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seeds What would be a good time to plant Carolina Reaper seeds in Chicago suburbs?

C

Cyber Akuma

I haven't had much luck trying to grow these. Last year I came the closest and actually managed to get a few peppers.... but seems I had planted them too late and by the time they were really starting to bear peppers the frost set in and killed them. Didn't help that it was near-freezing last year well into June and some of July. 
 
So I wanted to ask if anyone else is familiar with the area when would be the best time to start my seeds. It feels tricky to grow Reapers here since they both take a long time to grow and the weather is cold most of the time, with some years having the colder days last much longer than the others, so timing it so the seeds are ready to be planted outside but still live long enough to bear peppers seems like a tricky balance.
 
I'm in Chicagoland (suburbs) and if you'd share some of your seeds, I'd be happy to start some plants for you next year in exchange for some of the seeds for myself.  I usually plant my peppers (and I use salt peter on the really hot varieties to help germination) around the end of February (got a late start this year...) and plant them outside around mid-May.
 
lemme know :D
 
Cyber Akuma said:
I see, dang, so it's too late now? I was worried that April would be too soon.
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I'd definitely start them like today if you have seeds. I'm a bit more north than you and I started a Trinidad Scorpion in mid April last year. I still managed to get a few pods off it.
 
If you're worried, you could always start your seeds and in the meantime, see if you can find some more developed plants at a local nursery. 
 
I'm in 7b. I want to start my Supers in January. But, I've started Supers in mid- to late-March and I still got some pods. Wasn't ideal though...

One thing to consider is that I know ppl who tried growing resorts and had to overwinter plants to get some pods on the second year. Reapers suck. Try growing something better? (Eg, Primos, Brainstrains, Butch T Scorps, Morugas... Anything else)
 
It is probably a little late to start superhots, but you can still start annuums from seed and get a good yield from them.
 
If you want to grow superhots, I'd suggest sourcing some plants at this point.
 
Some good sources for plants are:
 
The Chile Woman
Cross Country Nurseries
Refining Fire Chiles
Refining fire runs bare root plant sales through various groups on Facebook, and you can pick some up there pretty cheaply.
 
Good luck!
 
 
Cyber Akuma said:
I see, dang, so it's too late now? I was worried that April would be too soon.
Click to expand...
 
 
Bicycle808 said:
I'm in 7b. I want to start my Supers in January. But, I've started Supers in mid- to late-March and I still got some pods. Wasn't ideal though...

One thing to consider is that I know ppl who tried growing resorts and had to overwinter plants to get some pods on the second year. Reapers suck. Try growing something better? (Eg, Primos, Brainstrains, Butch T Scorps, Morugas... Anything else)
Click to expand...
You mean you don't like Reapers or they're a pain to grow?
 
I mean, I've seen enough ppl posting about how they were extra late and after they wait ask that time, the results are often disappointing. No fruit to the second season, then they're often off-pheno and/or produce a small harvest and fall far short of the claimed heat levels. 2.2million shu? Doubtful any hobbyist growers are getting that out of their droopy pods...
 
Be prepared for some serious dedication if starting Reapers indoors really early. If you have good lights and results you will have small shrubs by the time its safe for them to go outside. My buddy in Idaho had to trim his back a few times already. Up potted too because they got seriously root bound.
 
Im growing a couple this year from CCN seedlings and ONLY because pops got a wild hair up his ass about them. My season lasts well into late Sept and beyond so i might see some pods.
 
ShowMeDaSauce said:
Be prepared for some serious dedication if starting Reapers indoors really early. If you have good lights and results you will have small shrubs by the time its safe for them to go outside. My buddy in Idaho had to trim his back a few times already. Up potted too because they got seriously root bound.
 
Im growing a couple this year from CCN seedlings and ONLY because pops got a wild hair up his ass about them. My season lasts well into late Sept and beyond so i might see some pods.
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Starting early indoors and pruning judiciously sends like the only way to go with a lot of these xxxtra late producers. I guess the only other option is overwintering inside or a dedicated indoor grow, if your in a temperature climate...


I just gotta say that my first SuperHots to set fruit each year have been JPGS, and this year will likely be no exception. All my seedlings have buddz and/or blossoms already. Not all that hot, I guess, but super gnarly, tasty, spicy, impressively sized pods and they move pretty quick for a Super...

Come to think of it, my Red Brainstrains all got flowers too, and they're hotter than Reapers anyway. Plus they're productive and hardy, and basically everything that Reapers ain't lol
 
Bicycle808 said:
I mean, I've seen enough ppl posting about how they were extra late and after they wait ask that time, the results are often disappointing. No fruit to the second season, then they're often off-pheno and/or produce a small harvest and fall far short of the claimed heat levels. 2.2million shu? Doubtful any hobbyist growers are getting that out of their droopy pods...
Click to expand...
 
I took this photo on 29th of May last year when I had just bought these from a garden store. The bigger one is a reaper and the smaller one a chocolate scotch bonnet - growing inside a 20 gallon tub with regular bagged garden soil amended with chickenshit and blood meal. These plants grew to a massive size real fast, I was constantly trimming them so that air could circulate. 66 days later on August 4th, I pulled 5 ripe pods off the reaper. It and the bonnet produced tons of pods and I had to bring the tub inside during mid-September to finish ripening. I had to withhold water for over a month to get them to actually ripen. The reaper is certainly way hotter than anything I've tried before, definitely need to use it in moderation.
 
I am growing seeds produced by both of those now, so it will definitely be a cross since they are both chinense and grew right next to each other with the bees pollinating them. I started my seeds on 27th of March and they are under lights now. I bet by the 29th of May, they will be pretty near to the size of those I bought last year.
 
reaper-bonnet.jpg
 
Those are awesome results, podz. Some folks get them like that, others have plants that grow huge and vigorously but never set fruit, and others have plants that permanently stall. Maybe it's a crapshoot? I realise that there are lots of bootleg/fake Reapers out there, and I realise that a lot of rookies are trying to grow Reapers so they run into predictable problems. So, I understand that my perception might be skewed, but I've observed a lot more problems than success stories.

But you done real well with a nursery-sourced plant there. I wouldn't sweat the cross-pollination to much; probably a lot of those seeds you saved are crossed, but I bet the majority of them aren't. Happy growing!!
 
I didn't count but I do pretty much remember that we pulled about 50 ripe pods off the reaper and about 80 or so off the scotch bonnet.  The reaper was funny because it grew a few early pods and then no activity for a solid month. It didn't actually start fruiting real heavy until late August and then pods grew to full size but just stayed green forever. Wasn't until the tub had been in the house without water and only indirect light for a month before they finally flipped to orange and then red. The bonnets were pretty much the same. It was about middle of October when I finally pulled all the pods and even then set them to ripen for a week or so in a basket near the window.
 
It's not a crapshoot, imo, it's a patience game. My experiences were also very similar when growing habaneros about 10-12 years back - they are slow and they really take their time getting ready.
 
Oh, and they also need a huge pot. That 20 gallon tub would have been better suited to one of those plants instead of two. I'm sure I would have had a lot more fruit. Try growing these in a 3 gallon pot with normal soil and I doubt you'd get more than a handful of pods. Coir might be a different story, I will find out this year.
 
I dunno. I feel like a lot of SuperHots are a waiting game... Like, most of them are. I grow 7Pot Primos, which are genetically very similar to Reapers, and they produce pods late as FUCK...but they always produce. I've never grown Reapers but I've seen enough posts on the forums and social media where dudes have huge plants that don't ever flower. Or they have to overwinter before they produce year two. But I've also seen plenty of posts where ppl have success like you had... I guess it is what it is.

But when I grow Habs, they tend to be far earlier than most every SuperHot I've ever grown. But i don't think it's just about heat level. Yellow Scotch Bonnets trends to be just as late as most of the SuperHots I'm growing...
 
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