Heya Tom, What you said sounds interesting about your Reaper looking pods not being so hot, but the temps at which the pods were produced has a lot of play in that, as you had pretty much mentioned.
Yes, the temperatures in which the plants are growing during the time the peppers mature makes a big difference in the amount of heat the peppers have, at least in comparison with the same plants producing the peppers during the early spring and early winter. My favorite product to use all year when I go to restaurants is my bhut powder. The powder I keep for myself to use is the stuff I make in late August, and I keep it in a separate vial to restock as needed. I know the stuff gets a little stale after 6 months, but its not all that bad in food. Temps may increase the heat of the same peppers 20% if not way more. You are always going to hear about people who live in west Texas, or NM or AZ who are producing the nastiest hot peppers. Thats why I like keeping many of my plants in a greenhouse, even then it is warm outside, just becasue the greenhouses are about 10 degrees hotter inside as well as a little warmer all through the night. It also makes all the difference in the world when it comes around October to November and people are either cutting down their plants, or the peppers aren't turning color very well, but in the greenhouse, they are turning color very well even into December.
Depleting a little bit of extra water on the plants makes a difference as well but there is a fine line between depleting the plants enough and giving them too little water so that they don't produce well, or drop pods halfway through their development. I don't do a lot of that, mainly because I don't have that much time to be that picky.
Question... Are you a business owner? Reason I ask, is because I've never personally reviewed any chilies from a business owner.
Yes, I have a nursery called The Cycad Jungle
http://cycadjungle.8m.com/
where I have grown rare cycads for 27 years, and recently, as a side line, through my nursery paperwork I also have Seriously Hot Peppers
http://seriouslyhotpeppers.com/
where I sell fresh pods, seeds from my isolated plants, and locally, I sell pepper plants and pepper powder. I can only sell the powder locally because of the Florida cottage industry laws. People don't realize that if they make a powder that they sell and they don't have a certified kitchen that includes regular restaurant inspections to do so, they are breaking the law. When you do this with a legitimate business you have to go out and find out all these rules before you get into it. Doing this officially is a lot more complicated than just doing it as a hobby, but if I end up selling enough fresh peppers, it will be worth all the effort.
I'd be delighted to review any of your pods you may have in mind for me to review. To give you a hint, I have yet to review the following : Chocolate Bhut, Purple Bhut, Dorset Naga, Yellow Brainstrain, Yellow Primo, Jays Ghost Scorpion, and havent reviewed very many crosses.
Thank you for the possibility to review your pods hopefully in the near future!
I have the yellow brains now and the Jays, and choc bhuts will be later this season. You can see my list of what I'm growing in my website. Tom
Jon
