I have three bhut plants. Two I purchased from a very reputable nursery. The pods started to set about three weeks ago. I got overly anxious to try this pepper so I cut one pepper that was very light green and about an inch and a half in length. When I cut it open, the seeds were light green and I knew it just looked too young but i figured that it should still pack the heat. I tried it and there was no heat at all. So here is my question. Do bhuts need to ripen to gain heat? Are they just not hot when young? Could it also be that since this was the first pepper that the plant produced, is it normal for the first pod not to pack heat? Have any of you experienced this?
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chinense My bhut was not hot at all! Why
- Thread starter troutbum
- Start date
AlabamaJack
Extreme Member
+1 to AJ
I have never had a green bhut pod with much heat to it.
I have had fully ripe bhut pods with no heat as well. It has something to do with enviromental conditions, the same plants two weeks later produced normal pods.
I have never had a green bhut pod with much heat to it.
I have had fully ripe bhut pods with no heat as well. It has something to do with enviromental conditions, the same plants two weeks later produced normal pods.
AlabamaJack
Extreme Member
Wait, Wait....using reputable and Hirts or Reamers in the same sentence does not compute......
One of the most common reasons for peppers being far less hot than expected is over watering. Hot peppers are often originally from hot and dry climates and they will produce their best peppers when these conditions are simulated in the home garden.
Water hot peppers only when the leaves start to show the first signs of wilting. Watering more frequently will lead to a more mild pepper than expected!
Excess Nitrogen
Many commercial fertilizers contain high levels of nitrogen that is readily available to the plant. This nitrogen causes the plant to grow rapidly and put much of its energy into growing the plant and not the peppers. The end result will be a larger plant with an often-lower yield of less hot peppers.
The best way to fertilize pepper plants is to use natural fertilizers such as compost. These fertilizers are very balanced and not very high in nitrogen. The nutrients in natural fertilizers are slow release and do not over whelm the plant.
Add Sulfur
Commonly commercially available fertilizers and even many natural fertilizers lack sulfur. Sulfur is used in plants to create compounds, such as protein chlorophyll and various enzymes. Sulfur is used at about the same rate as nitrogen by plants, but is still considered a secondary nutrient because it is often available in most soils.
Adding extra sulfur to the soil and the foliage of Hot Pepper plants will help the plant build compounds that lead to a hotter pepper. Dissolved Epson salts sprayed on the soil and foliage of a hot pepper plant twice a season should be plenty of addition sulfur.
Proximity to Mild Peppers
Most pepper plants will freely cross-pollinate with each other. The results of a mild pepper (such as a bell pepper) crossing with a hot pepper often could be a more mild hot pepper. The resulting seeds from these hybrid peppers will be quite variable from hot to mild peppers as well.
Keeping mild and hot peppers, and even different heat levels of hot peppers away from each other helps eliminate the cross-pollination of peppers.
Conclusion
While all of the above techniques will help to produce hotter hot peppers, environmental factors also affect hot peppers. Hot temperatures are needed by many hot peppers but control of the weather is not possible, yet at least, so by controlling the amount of water a plant gets, not allowing excess amounts of nitrogen, adding sulfur and keeping mild peppers a good distance away hot peppers will be encouraged to produces the hottest peppers that they can.
Water hot peppers only when the leaves start to show the first signs of wilting. Watering more frequently will lead to a more mild pepper than expected!
Excess Nitrogen
Many commercial fertilizers contain high levels of nitrogen that is readily available to the plant. This nitrogen causes the plant to grow rapidly and put much of its energy into growing the plant and not the peppers. The end result will be a larger plant with an often-lower yield of less hot peppers.
The best way to fertilize pepper plants is to use natural fertilizers such as compost. These fertilizers are very balanced and not very high in nitrogen. The nutrients in natural fertilizers are slow release and do not over whelm the plant.
Add Sulfur
Commonly commercially available fertilizers and even many natural fertilizers lack sulfur. Sulfur is used in plants to create compounds, such as protein chlorophyll and various enzymes. Sulfur is used at about the same rate as nitrogen by plants, but is still considered a secondary nutrient because it is often available in most soils.
Adding extra sulfur to the soil and the foliage of Hot Pepper plants will help the plant build compounds that lead to a hotter pepper. Dissolved Epson salts sprayed on the soil and foliage of a hot pepper plant twice a season should be plenty of addition sulfur.
Proximity to Mild Peppers
Most pepper plants will freely cross-pollinate with each other. The results of a mild pepper (such as a bell pepper) crossing with a hot pepper often could be a more mild hot pepper. The resulting seeds from these hybrid peppers will be quite variable from hot to mild peppers as well.
Keeping mild and hot peppers, and even different heat levels of hot peppers away from each other helps eliminate the cross-pollination of peppers.
Conclusion
While all of the above techniques will help to produce hotter hot peppers, environmental factors also affect hot peppers. Hot temperatures are needed by many hot peppers but control of the weather is not possible, yet at least, so by controlling the amount of water a plant gets, not allowing excess amounts of nitrogen, adding sulfur and keeping mild peppers a good distance away hot peppers will be encouraged to produces the hottest peppers that they can.
AlabamaJack
Extreme Member
while I agree somewhat with what you say about dry, arid regions...remember the Bhut Jolokia came from the Assam province in India that has a 4 month monsoon season from June-September...and the Trinidad varieties grown in Trinidad see ~ 64 inches of rain a year and the humidity runs between 77 and 86%....and Trinidad has produced the hottest peppers in the world, both being scorpions...
I was right there with you until that part of your post.
IF a bhut crosses with a Bell or any other sweet pepper, you would not notice a difference until that seed is grown out.
The pod (womb) is still a Bhut, even if the embryo (seeds) will turn into a hybrid one day.
I think you know that, but I just want to make sure that its clear that a Bhut flower, polinated by a sweet pepper will not be detectable until the seeds are grown out.
My bhuts have done the best out of all my peppers through our "monsoon". We had unseasonably rainy weather, followed by a tropical storm, followed by almost an inch of rain a day. May dumped 34 inches of rain on my plants in a two week period. I've had about 2 additional feet since then, with more dropping every day.
Only one of the bhuts died. The rest are green and happy (as compared to the rest of my yellow drowning plants).
Thanks. The weather here in ct has been in the mid 90's with thunderstorms here and there. I have been watering with the garden hose only during the first signs of wilting. About very three days. My fertilizers have been chicken poop then two weeks later fish and a boost of calcium. I will fertilize less often and wait for a round of rippend peppers to test again.
As far as the reputable nursery, I agree with the above but I believe it is a bhut. I will post a pick when I get home. Perhaps someone can confirm as this is my first year growing them.
As far as the reputable nursery, I agree with the above but I believe it is a bhut. I will post a pick when I get home. Perhaps someone can confirm as this is my first year growing them.
My first couple bhuts that I picked while green were still very hot. Somewhat hotter than the storebought habs i have been eating. BUT they are not BHUT level at all.
I know you asked troutburn, not me, but I really like the taste of the Bhut. Maybe not as much as a yellow 7pot... But they aren't bad at all really 
Bhuts have a unique and unmistakeable flavor according to my taste buds
I can pick it out of complex dishes relatively easy...
I have to say it strikes the fear chord in my soul, but that doesn't stop me from eating whatever it is.
I was at a local wing house, and they have a wing challenge - 10 "memory" wings, and you get your wings/drink free.
I was all set to try it until the manager came out and said "well, the meal will only be free if you consume the peppers faster than the former record holder (36 seconds). I was disappointed and declined the challenge, but did try their memory wings... They had been basted in a bhut sauce, and then rolled in bhut powder and baked... it was awesome.
I can pick it out of complex dishes relatively easy...
I have to say it strikes the fear chord in my soul, but that doesn't stop me from eating whatever it is.
I was at a local wing house, and they have a wing challenge - 10 "memory" wings, and you get your wings/drink free.
I was all set to try it until the manager came out and said "well, the meal will only be free if you consume the peppers faster than the former record holder (36 seconds). I was disappointed and declined the challenge, but did try their memory wings... They had been basted in a bhut sauce, and then rolled in bhut powder and baked... it was awesome.