Worthless Garden.

[Shule]

What do people do with super hot peppers? I can’t understand them, but that doesn’t mean they are worthless. I want understand them and want to know what is being done with them or are they more about the botanical interest and appeal for a collector? Are there really foods and recipes that absolutely benefit from having a million plus scoville peppers as part of the ingredient list? Or are there folks that are super masochists and nothing but extreme mouth discomfort will work for them?

Help me understand!

When I grew them, my intention was partly to make hot pepper powder, and use it sparingly over the years. Mostly, I guess they're fun. They can be pretty tasty, too. Increased capsaicin can increase certain really good flavors, too. Hot peppers can cause the body to release endorphins. I think they're mildly addictive (kind of like growing lots of tomato varieties is).

What I actually did with them was store them in a bag, let them dry, and years later, they're still there. I was going to grow more, but suddenly hot peppers made me more sensitive to ultraviolet light; so, I switched to growing sweet peppers. I should probably do something with those I have in bags; maybe they're still good!

I grew a couple Mustard Bhutlahs, and one of them was an offtype with black leaves and bright orange fruit; it tasted really good, and I liked the way the heat felt. I wanted to eat more, but for some reason I didn't.

I feel like hot peppers reduce callouses while strengthening skin. I was kind of wanting to test that hypothesis with superhots to make some kind of application for my feet (but I never got around to it; I've got plenty of hot pepper powder I've made from varieties that weren't superhots, though).

You could probably use superhots to make something similar to capsaicin cream (for pain relief and such).

I didn't normally wear gloves when I handled superhots, either, but it's a very good idea. If you ever get an inordinate amount of capsaicin on your hands, my advice is to lather mint toothpaste all over them, and wash it off, a couple times. It worked for me when nothing else would.

[svalli]

@worth1 I saw in an other thread a picture of your wild pepper plant. Have you eaten those? It looks like the Chiltepin plant I grew years ago from seeds I ordered from Baker Creek. I used the dried berries to season pot roasts and stews and pickled cucumbers. The original seeds were slow to germinate and now my own collected seeds are also too old. I would love to grow a wild pepper again and wonder if you are willing to trade the seeds with me?

Sari

[worth1]

@worth1 I saw in an other thread a picture of your wild pepper plant. Have you eaten those? It looks like the Chiltepin plant I grew years ago from seeds I ordered from Baker Creek. I used the dried berries to season pot roasts and stews and pickled cucumbers. The original seeds were slow to germinate and now my own collected seeds are also too old. I would love to grow a wild pepper again and wonder if you are willing to trade the seeds with me?

Sari

It will be awhile before they grow back and make fruit but I will collect all I can.
I personally don't mess with them.
I have in the past but they are tiny.

[karstopography]

And likely very hot. They will light up and put a blow torch to your mouth and eyes if you happen to rub those after touching the peppers. I know many other peppers are listed as much higher on the scoville scale, but the wild little chilis here in Texas are plenty painful to eat, like you will suffer quite a bit for several minutes after eating part of one red pepper. It is survivable.

[worth1]

I'll have to water and feed the big plant up by the house.
I can't believe it survived temperatures as low as 8F.
It just comes back from the roots.

[worth1]

One of my Neverending green onions hanging over the container in bloom.
Two peanuts sprouting.
And last but not least a dill seed sprouting.

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[worth1]

@svalli
I'll have you know your pepper plant is happy as a clam.
Raked up some leaves around it and gave it some fertilizer.
Had a nice rain this morning.

[worth1]

Got 5 peanuts sprouting as we speak.
One of my gardenig friend coworkers was flabbergasted I planted raw peanuts from the grocery store and they sprouted.

[worth1]

Planted the ghost peppers out in the hodgepodge of plants.
Dill making true leaves.
Peanuts sort of growing.
Serrano plant has a baby.
The pepperoncini peppers started to bloom.
Basil getting ready to leap.

[worth1]

A few pictures.
Nothing special.

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[worth1]

I'm beginning to think the serrano pepper plant needs its wings clipped..
I believe the plant with the pepper on it has stopped putting on new growth and sending energy to the pepper.
Common on smaller plants.

[worth1]

I pulled the pepper from the serrano plant and ate it on site.
No heat, 'wasn't expecting any.
The confounded thing is literally covered in blooms.
The runt serrano plants are starting to step up to the plate.
The Greek peppers are starting to bloom and showing new growth every day.
Dill and basil are doing nicely.
Ghost peppers are doing what Ghost peppers do.
Soon they will jump out of their skins and take off.

[worth1]

The clipping of the peppers wings made improvements in 24 hours.
Coincidence I think not but it showed new growth today.
The other runts are really doing well also.

[worth1]

Got home yesterday and found more set blooms on the serrano plant.
If this is any indication of what these plants produce I'll be in hog heaven.

[karstopography]

Sounds great. I’ve got 1 serrano plant among my 46 or so pepper plants. Probably should have one or two more Serranos. Usually, serrano peppers are very prolific and one plant will produce a lot of peppers. Serrano peppers hold up well in our summers here, better than most peppers.

[Sue_CT]

I get lots of peppers off one serrano plant even here where we have a much shorter growing season for them than you do. I think you will be very happy with what you get from them over a season.

[worth1]

Bought a few ripe habaneros from the store and planted all the seeds from one in a mass planting.
We'll see if any sprout.
The rest are for some sort of habanero chicken thing.
The one I got the seeds from I put in a jar of baby sweet pickles.
Also gave the wild pepper plant a watering.

[worth1]

Below you will see the Greek Pepperoncini pepper plants on the 17th and today the 24th.
Taken from the same angle.
Literally busting at the seams and covered in future blooms.
Yesterday was the first day they were watered in over a week.
Fertilizer is 13-13-13.
One small drain hole on the downhill end.

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[worth1]

The two closest peppers in the middle were the runt serrano plants.
They have kicked in to high gear after weeks of doing nothing.
The busy plants on the sides are the ghost pepper plants.
Also building up steam.

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[worth1]

Not feeling the love for the Greek pepperoncini peppers.
So far all the blooms have fallen off.
Lack of pollination I suppose.
But why, the serrano chiles don't seem to have a problem.