden. They are very useful in the kitchen, plus the blooms are beautiful and attract a ton of pollinators and beneficial insects. If you love garlic, then you'll love garlic chives! Above: A beautiful gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus) butterfly on Garlic Chives – not only are they useful in the kitchen, they also attract a ton of pollinators including bees, moths, hoverflies, and beneficial...
Tumbling Tomatoes for Pots
One of our all-time favorite tomatoes is the Tumbling Tom Tomato. This cascading tomato plant is perfect for pots, and is a good producer of larger-sized orange-yellow cherry tomatoes that are meaty and great for salads or making sauces. Tumbling Tom pairs perfectly in pots with pepper plants, so you can have a salsa garden in a container! Plant Tumbling Tom, and a Jalapeno plant, and then tuck in some cilantro or green onions. Or grow it with basil or bush beans for the perfect food garden...
Why grow cherry tomatoes?
Cherry tomatoes are the easiest tomatoes to grow! They produce fruit faster, have better heat tolerance and offer a continuous harvest compared to most full-sized tomatoes. Everyone should be growing at least one or two cherry tomato varieties in their garden. There are a ton of different kinds of cherry tomatoes, too, so try growing some different ones each year in addition to your favorites. Here are some of our top reasons to grow cherry tomatoes: Faster Harvests: They start coming in ...
Chile Festivals
We just compiled a list of all the festivals we've heard about, check them out below. Let us know if we missed any! NEW MEXICO CHILE FESTIVALS: Hatch Chile Festival Sept 5–6, 2026 Hatch, New MexicoAnnual harvest celebration of everything Hatch Chile held every Labor Day weekend. This is the quintessential harvest celebration featuring the legendary chile queen pageant, massive roasting, and a parade. We're definitely going to this one! Green Chile Fest - AlbuquerqueSept 18-2...
What are peppers called when dried?
Peppers often have different names in their dried form, depending on the region. For example, here are some common dried pepper names: Dried (Smoked) Jalapeños = ChipotleDried Poblanos = AnchoDried Anaheim Chile = Colorado or CaliforniaDried Mirasol** = GuajilloDried Serrano = Chile Seco*(or more specifically: balin, chico, tipico and largo)Dried Chilaca = PasillaDried Chile de Arbol = Chile Seco* *Read more about fresh vs. dried pepper names »
Seeds to Sow in August for a Fall Harvest
It's not too late to sow more seeds and enjoy more food from your garden this season. August is a great time to plant fall crops so that you can enjoy and preserve the abundance before winter arrives. Seeds to Sow in August for a bountiful Fall Harvest Bush Beans - Ready in just 50 days!, bush beans are the perfect pairing with tomatoes or peppers, you can easily tuck in these fast growing edible plants in your garden. Beans are great companion plants and they also boost the soil nut...
Vegetable Garden Hacks
Here are some vegetable garden hacks from fellow gardeners to try: I plant my peppers in pots as I'm in a short season climate, so I can move them to a warm place during late spring cool weather or early fall cool weather and frosts to extend the season. I also use a small garden bed hoop house with greenhouse film to cover them on cold nights below 50˚in spring and fall. Adding alfalfa pellets to my beds for slow release nitrogen to feed the beneficial bacteria in the soil not the plant...
Sharing Veggies
There is nothing better than growing your food than also sharing your homegrown produce! Share your extra garden harvests with neighbors, friends and family, or by trading produce in local online groups, setting up a free driveway stand, or donating fresh harvest to community pantries and food banks. When you grow your own food, you often have way more than you need, and it's so rewarding to share your bounty with others. Above: Herbs Share in the neighborhood: What a fun front-yard comm...
Ask five gardeners a question and you will get six different answers.😂😂
Ask five gardeners a question and you will get six different answers.😂 Ain't that the truth? Gardening is all about experiences, trials and errors... and above all, experimenting! After all, there are no gardening mistakes, only experiments! For example: Some people swear that topping their young peppers will result in more yields. But many people, especially those in short growing seasons, find that the opposite is true – topping peppers only delays their production. Find our advice on...
Tabasco Pepper Salsa Recipe
Sandia Seed's Tabasco Pepper Salsa Recipe Make this delicious salsa with fresh or dried Tabasco peppers. They have great flavor and make a killer salsa, so don't just think of them for hot sauce. They also dry easily and are delicious when crushed and used as hot pepper flakes and seasoning for all sorts of dishes. RECIPE INGREDIENTS: 2-6+ Tabasco PeppersAdd as many fresh or dried Tabasco peppers as desired, of course more equals more heat. Note: You can also use ANY fresh or dried...
Half Off Seeds - Save a bundle on pepper and vegetable seeds!
We just added a ton more seeds to our HALF OFF SEEDS SALE! We have a ton of seed packets for under $2!! Save BIG on the best seeds now! Get a great deal on select seeds, many that you can plant now. Many of these are our top selllers that gardener's grow every year, so stock up and save while supplies last. Get 50% off Over 70 different seed varieties. No discount code needed, limited quantities, while supplies last! While supplies last, get our Banana Pepper Seeds for just $1.25...
Best Companion Plant for Peppers that you can plant all season!
We have found that our favorite companion plant for peppers is the productive and soil-building bush bean! Bush beans are an excellent choice for companion plants for your peppers. They fix nitrogen in the soil which help feed heavy-feeding peppers and provide light side-shade to protect pepper fruits from sunburn. They also shade the soil to conserve moisture and keep roots cooler in the heat of the summer, which is critical here in the West! You can tuck some bean seeds in pots or in the ga...
Green Chili Recipe (Vegetarian)
Green Chili Recipe (Vegetarian) This delicious chili is the perfect meal in itself or used for smothering! Ingredients 1 white onion, diced4 cloves garlic, minced4 potatoes, diced (optional)6 c. vegetable broth (or water)2 Cups diced New Mexico Green Chile, Hatch green chile or Pueblo Chile*1-2 cans or cups of cooked pinto beans, rinsed & drained (optional)1 tbsp. cumin1 tbsp. red chile powder1/8 tsp. black pepper~ 1/2 tsp. salt (to taste, more if not using stock) Instructions In a st...
Jalapeno Poppers Recipe
Jalapeno Popper Recipe 8-12 jalapeños (use as many as you like) 6 ounces cream cheese softened* 1 cup of Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded* 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic or garlic powder (optional) 2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic chives (optional) ¼ cup Panko bread crumbs (optional) 1 tablespoon butter (optional) Green onions (for topping, optional) Instructions Preheat the oven or grill to 400°F. Cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise, and use a small spoon to scoop out the seeds. Mix ...
The Best Peppers to Grow from Seed: Sandia Seed’s Most Popular Varieties for Every Garden
Peppers are one of the most rewarding crops to grow from seed! Sandia Seed offers options for beginners, salsa-makers, chile lovers, and heat seekers. Peppers are great for food gardens as they are productive and there are so many ways to preserve the harvest – you can make pickled peppers, hot sauces, salsas, or dry peppers to use for hot pepper flakes and sauces all year long. Shishito peppers, above, are super easy to grow and SO productive, perfect for beginners! These Japanese peppers ...
Best Mulch for Vegetables
Mulch in veggie gardens helps suppress weeds, retain moisture, and also breaks down to enrich the soil life which then feeds your plants. The best mulch for a vegetable garden include organic, biodegradable materials like untreated grass clippings, clean straw, leaves, and pruned plants and herbs.IMPORTANT TO NOTE:Keep mulch 1-2 inches away from around the base your plants to keep them from rotting. Piling mulch against the stems of your vegetables can trap moisture and create an environment ...
Health Benefits of Hot Peppers
We just read Washington Post's article titled: Eating this food regularly could lead to greater longevity Above: Aleppo peppers may help you live longer! How interesting! Their article gives us lots more reasons to love hot peppers! Here's what we learned from reading it: Spicy foods that include hot peppers have a solid scientific basis for health benefits... Large studies link frequent spicy food consumption to lower mortality risk (about 13–14%) and reduced deaths from cance...
Key Tips for Watering Peppers
Watering peppers correctly is important. Here are our top tips: Water Deeply & Less Frequently: Instead of a light splash every day, water deeply 1 to 2 times a week so the moisture reaches deep into the root zone. The Finger Test: Stick your finger 1 to 2 inches into the soil before watering. If the soil at that depth feels dry, it's time to water; if it still feels damp, hold off. Adjust for Climate & Heat: During mid-summer heatwaves or dry spells, outdoor pepper pl...
Why Are My Tomato Leaves Rolling?
Why Are My Tomato Leaves Rolling? It could be heat stress, not disease! This tomato plant (above) looked fine a couple weeks ago, but this Denver garden has had highs of over 95˚ F ever since, and you can see from it's rolling leaves that it is suffering from the heat. Noticing your tomato leaves curling or rolling upward in this super hot summer heat? Did the tomato plants look fine a couple weeks ago before the heat-wave? Don’t worry, this is often a natural response called physiologi...
