SANDIA SEED BLOG

Customer Question: When should I start my hatch chile seeds for summer if I live inland near San Diego?Answer:The San Diego Master Gardeners recommend to start peppers like Hatch chiles anytime between...

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...

It's easy to grow your own spices! 1. Our favorite spice to grow is chile! We have a huge range of seeds for chile peppers of the world, including Hatch...

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,...

Our Oct/Nov 2021 Seed Review Contest is over – thanks for all your reviews!!Congratulations to these three lucky customers whoreviewed our seeds and won $25 in Free Seeds: Chris R., Murry H., and Jennifer...

Check out Sandia Seed's brand new 2022 Seed Catalog that we just designed and got back from the printer!   Our 2022 Seed Catalog is packed with seeds for some of your favorites like our...

  Here is a question asking why we call some of our seeds Hatch: “I'm curious about how your Hatch varieties compare to the peppers we have successfully grown that...

Another happy customer review, thanks for sharing, Michele!We love hearing stories of gardeners growing our Hatch chile seeds all over the country! Because if you can't live in New Mexico,...

  Here are some great recipes to use up your Jalapeño popper harvest!  One of the best parts about growing jalapenos is eating them! Here are some of our favorite recipes to...

We love getting notes and photos from our happy customers! Here's some photos from Bill in Wisconsin, who wrote: “The Best Seeds! Here's an update. Incredible Wisconsin grow this year!...

Do you love habaneros? If you haven't tried them, and you like hot peppers, you should grow habaneros!We think habaneros are one of the tastiest of all peppers – they...

Here's a great white chile recipe that uses the amazing flavors of roasted green chile from the garden! During harvest season, we also throw in a few apples if we...

Do you grow cilantro? Love it or hate it? We love it, it goes so perfectly with hot peppers and tomatoes to make the best salsas! We find that salsa...

Harvesting Peppers: How do you know when peppers are ready to be picked? It depends on the pepper, it's good to look at the average harvest time of the pepper...

These Manzano peppers are HOT and delicious! The Manzano Pepper is the only chile to have black seeds. The flowers are a stunning purple and the plant has fuzzy leaves....

Fresh red chile is a delicacy and is hard to find at supermarkets as it is very perishable. Grow your own red chile for a little taste of heaven in late...

We have an apple tree, and this year it was loaded with fruit! While we like apple pie, we like salsa better, so we just made the No-Peel version of this...

Homegrown Sambal Oelek Recipe This delicious spicy condiment is delicious on everything from stir fries to soups to sandwiches or even just with some crackers or chips. Kick it up...

How to Roast Chile Do you grow green chile seeds? Then you probably will have a great chile harvest to roast.  Here's our top tips on roasting chile at home: Use...

Yes, you can leave skin on tomatoes when making sauce! Just use a food processor to transform whole tomatoes into sauce. This saves lots of time from having to boil...

What are the Best Tomato Cages?Sturdy ones. We like using the sturdier thick cages, but they're a little harder to find. If you grow tomatoes, they're probably one of your favorite crops,...

Can you leave skin on tomatoes when making sauce? Why yes, you can!NO-PEEL TOMATO SAUCE RECIPE:INGREDIENTS:• Tomatoes (as many as you have) • Diced onion • Diced garlic (more is...

Can you eat your ornamental peppers?Of course you can! They are usually quite hot, so add them with caution, add a little a time and taste-test your recipe until you...

Edible Ornamental Peppers These NuMex Easter peppers are absolutely gorgeous in pastel! We'll be making room for these in the garden every year from here on out. They look stunning...

We sure do love harvest season!Here are some of our favorite recipes to use up your harvest: Salsa Recipes:Carolina Reaper Salsa Recipe »Trinidad Scorpion Salsa Recipe »Vinegar Pepper Sauce Recipe...

The Ornamental Pepper NuMex Easter is gorgeous in pastels! Also great for drying at the end of the season for use as hot pepper flakes or to add to salsa....

It's open season for zucchini! Do you grow the infamous Black Beauty Zucchini summer squash? Black Beauty produces a huge crop of tender zucchini squash during the summer. Harvest zucchini...

Watching your salt intake? One of our favorite ways to spice up a dish without salt is none other than hot peppers! Any spicy peppers are a great way to...

We were happy to get this beautiful shot of Padrón peppers from one of our happy seed customers, here's what Sam had to say:  Greetings to the folks at the...

  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...

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...

  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...

  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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Did you know red and green chiles both grow on the same plant? Every red chile begins as a green chile and then matures to red. We often refer to...

Is it difficult to transfer plants from under grow lights to outdoors? Nope! You just want to gradually expose any seedlings you start to the sun and outdoor conditions. To...

Grow and make your own spicy pickles! Here's a couple recipes: Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickle Recipe » Jalapeno Pickles Recipe » Spicy pickles are one of the easiest ways to preserve your...

It is smart to succession plant seeds for lettuce, radishes, beets, carrots, cucumbers, nasturtium, green onions, and peas all season long to keep the harvests coming. Our Little Gem Lettuce is a Chef's...

We begin Part 2 (see Part 1) with Carolina Reaper plants that are more than 12 weeks old and still growing in a cell tray. They have already been hardened...

Here is one method you can use to grow Carolina Reaper seeds into big pepper producing plants.  Start with great seeds that will grow true Carolina Reaper peppers from a well-established...

We love growing beets!! They are so delicious and so easy to grow. Did you know you can also eat the greens? Recipe posted below! Spicy Beet Greens Recipe: Ingredients:...

Do you plant marigolds with your peppers and tomatoes? We think they help keep the plants healthy and pest-free! Marigolds can help repel beetles, nematodes, aphids, potato bugs and squash bugs...

Peppers have fairly large root systems, so the deeper the container, the better for healthy plants, and larger harvests. We recommend at least 14" deep, with an ideal depth of 18-24"...

  EXPIRED OFFER: Get a Free Packet of Watermelon seeds to plant in May 2021  when you buy any seeds in our Get Real Gardening Collection!   NOTE: This offer...

Do you have local gardening questions? When do I start my tomatoes in my area? What veggie seeds can I direct sow, and when are the best times? What is...

We often get this question from gardeners, especially those with raised beds: “How deep do Hatch Chile roots grow?”   A:For the best harvests and healthy plants, we like to plant...

  Did you know that the Big Jim Chile holds the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest chile pepper in the world? These chiles are HUGE averaging around...

Should you put more than one pepper plant in a pot?   Our answer: It depends on how big the pot is – the bigger the better if you want to grow...

One of the best ways to keep seedlings from getting leggy is to pet or brush them with your hands. Yes, you heard that right, we "pet" our seedlings to stimulate...

Looking for purple peppers? We not only have several varieties of purple peppers you can grow, but we also have purple tomatoes, too! Growing purple peppers and tomatoes adds lots...

  Sandia Seed offers Wholesale Organic Seeds to anyone who wants to resell seeds in online stores, garden centers, hardware stores, gift shops or other local stores. Sandia Seed offers Wholesale Seeds...

Did you know that we named our small seed company Sandia Seed after the Sandia mountains in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sandía means watermelon in Spanish. The mountains were named for...

Do you dry out your chile pods for year-round use?Did you know chile have different names depending on if they are fresh or dried? Dried Jalapeños = ChipotleDried Poblanos =...

People have asked, can peppers survive 40˚ F temperatures?  Most peppers are not happy when temperatures drop below 50-60˚ F. If you live in a short season climate, we recommend starting...

If you like growing vegetables from seed, make sure to plant some easy-to-grow scallions, also known as green onions. These tasty treats are packed with flavor and go with practically everything...

This recipe was inspired by a similar dish we enjoy at La Vaquita Marina Restaurant, San Felipe, Baja California. It has amazing flavor and is easy to make. The Poblano...