SANDIA SEED BLOG

If you have a gardener in your life, they will always appreciate new seeds to grow! Seeds make the best gardener gifts and they can be grown, shared, and saved for...

Growing Peppers from SeedOur Top 12 Tips 1. Use Fresh Seeds When perfectly stored, pepper seeds can be viable for up to 25 years, but generally 2-5 years is more...

  Make this deliciously spicy Mac and Cheese recipe to please any spice-lover. While regular mac and cheese could always use a little spicing up, so this is a  great...

Red Chile Infused Honey Recipe This Hot Honey Recipe is great for spicing up your biscuits! Ingredients: 5 dried Chile de Arbol 2 dried Chipotle peppers (smoke-dried Jalapenos) 2 dried...

Do you ever make Green Chile gravy for your holiday mashed potatoes and turkey? Or perhaps you like biscuits and gravy? Well here's a recipe we're sure all you chile-lovers will enjoy. We...

Black Friday Seed Deals! Sandia Seed is offering some Smokin' Hot Black Friday Deals to celebrate the long Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend. These deals are good now through...

  Homemade Chili Powder Recipe: ½ C Cumin ½ C Clove ½ C Cayenne 1½ C Paprika 1½ C Dried Pasilla 1½ C Dark Chile Powder 1½ C Light Chile...

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SEED REVIEWS! Congratulations to Lauren, Greta, and Dan, our three winners of $25 ! This contest is now over... stay tuned for coming contests! We’d still...

  Our Carolina Reaper Seeds are back in stock at Sandia Seed! Get them while they last... these are one of our best selling seeds – as they grow the hottest peppers...

Growing peppers in Containers - Top 9 Tips: 1. Grow peppers that do well in containers and pots!This is one of the most important tips, as some peppers do much better...

Big Jim Peppers Pictured: Hatch Green Medium Big Jim next to Doublecross Hatch Green Chile Grow Big Jim Pepper Plants Growing Big Jim Pepper plants from seed is the way to...

The Hottest Pepper in the World in 2023 is still the Carolina Reaper* This popular super hot pepper is the star of many hot sauces and salsas as it adds intense...

Red Chile Powder - Homemade This red chile powder recipe is quick and easy to make from scratch. It has an incredibly robust and vibrant flavor when compared to store bought...

Here are some of our favorite hot sauce recipes to make with your abundant hot pepper harvests! Hot sauce is a great way to preserve your peppers and their spiciness for...

Recent Customer Question: Can you eat a jalapeno that has black seeds? Answer:  Yes, as long as you don't see any mold!  If peppers have black seeds inside, there are...

We are so excited to announce our 2023 Seed Catalog is at the printer! We are so proud of our Sandia Seed seed catalog that is packed with heirloom seeds...

If you grow our Hatch Chile or Anaheim Chile varieties, one of the best ways to enjoy them is in the form of a chile relleno!  A delicious serving suggestion...

Homegrown Sriracha Sauce 1.5 pounds Sriracha Peppers, or other red hot peppers such as cayenne, goat horn, fresno, bishop crown, thai hot, or jalapeno peppers ⅓ cup water 6 cloves garlic,...

  SPICY VEGETARIAN CHILI RECIPE   INGREDIENTS: 6-8 Cups of fresh diced tomatoes (or 1 large (28oz) can of diced tomatoes) 2-4+ diced hot peppers such as Serranos 4 chopped...

  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...

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...

How to Grow Peppers from Seed: Growing peppers from seed is one of the best ways to grow a wide variety of peppers from super spicy to sweet! One of the...

Grow your own organic bird seed with sunflowers – plus you can grow some super hot peppers to help keep the squirrels and rodents away from your seed mix!  Growing...

We were recently asked: Is it a 100% no for overwintering NM Chile plants? If so why? We've found that New Mexico chile plants don't produce as well after being...

Growing Banana Peppers is easy – they are one of the fastest growing peppers you can grow, and are very productive plants. Our Banana Pepper Seeds germinate quickly and are...

Grow your own Big Jim Chile! Sandia Seed offers the best selection of New Mexico chile varieties, including the deliciously huge Big Jim Legacy. Big Jim Pepper Seeds are easy to...

  Here's a question from a recent customer:Why do my pepper plants have no peppers? “I have 9 Aji Amarillo plants from seeds bought from Sandia, and as of July...

Here are some answers to a few common questions about growing Paprika: Can I grow my own paprika? Yes! It's easy to grow your own Paprika peppers to use in recipes....

Do your pepper plants have flowers but no peppers? This could be for a variety of reasons: Hot or Cold Weather: Temperatures – Peppers can be fussy when it comes...

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...

Pictured: The beautiful NuMex Easter Pepper in a pot. How much water does a pepper plant need? It depends on the conditions of course. But keep in mind, peppers do...

How to Grow Green Peppers from Seeds 1. Use Fresh SeedsGreen pepper seeds can last up to 25 years in perfect conditions, but using the seeds within 2-5 years will give...

What seeds can you plant in July? In July, it's not too late to fill your garden with more vegetables! Cherry Belle Radish are super fast growing, ready for harvest in...

Don't worry if your peppers are growing slowly after transplanting into your garden! Peppers really enjoy warm soil and, after transplanting, they typically take a couple weeks to settle in...

When a pepper plant has flowers but no peppers it is because of a lack of fertilization. There is an easy solution to help the pepper plant make fruit. First a little...

Our shipping will be paused from June 24 thru July 1st due to a company break! You can still order our seeds during this time, just be aware that they...

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...

If you have recently transplanted or brought your pepper seedlings outdoors and put them in full sun, their leaves may turn white. Leaves turning white on pepper plants is usually...

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...

Learn how to germinate pepper seeds fast!  If you want to learn how to make peppers grow faster – it's good to start them indoors early, and keep them nice and...

Have you grown “mother of all peppers,” the Chiltepin? These ancient tiny hot Chiltepin peppers do love heat, but they thrive best in the partial shade of a tree or...

Want to grow the worlds largest pepper? Look no further than the Big Jim Chile, which holds the crown in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the biggest...

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...

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...

Spicy Hatch Chile & Basil Pesto Recipe: Roasted Hatch Chile (peeled, deseeded)Basil (you could also use Cilantro)1-2 Tablespoons of Olive OilLots of Garlic ClovesWalnutsSalt & Pepper to tasteSqueeze of lemon...

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....

Winter Sowing Peppers Note: Peppers are very sensitive to frost.  You can use Winter Sowing with Pepper Seeds, but it is important to wait until warmer weather has arrived closer...

  If you want to grow peppers in containers, here are our favorite varieties that do well in pots – using large 5 gallon or larger containers is best for growing...

Recent customer question: How long to let pepper seeds go without sprouting before giving up on them and trying more?Pepper seeds are slow to germinate, so we recommend waiting at...

Customer Question: Can soil outside New Mexico be manipulated in any way to mimic New Mexico soil enough to give similar if not the same results in the harvest? If you...

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...

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...

Grow Short-Season Peppers! As the days get shorter, it makes us wish summer would last forever... that way, we can grow more peppers.  For those of us in short-season climates, it's...

Did you know you can grow peppers in pots? Many pepper varieties do great in pots! Check our list of Best Peppers to Grow in Pots Add more peppers to...

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...

There are many types of peppers to grow in your garden! There are the five major types of peppers: Capsicum annuum: Life span: 1.5-3 years These include a lot of the largest...

Wondering what the hottest pepper in the world is in 2022? Yep, the Carolina Reaper is STILL the Guinness world record holder for being the hottest pepper in the world....

If you like green chile but not the burn in your mouth we suggest growing a few of the milder varieties.  AnaheimScoville 500-1,000 This can be is the mildest New...

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...

If you haven't had cabbage salsa before, you're missing out! This crunchy, spicy, tangy salsa is a real treat – eat it with tortilla chips, or serve as a delicious...