Carolina Reaper (HP22B) Community Grow

JDFan · Jul 25, 2013

Nice video but would have been better if we could have got some closeup pics of the actual pods on several of the plants down a row (ie. a walk through of say one row with the camera zoomed in a bit to show pods on the actual plants in that row to see the pods growing rather than a distance shot that shows the plants with the non reaper like plants flagged - but not close enough to see any pods on any plant) -- as it is the video is hard to tell if what he says is truthful (what characteristics did he use as the determining factor in whether the pods were "reaper like" - were any one variable enough to flag ie. smooth skin - no pronounced stinger - pod shape - etc. or did all variables have to be present ( ie. if a pod was smooth skinned but had a stinger did it get flagged or not ? ). And as far as not having any reason to not tell the facts - sure Ed would have to still purchase this years crop under the contract but that doesn't mean there is no incentive considering I'm sure he still wants next years contract as well !! (not saying the info presented isn't correct or is distorted but the video does leave some doubt that could have been cleared up with a bit better video of the actual plants\pods to show the plants which were and were not flagged and why, rather than just distance shots of the field.)

BakersPeppers · Jul 25, 2013

Hey Mike!

You've been busy my friend it looks like!

I just wanted to say nice grow!! The type is really irrelevant here in my opinion...lol...just the amount of time, hard work, blood, sweat, and tears that goes into a grow of nukes like that is something to be PROUD of!! I can attest to large scale growing and what a HUGE amount of work it is, being that last year i grew over 6,000 plants and this year have about 3,500+ and adding more everyday! My hat goes off to you my man!! Great grow!!

Also, i wanted to give a shout out to wifey McDermott!

I know shes a hard worker out in the fields just like mine!

semillas · Jul 25, 2013

JDFan said:
Nice video but would have been better if we could have got some closeup pics of the actual pods on several of the plants down a row (ie. a walk through of say one row with the camera zoomed in a bit to show pods on the actual plants in that row to see the pods growing rather than a distance shot that shows the plants with the non reaper like plants flagged - but not close enough to see any pods on any plant) -- as it is the video is hard to tell if what he says is truthful (what characteristics did he use as the determining factor in whether the pods were "reaper like" - were any one variable enough to flag ie. smooth skin - no pronounced stinger - pod shape - etc. or did all variables have to be present ( ie. if a pod was smooth skinned but had a stinger did it get flagged or not ? ). And as far as not having any reason to not tell the facts - sure Ed would have to still purchase this years crop under the contract but that doesn't mean there is no incentive considering I'm sure he still wants next years contract as well !! (not saying the info presented isn't correct or is distorted but the video does leave some doubt that could have been cleared up with a bit better video of the actual plants\pods to show the plants which were and were not flagged and why, rather than just distance shots of the field.)

I fully aggree with you!
And nobody tells us what seeds he got for the growout.
For sure not from the same lot we standard customers got.

I think the main problem is not a instable variety, it´s crossing with other peppers grown side by side during production growout in an open field with no isolation.
If this was the case, wind and insects have done a good job.

mmcdermott1 · Jul 25, 2013

JDFan said:
Nice video but would have been better if we could have got some closeup pics of the actual pods on several of the plants down a row (ie. a walk through of say one row with the camera zoomed in a bit to show pods on the actual plants in that row to see the pods growing rather than a distance shot that shows the plants with the non reaper like plants flagged - but not close enough to see any pods on any plant) -- as it is the video is hard to tell if what he says is truthful (what characteristics did he use as the determining factor in whether the pods were "reaper like" - were any one variable enough to flag ie. smooth skin - no pronounced stinger - pod shape - etc. or did all variables have to be present ( ie. if a pod was smooth skinned but had a stinger did it get flagged or not ? ). And as far as not having any reason to not tell the facts - sure Ed would have to still purchase this years crop under the contract but that doesn't mean there is no incentive considering I'm sure he still wants next years contract as well !! (not saying the info presented isn't correct or is distorted but the video does leave some doubt that could have been cleared up with a bit better video of the actual plants\pods to show the plants which were and were not flagged and why, rather than just distance shots of the field.)

Well i guess to start, anyone that knows Jen and I knows we are truthful, I guess you don't know us. Second, as I stated in video, if reapers weren't "reapers" why would I support it and take the time to make the video? I have nothing to gain and nothing to lose as I am not looking for customers to buy my pods/seeds/plants because I am not selling them to the general public.

But to satisfy nay sayers as yourself, I will do one more video showing them. The ones that are not conforming to what people consider a reaper to "look" like, they are naga shaped. I believe 1 was smooth, the rest looked like a very cool and bumpy naga.

semillas said:
I fully aggree with you!
And nobody tells us what seeds he got for the growout.
For sure not from the same lot we standard customers got.

I think the main problem is not a instable variety, it´s crossing with other peppers grown side by side during production growout in an open field with no isolation.
If this was the case, wind and insects have done a good job.

Did you watch video? As I stated in it, I didnt know ed and he didnt know me more than anyone else knew ed when I got these. My intentions with the reaper were like the other 250 types we grow...grow them, sell them. I had no contract with Ed at the time and I was just a "standard customer" just like you at the time I got them.

BakersPeppers said:
Hey Mike!

You've been busy my friend it looks like! I just wanted to say nice grow!! The type is really irrelevant here in my opinion...lol...just the amount of time, hard work, blood, sweat, and tears that goes into a grow of nukes like that is something to be PROUD of!! I can attest to large scale growing and what a HUGE amount of work it is, being that last year i grew over 6,000 plants and this year have about 3,500+ and adding more everyday! My hat goes off to you my man!! Great grow!!

Also, i wanted to give a shout out to wifey McDermott! I know shes a hard worker out in the fields just like mine!

Thank you. We are in the 10's of thousands this year. Great learning experience and for sure a LOT of work.
Good luck on your season.

sicman said:
dig the video what a sexy field! its crazy some people run around hollaring that they supply the most hot peppers in the us. then you got a guy like you that is growing ten times as much and just keeps his mouth shut and doesnt splash all over. i like it!

Thank you very much

mmcdermott1_thehothalf · Jul 25, 2013

sicman said:
dig the video what a sexy field! its crazy some people run around hollaring that they supply the most hot peppers in the us. then you got a guy like you that is growing ten times as much and just keeps his mouth shut and doesnt splash all over. i like it!

Appreciate the kind words.

BakersPeppers said:
Hey Mike!

Also, i wanted to give a shout out to wifey McDermott! I know shes a hard worker out in the fields just like mine!

Thanks for the shout out! Lots of time spent in the fields...but when you love what you do - it's not work.

mmcdermott1 · Jul 25, 2013

here are a few random images i took last night and posted on facebook...ALL the plants..look pretty much like these other than the 36 i mentioned.

semillas · Jul 25, 2013

mmcdermott1 said:
......
Did you watch video? As I stated in it, I didnt know ed and he didnt know me more than anyone else knew ed when I got these. My intentions with the reaper were like the other 250 types we grow...grow them, sell them. I had no contract with Ed at the time and I was just a "standard customer" just like you at the time I got them.
......
Thank you. We are in the 10's of thousands this year. Great learning experience and for sure a LOT of work.
Good luck on your season.

If you didn´t know Ed, how were you able to buy seeds for more than 2000 plants??
Sales were restricted to 3 packages of seeds!

How do you prevent crossing your 10's of thousands of peppers in an open field??

I don´t hope Ed will use these for his next seed lot.

Jeff H · Jul 25, 2013

Question for the large scale growers in this thread: do you see pod variation exceeding 1.6% on any of the other stable varieties you grow? Thinking scorpions and Primos or any other pepper grown on a very large scale?

mmcdermott1 · Jul 25, 2013

Did I say I didnt know Ed? I guess you should rewatch. Joe was limited also and BOTH guys new I am a commercial grower and BOTH guys offered me the opportunity to buy bulk. I chose to go with Ed since he was the originator. In terms of my biz and how I isolate, its really none of your biz but to humor you...do you even know what I do? Apparently not. I sell wholesale fresh and dried PEPPERS as the bulk of my biz. Seeds is a very small amount and those come from other plants. If a bhut crosses with a jalapeno that crosses with a moruga that crosses with a hab...WHO CARES..they are going into sauces this season. As i told you on youtube, you and I have went round and round before and as I also stated, I realize you THINK you are the know all god of anything pepper related...but your not.

Jeff H said:
Question for the large scale growers in this thread: do you see pod variation exceeding 1.6% on any of the other stable varieties you grow? Thinking scorpions and Primos or any other pepper grown on a very large scale?

Yes, typically more. SInce you asked about Primo, ill talk about that one. I have seeds directly from Primo because I like to get the right seeds if at all possible. The primo, like the reaper, more or less grows true but even on those (and we have several hundred), there is variation. Some plants have the "look" on pods and some pods are very smooth and odd shaped. I wont say the primo is any worse than 1.6% but its not any better either. Bhuts are worse (and we buy directly from CPI).
7 Pot varieties seem to be the ones that are the best at "looking" true along with the ButchT (as long as you got from butch and not some random seed seller).

buddy · Jul 25, 2013

my same comment as in another thread: I can't speak for the Carolina Reaper, but I can say that Mike McDermott is a stand-up guy.

mmcdermott1 · Jul 25, 2013

buddy said:
my same comment as in another thread: I can't speak for the Carolina Reaper, but I can say that Mike McDermott is a stand-up guy.

Thank you sir.

armac · Jul 25, 2013

I think Mike is a good guy too, but I have reservations about the reaper. How do you show a guy a fields with all true, or mostly so, reapers and then you look at his 5 plants and 80% are bhut like?

videos are cool and nice field, but you got to go with what you have seen in your own pots.

vote with your dollars consumers, it is the only way.

mmcdermott1 · Jul 25, 2013

I agree 100% Rodney..but as I asked somewhere else..there were literally HUNDREDS of thousands of seeds sold...how many plants have you actually seen that look that way (not reaper)? It could have been a mix up of seeds (ive done that myself) from one of the suppliers..it could have been other things that I'm not getting into or talking about..whatever the reason, your right, some people have plants that aren't right but when people say the reaper is BS based on less than 50 plants that ive seen out of hundreds of thousands...its not really a fair statement that the reaper and Ed currie are fakes, frauds and money hungry ya know?

armac · Jul 25, 2013

Mike, if your numbers and observations are accurate, then Ed should have no trouble, there will be thousands of happy customers.

if the numbers are different, and the stability is not there, then that will influence peoples opinions as well.

the output will make the difference not a few naysayers.

just curious why Ed does not get and vocalize his support of his product........any ideas?

mmcdermott1 · Jul 25, 2013

I dont know exactly but I have a pretty good guess. For starters, do you realize Ed has a young daughter and also a brand new son? Do you realize Ed is very active in his church? Do you realize Ed has an online store as well as a brick and mortar store? Do you realize Ed tries to attend shows all over the country which not only takes a lot of planning but also a lot of time. Ed as you know has also done a lot of interviews. Point..ed is EXTREMELY busy. And when he is on these TV shows and other things, do people even notice that he talks about other companies and the pepper industry as a whole? For those that have been to shows that he's at have you noticed he sells products by other companies as well like Lucky Dog, Heart breaking dawns and others? Ed wants EVERYONE in this industry to prosper, not just himself. He is doing a great thing for this industry and promoting it.

Another reason he probably doesnt comment...notice semillas comments on here and my youtube channel? It doesnt matter what Ed, me or anyone else says, people like him will hate the reaper and call it BS regardless of what you show him. Is he jealous of Ed's success? Is he just a bitter person? I have no clue but you wont change his opinion. For example, Ive already had 2-3 of these type people even calling ME a liar now..im anything but a liar but they think I am because I didnt show the actual pods on the plants on that video. So tonight, I will do just that. I will randomly walk around on video (unedited) and look at random plants over the 2200 to show they are all reapers. I will also show the non reapers just because people are curious what they look like. But I promise you, even after that, semillas and others like him will still say Ed and the reaper are bullshit and im a liar. So be it..you can't please everyone no matter what you do. My video was for the "on the fence" type people, not people like semillas who CAN'T be convinced.

And quite frankly, I think a 2200 plant sample is a pretty damn good sample. I hadnt really looked at our plants close up till yesterday because I have 10s of thousands of other plants to deal with along with weeds, plant supports, life, job, kids, etc etc. So when I went out yesterday, quite frankly it was to convince myself also. I had no idea what I would see. Now I do and that is why I fully support this pepper. It is what Ed said it is. Stable!

And your right, things will speak for themselves over time. But as I said, I have seen a tiny tiny fraction of people saying their reapers arent reapers and remember HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of seeds sold.

armac · Jul 25, 2013

We all have lives, kids, and occupations......Ed is just another man, let's not put him on a pedestal.........let's try to be realistic.

mmcdermott1 · Jul 25, 2013

armac said:
We all have lives, kids, and occupations......Ed is just another man, let's not put him on a pedestal.........let's try to be realistic.

Pedestal? When did I do that? You asked a question and I gave you an answer. The guys growing over 600k plants on top of what i listed. Plain and simple, he doesnt have time to come to these boards to defend something that doesnt need defended. Clear enough for you?

armac · Jul 25, 2013

Crystal, thanks for sharing with us a look at his busy schedule. I am embarrassed I asked......

mmcdermott1 · Jul 25, 2013

and rodney you know me..you and i have GOOD and honest debates sometimes but I consider you a good friend. I would never stick up for a person or a product that I didnt believe in or thought was a fraud. Neither is the case with Ed. Ed also doesnt get on here by the way because when he did, he got a TON of hate mail so he avoids it. He's a good guy, TRYING to do a good thing. Hopefully it all pans out.....until the next hottest thing comes out and we start all over again

Happens every time. lol

Pr0digal_son · Jul 25, 2013

mmcdermott1 said:
Pedestal? When did I do that? You asked a question and I gave you an answer. The guys growing over 600k plants on top of what i listed. Plain and simple, he doesnt have time to come to these boards to defend something that doesnt need defended. Clear enough for you?

Couldn't agree more. No reason to defend yourself if you know the truth. But,you are the third liaison that has been here defending him. That is making him look worse in my opinion. I am in no way trying to impugn your character mmcdermott,quite the opposite actually. I agree with buddy.

The sales here at THP are only a fraction but this place generates a lot of hits. Good for puckerbutt even with the negative stuff. People will buy the product.I sowed 5 seeds and kept one plant.My plant grew what seems to be true.
1/100,000x100= 0.001%. I feel like I've won the powerball. I lowballed to 100,000 though you said (s). I didn't know they sold that many seeds.

*edit* I am interested in how you can differentiate a primo pod from a reaper pod. I have been taking pictures of both and going over and over them. I see variations in both but in general they look exactly alike. I have also been studying the plant and very similar leaves and purpling nodes/branches.

Carolina Reaper (HP22B) Community Grow

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