Ghost peppers - dimpled or not

[worlok]

Hi. I grew my first two ghost plants from seeds sent to me from a kind person in Nebraska. It made some dimpled peppers last season and I harvested the seeds. Those plants were near other pepper plants, some habanero as well as trinidad scorpion and some less hot varieties of Indian long skinny peppers.

This season, in addition to the same two parent plants (still in pots) I grew several new plants from seeds harvested from last year's peppers. The first two look like ghosts (haven't tasted them yet), but they are smooth and lack the rough dimples from last years peppers. THey also seem like they have thicker skin.

My worst fear - less hot hybrid? The chances?? DO ghost peppers have natural varietals that spring up, some less dimpled with what looks like thicker smoother skin? I have to see how my many other green ones fare and compare them to what I get from the parent plants which are making plenty albeit smaller pods than the child plants.

The round ones on right are red savinas I think from a plant that is a few over from the ghosts.

These were they when green.

 

[Justaguy]

Waiting for mine to get ripe

No dimples but they have pimples

 

[Pepper Boys]

Waiting for mine to get ripe

No dimples but they have pimples

Mine are extremely pimply. They look pretty Crazy..

:30 in to the video you can see what mine look like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bBmIYL_p9I

 

[worlok]

Mine are extremely pimply. They look pretty Crazy..

:30 in to the video you can see what mine look like.

That's what's scaring me. Mine have the shape of a Bhut but the texture of a habanero...

I wonder if it's kind of like this guy's hybrid...

http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/17174-beautiful-naganero/

 

[ThePepperGrowingMan]

Could be growing conditions, a cross or both. How's the heat?

 

[worlok]

Could be growing conditions, a cross or both. How's the heat?

Haven't eaten one yet

 

[muskymojo]

Haven't eaten one yet

Well, what are ya waiting for?

 

[worlok]

Haven't eaten one yet

I found this image online - maybe mine aren't hybrid because not every ghost pepper I have seen is all dimpled up...

http://c3.yousaytoo.com/rss_temp_image/pics/83/93/8/5170283/original/remote_image20101211-5751-78b2r4-0.jpg

 

[worlok]

Well, what are ya waiting for?

My nerve.

 

[MGOLD86]

My nerve.

No time for nerves, lets get eatin!!

 

[patrick]

Looks like they got crossed bro. One of the traits of a true Bhut is those pimples. Don't give up on them though--you can get some seriously hot, great tasting peppers from crosses.

If you need some more pure Bhut Jolokia seeds I may have some left, shoot me a PM.

Mean while work on the nerve and give those crosses a taste test. I know what you're going through, I end up with crosses every year and it takes some time to work up the courage to taste all of them. Good luck!!

 

[orangehero]

I've experienced the texture of the peppers to be variable, but all of the Bhuts I've seen have a rough papery texture.

 

[worlok]

Looks like they got crossed bro. One of the traits of a true Bhut is those pimples. Don't give up on them though--you can get some seriously hot, great tasting peppers from crosses.

If you need some more pure Bhut Jolokia seeds I may have some left, shoot me a PM.

Mean while work on the nerve and give those crosses a taste test. I know what you're going through, I end up with crosses every year and it takes some time to work up the courage to taste all of them. Good luck!!

Thanks. I still have the original parent plants and their (albeit smaller and still green) pods are all dimpled as expected. I gave the two ripe ones away, one to my boss the other to my landlord. When more ripen (those plants are holding tons of them) I will get my nerve up.

 

[worlok]

Looks like they got crossed bro. One of the traits of a true Bhut is those pimples. Don't give up on them though--you can get some seriously hot, great tasting peppers from crosses.

If you need some more pure Bhut Jolokia seeds I may have some left, shoot me a PM.

Mean while work on the nerve and give those crosses a taste test. I know what you're going through, I end up with crosses every year and it takes some time to work up the courage to taste all of them. Good luck!!

It would be cool if there was a place you can easily and cheaply have their scoville tested. Imagine if they were hotter than the originals? I mean, what if I take a sliver and they are like lava?

 

[Avon Barksdale]

They do look crossed, but one of those crossed with an habanero still should be really, really hot.

 

[worlok]

Here is one of my large shiny hybrids next to a ghost pepper from the potted bhut jolokia parent plant.

I tried them both and couldn't really tell if one was hotter than the other, and they were about as hot as a trinidad scorpion I grew. Is that about right?

The difference is that the hybrid heat came on fast and mean like a habanero whereas the ghost is hot but in a slightly different way. THe scorpion's heat comes on nasty too.

The hybrids are generally very large and the taste before the heat is fruity like a hab. They're REALLY nice. I like them better than the ghosts, to be honest.

In first pic the angle makes the ghost look large but the hybrid is larger as in the bottom pic.

 

[crazyhot]

What does it mean when a plant has dimple or pimple?? thanks