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Hot peppers aren't hot?

D

Dasgrinch

So I've been picking a boatload of what I grew as 'jamaican mushroom peppers' which look pretty much exactly like the pictures listed by the seller (I think this was from Totally Tomato), and I cut one open to see how they were, and it was nothing.  It had a slightly acidic taste to it, like it should be hot, but it wasn't at all.  I've had some cayennes come out bland as well. On the flip side, I had some bell peppers which burned like the devil when I ate them.  It's like backwards land on my porch.
 
Am I missing something from my soil mix?  Is this like onions where you need sulfur in the soil to get the kick?  Or is it just bad seeds?  To compare I cut open what looked like a fairly innocuous pepper from Texas Hot Peppers, and touched it to my tongue, and it was certainly hot, it's still burning now.  Which assured me that my tongue was not broken.
 
So any tips, or anyone know of a deficiency that might cause poor heat in the peppers?  I've got ghost peppers ripening, I'm going to try one of those here in a few days, so I can get another data point. 
 
Thanks!
 
Please also check the plant. The Jamaican mushroom is a capsicum chinese, but the Mushroom Red that looks just like it are a C.Annum, and they are about 1/5 in heat.
The way to find out which is which is by looking at the plant, do you have more than one pod per Y (sorry lacking works for what it is called) and the leafs, 
 
If I remember correctly the C.Annums mushroom have much smaller leafs and only one pod per Y.
 
I'm growing  Serrano plant like I do ever year and it is 1/3 the heat level of my jalapeno's but it has the juiciest, sweetest most flavorful taste I've had with any jal or serrano. I will definitely be saving some seeds from this plant for next season. Sometimes plants don't produce like expected with heat levels and there could be many reasons for this other than genetics. I'm no expert by any means but hopefully you will find the answers you seek on this forum.
 
Occasionally a serrano will surprise you with a sweeter milder pepper but the flavor is great. Last year my late season serranos were much milder than early season. This year my early Chichimeca jalapenos were mild but now they are really hot even ripe.
 
Next year i must grow a mild hab type just as a filler for hotter pepper sauces instead of using bells. They work ok but tame down the chinense flavor a bit too much.
 
Dasgrinch said:
 
The last week has been average high of 72, average low of 55. Pumpkins are coming.
Click to expand...
That sounds a bit cool for heat. Bring them in over the winter and keep them warmer if you can.
 
Just anecdotally, I have always grown cayenne in a section that is quite dry (nothing else grows well there), and they always have a nice zing.  I think hot peppers of all varieties do well when not over-watered.  It's a possibility.  They seem to be hot if they get "stressed" on occasion (droopy leaves from dryness).
 
As far as deficiencies go, you might want to sprinkle some epsom salts on the ground around the plant or do a foliar spray with them.  The magnesium and sulfur go a long way in nourishing the plant and the production of capsaicin.  I always dissolve some epsom in a water pot and pour it on the base of the plant after it is starting to blossom.  Some people go crazy with the stuff.  I don't know the right amount, but giving the plants a feeding or two can't hurt.
 
ipepper said:
Please also check the plant. The Jamaican mushroom is a capsicum chinese, but the Mushroom Red that looks just like it are a C.Annum, and they are about 1/5 in heat.
The way to find out which is which is by looking at the plant, do you have more than one pod per Y (sorry lacking works for what it is called) and the leafs, 
 
If I remember correctly the C.Annums mushroom have much smaller leafs and only one pod per Y.
Click to expand...
 

That must be the case, they're definitely an annum, only one pod per junction.  What a shame.  I dunno what I'm going to do with these peppers, maybe I'll grind them into paprika or something since there's not any heat to speak of. 
 
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