A Case Against Superhots - Or "Why I'm Changing My Garden for Next Year"

KingLeerUK

KingLeerUK

Superhots, it's why you got in to chile growing, right?
 
It starts with a few jalapenos and perhaps a habanero, but then you discover that there are peppers out there orders of magnitude hotter than these and you feel compelled to grow them and try them.  I mean, you aren't really a chile pepper grower unless you've gotten your merit badges for Ghost Chile, Trinidad Scorpion, and Carolina Reaper; right?
 
Before you know it you're trolling through online forums and seed vendors looking for the very hottest that can found, color variations thereof and you end up dedicating over half your garden to these exotic superhot peppers.
 
But what do you DO with them?
 
I'm guilty of all of the above.  My current garden makeup is over 70% superhots (through a combination of choice and coincidence) but the reality is that I will make regular USE of low-to-mid-ranged heat peppers a lot more than the blisteringly hot ones.  I don't have the tolerance to eat superhot pods whole, and their culinary use is limited at best.  This year any superhots I don't trade/give away will be dehydrated for powders/flakes.  Last year I had so many scorpions I couldn't give them away to friends/family/coworkers, some were mailed off but a certain amount just went to waste.
 
So... going forward I'm going to instead try to broaden my possible chile flavor palette, not with ever-increasing Scoville units, but instead exploring the fringes of unique tastes and shapes.
 
To that end I've ordered the Aji sampler packet from LINDBERGF and placed some non-super seed orders with pepperlover.com.  I'm also going to be pulling some of my established superhots at the end of the year for local giveaway/trade; I don't need THREE Naga Morich plants in my garden or FOUR Carolina Reapers.

I guess I've found that personally I've come full circle on the chile pepper growing path in that I'm finding more interest in growing things I'd like to eat and cook with regularly than being "that friend that grows the insane peppers".
 
My Planned 2016 Varieties
I have either seeds or seedlings started for the varieties below:

Aji Amarillo
Aji Cito
Aji Jobito
Aji Llaneron
Aji Magariteño
Aji Oro Rocoto
Aji Pepon
Aji Rosita
Aji Verde
Albanian Red Hot
Aleppo
Alma Paprika
Aribibi Gusano Orange
Bishop's Crown
Brazilian Starfish
Cayenne Long Red
Cherry Bomb Red
Chinese Bullet Pepper
Çumra Cherry
Datil
Devil's Tongue Red
Dulce Marrón
Ethiopian Brown Berbere
Farmer's Jalapeño
Giant Jalapeño
Golden Cayenne
Kung Pao
Matay
Negro Chilhuacle
Orange Rocoto
Pluma
Purple Jalapeño
Tatli Top
Yatsufusa Pepper
Yukari Bakan

I'd like to find a good source for Shishito Pepper seeds but this might not be the best time of year.  CGN21500 is another one I'd like to get viable seeds for but I haven't been able to locate a good/reputable vendor that has them.
 
Also, if anyone has any suggestions to add to my list it would be much appreciated!
 
Half my grow is baccatums. I just love them. Last year I only grew a few pepper types. 
 
I hear the Tepin X lemon drop is tasty, just starting to get some ripe ones. 
 
Aji crystal I really like the growth and pod output of these- haven't tasted yet
 
Bolsa De dulce another great pepper.
 
Everyone loves Aji pineapple
 
I'm sure I could keep going..
 
Maybe add MOA Scotch bonnets or Bahamian goats
 
This is the first year I'll have some C. baccatum producing for me in the form of Bishop's Crowns and Brazilian Starfish.  I'm really looking forward to them.

I have several Aji varieties at seedling stage but even with our longer season down in Central Florida I doubt they'll make it to a producing size before I'll need to bring them in for winter.

I have this crazy idea about turning the ENTIRE back yard into a garden space for 2016 since the grass isn't grass anymore (all weeds and sand).  It would require several trips to the mushroom compost factory and probably a few hundred in peat moss, vermiculite, perlite and other amendments but I'd have enough space for over 150 plants.  I'll need to see what the HOA would say really.

I had a single Yellow Scotch Bonnet last year that didn't produce very well, but to be fair it was in a 5 gallon pot.  The pods were decent, but I didn't find them particularly exciting flavor-wise.  I don't think it was MOA though.
 
I'm hoping some the crosses I do this year will produce tasty peppers. 
 
White Fatalii X CGN-21500 is one i'm hoping turns out well
Aji Amarillo X Caribbean red hab has potential
fidalga roxa X aji limon
Waiting for some viable flowers and pollen to cross butch t yellow and bahamian goat. 
 
There's several crosses I'm waiting to ripen so I can collect seeds this year.
 
This year is all about figuring out what peppers I really like and next year is the year of crosses and tasty pepper. 
 
D3monic said:
I'm hoping some the crosses I do this year will produce tasty peppers. 
 
White Fatalii X CGN-21500 is one i'm hoping turns out well
Aji Amarillo X Caribbean red hab has potential
fidalga roxa X aji limon
Waiting for some viable flowers and pollen to cross butch t yellow and bahamian goat.
Click to expand...
 
Interesting cross potential.  I'm wondering if I can possibly cross a Golden Cayenne with a Bishop's Crown and get something that has elements of the flavor and shape of the Crown and the sweetness and citrus of the Golden Cayenne.  That to me would be an amazing cross, not for heat, but for flavor.
 
I am a pretty competitive person and, as such, have much fun with being able to eat hotter peppers than most people can imagine. But I've never been so focused on superhots that I haven't had a large variety of heat levels in my grow. At the end of the day it's about flavor, for me. I love the flavor of jalapenos and anchos and a host of baccatuums. I also love the flavor of Congo Trinidads, Fataliis, Douglahs, and others in the much-hotter arena. 
 
Must be a guy thing to only grow superhots.  ;)
 
As I mentioned above, my garden leaned a lot more towards superhots this year through a combination of choice and coincidence.  I had a variety of overwinters that included things like Aleppos, multiple Jalapeño varieties, Red Cherry Bomb, Cowhorns and even two very large Kung Paos.  Almost all of the C. annum plants died, but the C. chinense seemed to be much more robust with C. baccatum falling somewhere in between.  I lost all but two of my Bishop's Crowns.
 
Last year I grew the moruga and reaper. It was more of a novelty for me and I did eat one or two of them and did the macho man thing and suffered like hell for it as well. Just yesterday I picked one of my ripe Cherry Bombs and bit into with a great flavor and all of a sudden that sucker lit me up like a torch. I don't know if I'm getting whimpy or what but I had some of my serrano's do that to me last year.
 
But back to the growing peppers in the garden. This year my hottest is a single Butch T and followed by 2 Ghost plants. I have a few Jays Peach , a couple Red Savinas then 40 Caribbean Reds. I also have 3 Choc Fatalis and 6 Choc Habs. 6 Aji Pineapples, 8 Bishops Crown, 3 Bahamian Goats, 6 Brazalian Starfish,2 Datils , 2 Scotch Bonnets, 1 Tepin and several jals and serranos. I'm sure that I'm forgetting a few here but that's besides the point.
 
Next year I'm going to focus on the ones I like the taste of the best and not necessarily the hottest. The Caribbean's next year just might be the hottest peppers I grow with many more Aji varities and flavorful peppers like the Bishops, Goats, Fatali, Datils etc..... 
 
I'm finding that the sauces that I like the most are made from peppers in the 30k to 500k range on the scoville.
 
I'm in the same spot this year. I still have tons of superhots in my freezer from last season. I like spicy food but not enough to go through superhots in a reasonable amount of time.

This year I'm sticking mostly with my old standbys; Aji Amarillo, Datil, jalapenos, and De Arbol, the rest are a mix of low heat varieties and other oddballs (Pimenta de Neyde, some pubescens I forget the name of, etc.), plus wilds. I think I'm going to do more wilds next season just because I never really use most of my peppers to begin with, I mostly grow them for the novelty factor.
 
Cool. I'm still about 70% superhots if you count bhuts and higher. A lot of those are hybrids. I love growing, and making, new varieties  (eg, Bhut OC, Fatalii x TSMB, 7 Pot Jonah x TS Yellow, CGN21500 x Barrackpore, etc.). I'm not a huge fan of the ultra hot without flavor but do grow a few. I am always chasing the nexus of heat and flavor.
 
I LOVE spreading the heat!
 
Glad seeds I spread , at any given time were what grew what was expected!
I love it!
 
See my post above.
 
I am not into getting seeds and not spreading them around if I have the seeds available in my stash.
If the non isolated seeds grow true-Cool,an added +.
I do isolate seeds.Not as many as I'd like at times.
 
Peppers being self pollinating DO grow a LOT of pure plants most times.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
Why would you grow superhots if you don't use them/like them? I'm not getting this post. Because it is not cool?? Grow what you like. 
Click to expand...
It's a hobby and some are grown for shock value or asthetics. I grow shit that would literally kill me if I ate it. I think he is saying he has gotten caught up in the superhot circus act and found out that a single plant will put out 4 or 5 pounds of peppers that are hard to even eat one of. It's happened to 90% of people that grow hot peppers. I for one hate the majority of C.chinense I have grown but continue to grow them trying to find ones that I like. Every year I find a couple,mostly Carribean or bonnet varieties.
 
I did the same thing. Ended up with many 7 pot browns, reds, 7 pot red, Scorpions etc... They were nice to give away and as a talking point, but I doubt I ate more than a handful of them. Just way too hot. I do find the yellow 7 pot and brainstrains to be actually nice and tasty - very very hot, but somehow I can handle them. I am thinking of doing a similar grow list to you. 
 
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