Update on @papa-peppers Carolina Reaper seeds
If you were following my tales of the greenhouse prior to my hiatus you will remember that @papa-pepper sent me a load of seeds. One variety he sent me was the infamous Carolina Reaper, I guess with a name like @papa-pepper you know what he is into!
I started these seeds knowing only that they produced one of the hottest peppers in the world, and that they are the fuel for many a youtube video of some crazy folks trying to eat, snort or smoke them for great comic effect. I didn't know how they would handle the greenhouse environment or if they would even work in it. Boy, was I in for a suprise!
The seedlings started of as any other seedling, they grew pretty well in the first few weeks, then they were transplanted into their final home, they seemed to take a little longer than most of our plants to get a foot hold and take off. it was around the time of the bug explosion that wiped out most of our stuff that I noticed the pepper plants start to really take off, they grew tall about 4 feet or so in about three weeks time. The they just stopped. They one thing I did notice, no aphids on any of them! I guess they are to hot for them too.
The reason for the slowdown of growth could have been that we were going into the cooler season with lower light, but either way it took quite a while before I say the first fruit on them.
In a few more weeks, more and more flowers and fruit started showing up until they were loaded with peppers. They didn't take as long to ripen as they did to show up, and pretty soon it was a sea of red and green.
When all was said and done, I probably harvested 10 to 15 pounds of peppers, and if you have ever weighed a single reaper, you will know that's a boat load of Carolina Reapers!
What did I do with all these fiery bundles of death you ask? I tried to sell them at the farmer's markets, but it appears that the reputation of these little monsters preceded them. I ended up giving them away mostly. Too hot for your average shopper.
Now you are probably wondering if i tried one myself, I did take the smallest little nibble off of the pointy end of one of these devils... all I can say is, it was painfully hot!!
Thanks @papa-pepper, I'm still on fire LOL
So the moral of this cautionary tale, be alert when you get seeds from the PAPA!
Dam that's a lot of peppers. I think its only right that pappa pepper eats a pepper from his own seeds. lol
Very nice harvest! Too bad there wasn't more of a market for them. Often, they can sell for 50 cents each, if you can find some buyers.
Also, is there an issue with the 4th photo?
Yea, not sure whats wrong with that photo, guess i'm a little rusty at posting!
Are the seeds hard to find? Do people make anything with these? Like is there a point to these besides being the hottest pepper in the world? Ive ate ghost peppers and its interesting how all peppers have their own taste. Wonder what these taste like diluted in some chilli or a salsa...I love hot foods.
I didn't notice any distinct flavor , just heat... mind numbing heat! lol
wow really that's pretty gnarly. I bet deer love it. haha
That's a great harvest @jed78! Shame that there was not a market for them, If in my country all would have gone in minutes! I tried once in Maldives a chili like that, it was explosive!
Great post! It's cool to see these peppers actually growing. Seeing the pepper in the young green state was neat. I've seen the pain the carolina reaper can wreak on an individual. The hottest I could ever stand was the ghost pepper. But, the two can be described as: ghost-indescribable pain, carolina reaper-indescribable pain times 4 from what I've heard. Thanks again!
Indeed, I barely took a small bite and my mouth burned for hours!
I recommend you make some hot pepper jelly using the reaper. My tolerance level is 5 Reaper jelly. (5 peppers to a whole batch). Sample it at the market, spread on a cracker with cream cheese or Brie. It tastes great and has a nice tolerable kick at the end.
Good Idea, I love jalapeno jelly!
The smaller they are, the hotter they are! Eat with caution 🌶🌶🌶
I hope @papa-pepper won't make us eat those in steem-pocalypse 😂
That would be a worst case scenario for sure!
Greenhouse winner +10
Market niche acquisition -5
You needed to drive to little Mexico nearby and sell them directly. I can assure you it would have been a breeze!
✌
Nice ratings! Sad but true...
@jed78 thanks for sharing the growing journey.
I definitely would be in the line of people who wouldn't put their hand up to buy a jar of carolina reapers! :P
that said i know once bottled stored appropriate there is a decent market where spice enthusiasts across North America are interested. maybe something to explore in the future. 10-15 lbs sounds like quite a bit!
I did dry a few, the fumes coming off those things are intense!
I LOVE hot food. With that being said, I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed at once (3 being cut), and tasting a Carolina Reaper based hot sauce is the worst pain my mouth has ever endured. I can't confirm (I'll keep searching), but multiple things i've read says it ranks at 6 MILLION scoville units. It's called: "The End." Have you or @papa-pepper heard of this?
Do not recommend.
It's super cool you were able to grow your own! Thanks for sharing! Bummer about the invasive bugs. :(
We're only growing Jalapeno's this year, next year I want something a little hotter. Haha.
I have not yet tried that.