Happy Holidays! Sandia Seed is taking a Holiday Break 12/16-12/25Wishing you all a happy and healthy holiday season! Sandia Seed is taking a Holiday Break from Dec 16th-24th so order now to get seeds shipped before Christmas! You can still place orders from 12/16-12/24 but we won't be shipping during that time. Thanks for supporting our small seed company!
Can seedlings get too much light?Can seedlings get too much light? Yes. Can grow lights be too bright? If you have super bright lights and they are placed too close to the seedlings, you can burn seedlings.A recent lesson learned: Above is a photo from a couple weeks back, we got a new 100W Sansi LED floodlight that was recommended by a pepper grower and thought, "Wow, this super bright light is going to really get those peppers growing big before putting out in the garden!" Unfortunately, our shelf that we were...
Why are my pepper plants so small?We have this question quite often: Why are my pepper plants so small? There is a number of reasons that your peppers may not be growing larger. TOO BRIGHT LED LIGHTS Recently, we had an experience (see the sad & small pepper plants above) where we had placed a super bright 100W Sansi Floodlight above our transplanted seedlings about 8" away. Sadly, it was TOO bright – if we had it farther away, such as a couple feet, the seedlings may have been fine. But, since they were fairly clo...
Harvest vegetables at the right timeKnowing when to harvest vegetables will help you get the best quality vegetables from your garden. Many gardeners allow produce to pass their prime when vegetables are less tender and more fibrous. Below is a guideline to help you determine the best time to harvest vegetables. Pepper and tomatoes are listed first with the Get Real Vegetables information below that. Peppers (bell and chile) can be harvested in three stages. Mature green: Pepper is firm and fully sized. The fruit color is...
Guajillo Chile - Which kind are used for Mole?Here's a question we recently had about Guajillo chile: Question about the guajillo pepper seeds: The site says these are one of the most common dried peppers in Mexico, but I was reading the Peppers of America book by Maricel Presilla from one of your earlier posts and she refers to the guajillo as the dried form of the mirasol chile. I noticed your mirasol pepper description doesn't mention anything about this. What are y'all's thoughts on this nomenclature discrepancy? Two ...
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 ...
How to Make Lettuce Last LongerCRISPY LETTUCE TIPThe secret to crispy lettuce from your garden:If you harvest lettuce from your garden, you may wonder how to make lettuce last longer. Well, here’s the trick to keep it crispy in your fridge for days! No more wilted lettuce.How to preserve lettuce from the garden: Immediately after picking, soak your freshly picked greens in cold water for 20-30 minutes to "crisp" them up for storing longer in the fridge. This will prevent wilting of your lettuces and other greens...
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...
How deep should I plant my seeds?The rule of thumb is to plant seeds at a depth equal to two or three times their width. For a pepper seed that would be about 1/4 to 3/8” deep. A common mistake is to plant them too deep. This inhibits their growth, not only because they may not germinate at all, but also because their stems may not be designed to push through the heavy pile of soil above them. It is better to plant seeds too shallow than too deep. Read the seed packet carefully, for detailed information about how deep to pla...
How much should I water my seeds?For seeds to germinate, you need to keep the growing soil damp but not too wet. To conserve moisture, you can cover the container with clear plastic until seeds germinate. Once seeds sprout, do not miss a watering. Unlike established plants, seedlings do not have an extensive root system they will die if soil dries out. At the same time, it is important not to overwater and let seedlings sit in water. Learning how to water seedlings is vital for success. Related Topic: Why are my pepper pla...
Short Season Heirloom TomatoesLooking to grow Short Season Heirloom Tomatoes this season? If you are looking to grow early tomato varieties, you've come to the right place. If you are in a short season climate, or, if you just want to enjoy juicy homegrown heirloom tomatoes from your garden, any of these varieties would be a great pick! Best Short Season Tomatoes: Heirloom Pineapple Tomato These plants will fruit fairly early, and also ripen quickly. In mid-summer, they seemed to stop blooming, then they put on ano...
Soil for PeppersBest Soil for Peppers: Best Soil for Starting Pepper Seeds When starting pepper seeds indoors, it's important to use a good quality seed/seedling starting mix such as Coast of Maine's which performs very well with all pepper seeds. Be sure to use seedling mix rather than garden soil or top soil as seedling/seed mixes are created to be well-draining. We do not recommend using those small Jiffy Pots or peat for starting pepper seeds, as they just don't seem to like to germinate ve...
Best Light for SeedlingsBest Light for Seedlings "What are you guys using as grow lights for seed starting?"We recently had a question from a customer on what kind of lights we're using to start seeds. You can use lots of different lights to start seeds, you'd be surprised, even a regular old standard fluorescent white light will do the trick! You don't need any fancy or expensive lights to start seeds. Weak Seedlings? It may not be the lack of Light! If you have weak pepper seedlings, but y...
What are the easiest peppers to grow?What are the easiest peppers to grow? We think most peppers are easy to grow, but growing faster growing peppers can help improve your success, especially in shorter growing seasons. The fastest germinating peppers are typically in the Capsicum Annuum family, so we'd say they are easiest to grow. This is a big family of peppers, so for an easier garden, you can grow fast-growing jalapeño seeds, serrano seeds, cayenne seeds, Anaheim chile seeds, Hatch chile seeds, and poblano seeds. A cou...
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 ...
Grow the Yellow Carolina Reaper!Yellow Carolina Reaper SeedsCustomer testimonials: We have grown Yellow Carolina Reaper alongside the traditional Red Carolina Reaper for a few years now and it is a customer favorite. The germination is always near perfect and it produces beautiful peppers on nice strong plants! I grew 3 Yellow Carolina Reaper plants from seed. I ordered from Sandia Seed Co. and they grew to be very large, robust plants and were absolutely loaded with peppers. These peppers are insanely hot, but have wond...
I'm going to grow these every year, they are HOT!! They make great poppers and salsa. Very productive, easy to grow, quick germination and fast growing plants. Thank you for the stellar seeds.
I planted several cultivars from wholesale seed. These were prolific. See all that RED (and green)?!? Looking forward to harvesting in a few days. Thank You Sandia Seed!
I pretty much use Sandia seeds exclusively! A few years ago I just happened to order your Jalapeño M. To me it's the perfect Jalapeño! Really nice size! Perfect heat for what we like! Wonderful flavor with a meatyness that's perfect for many different uses! I make my own Sriracha so I wait for them to turn red. They're one of my base peppers for my sauce! I praise them to all my personal friends and to members of groups that I belong to!
Serrano Hidalgo Seeds fromSandia Seed produce even in the HOT drought of central Illinois this year! I love adding a little Mexican kick to my salsa but also tossing these on the grill! They have great flavor and produce all summer long!
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.
Happy Holidays! Sandia Seed is taking a Holiday Break 12/16-12/25
Wishing you all a happy and healthy holiday season! Sandia Seed is taking a Holiday Break from Dec 16th-24th so order now to get seeds shipped before Christmas! You can still place orders from 12/16-12/24 but we won't be shipping during that time. Thanks for supporting our small seed company!
Can seedlings get too much light?
Can seedlings get too much light? Yes. Can grow lights be too bright? If you have super bright lights and they are placed too close to the seedlings, you can burn seedlings.A recent lesson learned: Above is a photo from a couple weeks back, we got a new 100W Sansi LED floodlight that was recommended by a pepper grower and thought, "Wow, this super bright light is going to really get those peppers growing big before putting out in the garden!" Unfortunately, our shelf that we were...
Why are my pepper plants so small?
We have this question quite often: Why are my pepper plants so small? There is a number of reasons that your peppers may not be growing larger. TOO BRIGHT LED LIGHTS Recently, we had an experience (see the sad & small pepper plants above) where we had placed a super bright 100W Sansi Floodlight above our transplanted seedlings about 8" away. Sadly, it was TOO bright – if we had it farther away, such as a couple feet, the seedlings may have been fine. But, since they were fairly clo...
Harvest vegetables at the right time
Knowing when to harvest vegetables will help you get the best quality vegetables from your garden. Many gardeners allow produce to pass their prime when vegetables are less tender and more fibrous. Below is a guideline to help you determine the best time to harvest vegetables. Pepper and tomatoes are listed first with the Get Real Vegetables information below that. Peppers (bell and chile) can be harvested in three stages. Mature green: Pepper is firm and fully sized. The fruit color is...
Guajillo Chile - Which kind are used for Mole?
Here's a question we recently had about Guajillo chile: Question about the guajillo pepper seeds: The site says these are one of the most common dried peppers in Mexico, but I was reading the Peppers of America book by Maricel Presilla from one of your earlier posts and she refers to the guajillo as the dried form of the mirasol chile. I noticed your mirasol pepper description doesn't mention anything about this. What are y'all's thoughts on this nomenclature discrepancy? Two ...
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 ...
How to Make Lettuce Last Longer
CRISPY LETTUCE TIPThe secret to crispy lettuce from your garden:If you harvest lettuce from your garden, you may wonder how to make lettuce last longer. Well, here’s the trick to keep it crispy in your fridge for days! No more wilted lettuce.How to preserve lettuce from the garden: Immediately after picking, soak your freshly picked greens in cold water for 20-30 minutes to "crisp" them up for storing longer in the fridge. This will prevent wilting of your lettuces and other greens...
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...
How deep should I plant my seeds?
The rule of thumb is to plant seeds at a depth equal to two or three times their width. For a pepper seed that would be about 1/4 to 3/8” deep. A common mistake is to plant them too deep. This inhibits their growth, not only because they may not germinate at all, but also because their stems may not be designed to push through the heavy pile of soil above them. It is better to plant seeds too shallow than too deep. Read the seed packet carefully, for detailed information about how deep to pla...
How much should I water my seeds?
For seeds to germinate, you need to keep the growing soil damp but not too wet. To conserve moisture, you can cover the container with clear plastic until seeds germinate. Once seeds sprout, do not miss a watering. Unlike established plants, seedlings do not have an extensive root system they will die if soil dries out. At the same time, it is important not to overwater and let seedlings sit in water. Learning how to water seedlings is vital for success. Related Topic: Why are my pepper pla...
Short Season Heirloom Tomatoes
Looking to grow Short Season Heirloom Tomatoes this season? If you are looking to grow early tomato varieties, you've come to the right place. If you are in a short season climate, or, if you just want to enjoy juicy homegrown heirloom tomatoes from your garden, any of these varieties would be a great pick! Best Short Season Tomatoes: Heirloom Pineapple Tomato These plants will fruit fairly early, and also ripen quickly. In mid-summer, they seemed to stop blooming, then they put on ano...
Soil for Peppers
Best Soil for Peppers: Best Soil for Starting Pepper Seeds When starting pepper seeds indoors, it's important to use a good quality seed/seedling starting mix such as Coast of Maine's which performs very well with all pepper seeds. Be sure to use seedling mix rather than garden soil or top soil as seedling/seed mixes are created to be well-draining. We do not recommend using those small Jiffy Pots or peat for starting pepper seeds, as they just don't seem to like to germinate ve...
Best Light for Seedlings
Best Light for Seedlings "What are you guys using as grow lights for seed starting?"We recently had a question from a customer on what kind of lights we're using to start seeds. You can use lots of different lights to start seeds, you'd be surprised, even a regular old standard fluorescent white light will do the trick! You don't need any fancy or expensive lights to start seeds. Weak Seedlings? It may not be the lack of Light! If you have weak pepper seedlings, but y...
What are the easiest peppers to grow?
What are the easiest peppers to grow? We think most peppers are easy to grow, but growing faster growing peppers can help improve your success, especially in shorter growing seasons. The fastest germinating peppers are typically in the Capsicum Annuum family, so we'd say they are easiest to grow. This is a big family of peppers, so for an easier garden, you can grow fast-growing jalapeño seeds, serrano seeds, cayenne seeds, Anaheim chile seeds, Hatch chile seeds, and poblano seeds. A cou...
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 ...
Grow the Yellow Carolina Reaper!
Yellow Carolina Reaper SeedsCustomer testimonials: We have grown Yellow Carolina Reaper alongside the traditional Red Carolina Reaper for a few years now and it is a customer favorite. The germination is always near perfect and it produces beautiful peppers on nice strong plants! I grew 3 Yellow Carolina Reaper plants from seed. I ordered from Sandia Seed Co. and they grew to be very large, robust plants and were absolutely loaded with peppers. These peppers are insanely hot, but have wond...
