When to pick ghost peppers

taint3dbulge

taint3dbulge

Hello all, Im new to the forum. Also new to growing peppers.
 
Late last year my fiance brought me a little ghost pepper kit. So about August of last year i started growing it and early this spring i transplanted it to a pot.
 
Here in South Dakota it takes along time before the weather is warm enough to let the plant sit outside so i never planted it outside..  
 
Anyways Iv had alot of peppers starting and already 3 have turned red. I cut the 2 red ones off 2 days after they turned red (they wernt as hot as i thought they would be)..  I left the other one on for about a week and a half later(havnt tried this one yet letting it hang for afew days to ripen more)..   Just wondering though should i leave all the peppers on until the end of the growing season or how long should i let them stay on before taking them off? What produces the hottest peppers...
 
I usually water the plant only when the leaves wilt really bad and it looks like its almost going to die. I read that thats the best way to get the oils the hottest..
 
I also use a tomato fertilizer that seems to really make things take off..
 
Welcome to the forum! Not as hot as expected, hmm? Interesting. Sounds like they're stressed plenty. Not as hot green vs. red makes sense..... but already ripe should be plenty hot! Are you sure you got ghost peppers? Or maybe your tolerance is higher than you realized.....

Don't forget to go to the Welcome forum and introduce yourself to everyone!
 
If they are red and aren't that hot then 1) You have a freakishly high tolerance or 2) you don't have a true Bhut Jolokia plant.  I'm inclined to go with #2.  Once fully ripe they are ready to go.  If you leave them on too long they will start to lose heat as capsaicin starts to be converted to sugars.
 
Post a pic of the pods so we can have a look.
 
taint3dbulge said:
Hello all, Im new to the forum. Also new to growing peppers.
 
Late last year my fiance brought me a little ghost pepper kit. So about August of last year i started growing it and early this spring i transplanted it to a pot.
 
Here in South Dakota it takes along time before the weather is warm enough to let the plant sit outside so i never planted it outside..  
 
Anyways Iv had alot of peppers starting and already 3 have turned red. I cut the 2 red ones off 2 days after they turned red (they wernt as hot as i thought they would be)..  I left the other one on for about a week and a half later(havnt tried this one yet letting it hang for afew days to ripen more)..   Just wondering though should i leave all the peppers on until the end of the growing season or how long should i let them stay on before taking them off? What produces the hottest peppers...
 
I usually water the plant only when the leaves wilt really bad and it looks like its almost going to die. I read that thats the best way to get the oils the hottest..
 
I also use a tomato fertilizer that seems to really make things take off..
Click to expand...
 
 
did you happen to get your kit from thinkgeek?
 
PexPeppers said:
 
 
did you happen to get your kit from thinkgeek?
Click to expand...
 
 
Yes she did get them from there..   I also have a very very high tolerance..  Iv been eating all kinds of ghost pepper sauce and this little burrito place in town there hot sauce is made with 7pot peppers and those make me sweat alittle.. kills everyone else tho..  I prolly just have to high a tollerance.. I just ordered the Carolina reaper seeds... :)  cannot wait..

smileyguy697 said:
Weird? Got pics of the plant and pepps?
Click to expand...
 
 
Yar, i got some of the peppers i cut off.
 
1000493_10151774709143530_1114666231_n.jpg

 
before they ripened.
 
1053155_10151747832028530_849896281_o.jpg

 
 
I brought them inside to trim the bad leaves off and to make sure there were no bugs on anything..
 
There are about 20~25 peppers on this plant and its still the same size, this was taken 3-4 weeks ago.
 
 
 
 
Here is a pepper i just picked today, thought this one looks weird but?
 
IMG_20130716_122845_818_zps08fe1161.jpg

 
 
 
Here is the plant today.
 
It sits outside and get sun from sun up, till about 3:30 when a tree shades it for 2~2.5 hours then its full sun again till sunset. and its hot out 90Degs
 
IMG_20130716_161957_595_zps9dd70f32.jpg
 
First and foremost.... bigger pot. Those guys need to be in a minimum of a 5 gallon container. Ghost plants get big. Mine are still not fully grown, and they're about 4 feet tall.
 
 
Whitewookie said:
Could it be too little sun and heat?
Click to expand...
 
I thought about that too.... but it's a ghost pepper. It can't make but a few thousand SHU difference to the finished heat, can it?
 
And don't worry too much about pods not all being the same shape. You're gonna get some weird ones. Wait until you see the winter pods! Like little peas!

smileyguy697 said:
Chomp into one!
Click to expand...
 
On video......
 
Oh im sure that would hurt aittle... Not a big fan of "raw" ghost peppers.  I like to put them in sauces, salsa, stews burgers..   Maybe ill tray a raw one and get back to ya.. I took a small bite off the end of one before but i know the heat is towards the top where the seeds are..

Phil said:
First and foremost.... bigger pot. Those guys need to be in a minimum of a 5 gallon container. Ghost plants get big. Mine are still not fully grown, and they're about 4 feet tall.
 
 
 
I thought about that too.... but it's a ghost pepper. It can't make but a few thousand SHU difference to the finished heat, can it?
 
And don't worry too much about pods not all being the same shape. You're gonna get some weird ones. Wait until you see the winter pods! Like little peas!

 
On video......
Click to expand...
 
 
On the first note. Im not sure what id do with the plant if it got much bigger... I dont have a whole lot of room to put the plant inside during the winter.. I was kinda thinking of just keeping it in this pot to keep its size manageable.   Would be nice if i could just let it be over winter and it just came back in the spring, but that dont sound like a good idea.

newpeppergrower1105 said:
i think its just that you expected more heat try growing butch t moruga i think you will be satisfied 
Click to expand...
 
Have Carolina Reaper seeds coming..   :D   I hear the raw pepper has a very fruity cherry/chocolate taste.
 
taint3dbulge said:
Oh im sure that would hurt aittle... Not a big fan of "raw" ghost peppers.  I like to put them in sauces, salsa, stews burgers..   Maybe ill tray a raw one and get back to ya.. I took a small bite off the end of one before but i know the heat is towards the top where the seeds are..
Click to expand...
 
so you're saying you haven't tried a whole pod fresh off the plant? Well no wonder it wasn't as hot as you expected!

taint3dbulge said:
On the first note. Im not sure what id do with the plant if it got much bigger... I dont have a whole lot of room to put the plant inside during the winter.. I was kinda thinking of just keeping it in this pot to keep its size manageable.   Would be nice if i could just let it be over winter and it just came back in the spring, but that dont sound like a good idea.
 
Click to expand...
 
 
Do you have room for a greenhouse? You're going to be very disappointed if you keep it in that pot. Production will be minimal. edit: Check out the potential of these pepper plants!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrN-vR9QaOE
 
Am I the only one that thinks those pods look too smooth to be a pure bhut jolokai? Not sure if the leaves look quite right either. ghost leaves are a little 'rougher for lack of a better word' around the edges rather than smooth like most chinense. 
 
The shape of the two large pods in pic two is close, but the rest don't look like any ghost I have ever seen. Maybe some hab- ghost hybrid?
 
Jeff H said:
Am I the only one that thinks those pods look too smooth to be a pure bhut jolokai? Not sure if the leaves look quite right either. ghost leaves are a little 'rougher for lack of a better word' around the edges rather than smooth like most chinense. 
 
The shape of the two large pods in pic two is close, but the rest don't look like any ghost I have ever seen. Maybe some hab- ghost hybrid?
Click to expand...
 
I have a feeling that has to do with the small pot. They aren't growing to their full potential.
 
Phil said:
 
I have a feeling that has to do with the small pot. They aren't growing to their full potential.
Click to expand...
 
I have one in a small pot and they all look like this:
 
DSCF2123.jpg

 
My bigger bucket ones look more "Bhutty". 
 
I have another in a older medium sized pot, but those look more "Ghetto Bhutty". :rolleyes:
 
hmmmm... as small as the pot pictured above? Judging by the size of the trunk on that tree, it's a mighty mature plant! Looking nice!
 
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