Carolina Reaper (HP22B) Community Grow

A few members including myself are growing seeds for this variety ASAP. I and a few others here on THP thought it would be fun to have a "community glog" strictly for this variety, a fun thread about the HP22B and growing this pepper for the first time.

I think we should start a community glog like this anytime there is a new pepper with alot of attention and alot of people growing it, possible world record holder or not. It would be fun, and this should be fun! That's why we all love this hobby is it not?

Therefore, this will be a drama-free, controversy-free, fun glog for all of us growers and others to enjoy. If you grow, please chime in. If you're growing this variety, please post pictures and chime in about your observations.

Again.. This thread is ment to be fun and informative, but mostly fun
Please. Pretty please with sugar on top.. lol. Keep it drama-free.
I, and many others would really appreciate this thread to stay that way.

Now lets get to growing!

I went with the paper towel method for this guy just like I have with all my mid-season starts. It is far from my favorite way to germinate seeds but I'm in no hurry this time of year which is why I went this route. I've had the seeds in the paper towel for about a week now on top of my HOT5 lighting closet. The seeds should be showing root tips soon, then they will be visiting some real soil

How's it going for everyone else?

Brandon

 

[Trippa]

 


Ed Currie The plant people I work qith at the different universities say it's generally accepted that an f8 is stable, but what is the deffinition of stability. I've heard a lot about and gotten a lot of slack about pod variation. Commissioned a study by grad students about it. If the seeds that were sent to me are true, so far all the "stable" varieties of superhots are running between 40-50 %. Even the guy who hates me and claims 95 % pod stability is running @ 42 % so far ( 100 plants each, 24 different varieties). I have yet to find over 50 % from my plants, even the habs
5 hours ago · Like · 2
 
Jim Duffy The purpose of this thread was someones disgust with all these new crosses that are not stable. Really most of us know the Capsicum chinense genus does not throw 100% consistency in pod formation. You will not see it especially in the superhots from Trinidad. But now if someone gets some plants with a slightly different pod shape they are quick to say they have something new. They don't isolate and they don't grow out for a few years they just trade or sell right away. Thats whats happening and it has increased exponentially over the past two years. John Hard a saucemaker for over 16 yrs who goes through about 40,000 pounds of peppers a year told me he has seen more of these so called strains this past year than the past 20 years put together!! Let me cite an example. About 4 years ago Woody stumbled upon a plant which later he called the Infinity. Now since he had no idea of its origin he could not duplicate it. But seeds were traded and later sold anyway. His original photos show majority of pods looking like a large CARDI or 7 Pot SR or a small Moruga Scorpion. Now in the last month I have seen people put pics up of their Infinity peppers. They all look so different than the original in fact none even resemble the original!! But none the less they will be called Infinity and traded and sold as Infinity! Or an Infinity special strain. So either Infinity was never even slightly stable to begin with or during the past 4 years amateur seed sellers that grow everything together screwed up the strain! We all as pepper growers have a responsibility here. Whether you are hobby or a business. That responsibility is to keep things pure so future generations can enjoy them!


 

I call bollocks on that ...I have never seen the amount of variation from any of the varieties I have grown or seen others grow then what I have seen from the Creapers.  We have only seen a small sample of his total amount of seeds yet we have seen different (at least 2) colours, and at least 4 distinctly different shapes (not environmentally effected or slightly different but distinctly different)
 
And he is obviously talking about Primo's but to be honest I have seen the original red primos on plenty of photos and grown them myself and have never seen a hab looking one or a bhut looking one and majority of them, look as advertised ...go figure his have 50% stability and Primo only has 45% ... whatever.   There will never be 100% pod conformity in any varieities that is ridiculous ... but they should all at least look similar
 
As for Jim Duffy ... ridiculous example blaming us poor peasant hobby growers for all the crosses ... the Infinity was never stable to begin with so how can he now say they look nothing like the original ... of course they don't it wasn't stable??   

 

[Pepperhead]

I have bhuts from a well respected commercial seller that has produced 3 distinctive pod shapes on 2 plants. Bhuts should be more stable than that by now.

 

[homefry319]

I have bhuts from a well respected commercial seller that has produced 3 distinctive pod shapes on 2 plants. Bhuts should be more stable than that by now.

 
 
Honestly I think it has more to do with the commercial seller than the type. Some sellers that are pretty popular(and well respected for the most part) here I've had horrible experience with I had 10 plants from the same seed pack last year and 4 drastically different pod types(bhuts).  The seed I saved from my isolated I had 0 variation.
 
The main issue is many of these "stable" strains aren't close to being stable, it has nothing to do with hobbyist and amateur growers screwing up the strain. If the type is stable a isolated seed will produce roughly the same pod. Commercial seed growers dont care, they don't select the best looking pods for seed, some dont even isolate(or do a poor job of it) and I doubt the ones who don't throw all their seed make sure the growers are following the same practices. They grow x amount of plants for seed and then harvest seed from x amount of plants.
 
Its not like hobbyist who care or breeders who select the pod/plants with characteristics they want and isolate the seed and continue to do so year after year. After a few years of selection and isolation you'll get closer and closer to the characteristics you want in the pods yeah they'll be a odd man out every once and a while but it will be more like 90-98%. For anyone more curious in the breeding/variation proccess heres a good book:  Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties: The Gardener's and Farmer's Guide to Plant Breeding and Seed Saving
 
on that note. For those who have grown reapers with multiple variation hows the taste/heat between them?

 

[Pepper-Guru]

That's all bullshit. Stability is stability. Any strains that I keep in my bank have to pod up true or they get composted. I usually keep mothers on my favorites, but even my seed for the first Trinidad Scorpion grows true. Chinense stability not over 50%!? Please. All these "sellers" making bank off trash is hilarious. Amateur growers aren't the issue. Most home growers I know take major pride in selecting only the most uniform, consistent plants that produce what they should, isolating them and trading the right stuff. Sometimes there is a "stow away" but those get found out pretty quickly, never to be traded again. Sounds like a bunch of excuses for selling junk. Not that any pepper is junk in its own right, just the way things are sold can be crappy. That's all. With a subjective ass test like scoville, what do these dudes really thinking they are achieving?
Perhaps I'll cross the biggest mutt pepper the worlds ever seen and call it the 7 Pot Luck...

 

[3/5King]

I think this discussion is relevant and needs to be discussed but wanted to keep this community grow log on track and uncluttered so I made a new thread to continue the debate.

http://thehotpepper.com/topic/40718-carolina-reaper-and-pepper-stabilization/?p=857751

I suggest we tackle the Debate of Reaper/pepper stability and what not here. Lets keep the positive vibe going in this glog.

 

[Pepper-Guru]

PoSitive vibes indeed. Sorry to add to any negativity. Grow on!

 

[3/5King]

Not at all PG, the feelings are warranted and should be let out. I just thought that this glog is 50 pages long of plants and pods, so why no branch off and keep the convo going somewhere else incase it really takes a turn, ya know....grow on indeed. Hope to have some decent pod shots soon!

 

[Lakers24]

 

[poypoyking]

I posted this over in my glog but thought I would throw it here as well.  Mine look like they are growing true to form, still can't tell for sure.  I will bag a few of the blossoms to ensure no cross pollination.
 

 

[armac]

Yours are the bhut like pods,nontypical to the advertised pods

 

[Pepper-Guru]

Yep...you can even see the classic, wavy, almost serrated Bhut leaves there...

 

[poypoyking]

Bummer.  Well, I guess I will save all the seeds I can and sell them for $1 each as Ghost Reaper seeds

 

[armac]

Nice plant though, very healthy.

 

[poypoyking]

Nice plant though, very healthy.

Thanks!  It is just in a little gallon and a half pot.  If it isn't true to type I am not going to worry about increasing its leg room.  That has been on my list to do for a while.

 

[BrooklynXpat]

I posted this over in my glog but thought I would throw it here as well.  Mine look like they are growing true to form, still can't tell for sure.  I will bag a few of the blossoms to ensure no cross pollination.
 

Very gnarly looking pods no matter what!

 

[SanPatricio]

Bummer.  Well, I guess I will save all the seeds I can and sell them for $1 each as Ghost Reaper seeds

 
OK - I'll place my advance order for seeds @ $1 ea. (is shipping and handling $ 4.99 ?) 
Oh - one thing, I will need your notarized authorization to grow and sell pods and products as
"PoyPoy King Ghost Reaper" trademarked, PAF or whatever. 

 

[semillas]

If it turns chocolate, I'll buy it for $1,000,000.    Kidding.  We're all on the edge of our seats in anticipation!!
 
Chris

 
 
I got a chocolate as well :
 

 
 
My last statement (2 weeks ago) was that all the plants, I have, look the same, but I must correct this.
 
I´m growing 40 plants
19 have set pods where 21 are junger and will need some more time to set fruit
1 plant has brown pods
1 plant has large red pods double of the size of the brown with the same smooth surface
1 plant has pods that look like a long Naga
 
Peter

 

[armac]

Wow, yellow, chocolate, red. and a multitude of shapes and textures. Yeah, stable.

 

[Trippa]

Where is the usually chatty pepperjoe in all this ...after all he hyped it??

 

[TXCG]

One interesting thing I noticed is that the description on pepperjoe's website regarding the carolina reaper changed shortly after all the drama about pod shapes started in this thread. They added the line "Pod shapes, color & size may vary"
 
September 20th, 2012:
 

 
 
January 15th, 2013
 

 
 
I just pulled up old versions on the wayback machine out of curiosity when I noticed that the current site mentions the variation in pod color.