Super hot jalapeno

[tigahb8]

Pods getting smaller every year? Are the plants in the same
location? Micronutrients may be getting low, peppers seem
to like a slightly acid soil also. If all else fails I have seed
for a OP Mucho Nacho that are quite hot.
tigahb8

[mdvpc]

I havent done anything different this year-I grow in containers, they are in the same place, used the same espoma fert annd the same container mix. The jalapeno container is right next to the cayenne , green chile and serrano containers. The cayenne and serrano are their usual hot self. And my green chile is hot as can be. And our temperatures have been breaking records. So its not the temperatures or drought-I live in the desert, so we have drought all year long.

[obispo45]

I have followed this interesting post since it first began some weeks back. I never chimed in and gave my two cents worth. Why? I don't know! Something happened today though. Guy I work with, a good guy I'm friends with outside of work has a simple little garden that his wife is in charge of. He wouldn't know a jalapeno from a serrano from habanero from a....you get the point.

I've been busy experimenting w/ creating a bunch of hot sauces this year....some great, others not so wonderful shall we say. Works in progress. Taste is my number one priority. Just for fun I like a little thermonuclear burn and sirens going off every now and then. I have some really hot stuff that has done wonderful this year....Fatalii, Devil's Tongue, Bhut Jolokia, Nepali Orange and others. All are significantly and without question hotter than the unofficial "gold standard" of heat....the ubiquitous Habanero, sans cultivar name. Usually, I assume that is the ill defined measuring stick.

To make a long story short I tried a jalapeno from his garden today. They are just grown at his place to lively up some salsa. He said that their salsa this year was a dismal failure even though they followed the same recipe they've used the last half dozen years. According to his family the salsa was way way too hot!! I tried one of jalapenos and Oh My Gawd it was hot for a jalapeno!! I couldn't believe it. It was easily hotter than the Serranos I have as well as a couple of cayennes. It has rained a ton here as of late and if anything him and his wife tend to overwater anyway. Plant was purchased at a local nursery, with plant label still affixed, it read Jalapeno. Not saying this was even close to the heat of some Habaneros, Caribbean Reds, etc but it caught me off guard.... I was ready, and normally chomp on green serranos and ripe Tabasco peppers while working in the garden. We really need a home Scoville Unit testing apparatus IMO. One thats affordable and doesn't require a lab coat and slide rule to calibrate and operate. Should be simple since its essentially a dilution test till no more detectable "heat" is registered. I know we hear the units...0 equals Bell Pepper, 2000 equals most jalapenos give or take, 250,000 is in habanero range etc. That unit would be fun to have!! I still haven't answered the question or made a point but thought I should share my experience!!

[mdvpc]

Obispo-Thanks for your input. I honestly think that there are a lot of jalapeno varieties out there that are not so hot for someone that is used to eating hot peppers. So they are described as "hot" on the seed package, and in reality, they really are mild. So finding the real hot ones is a chore. And I have struck out again this year.

[Earl]

Get the one called Early Jalapeno, I haven't had a problem with it losing it's hotness.

[barkeater]

I second what Earl said about Early Jalapeno. Goliath Jalapeno this year is even a hotter, but year in year out, EJ is always hot.

[mdvpc]

Earl and Bark-what was your seed source for EJ?

Since its that time of the year, the green chile has started to show up around here. I grow it, but cannot grow enough for us to last the year-so we buy about 4-5 boxes of different varieties-in the past we have bought Sandia, New Mex Big Jim and Joe Parker. Sandia was the hottest green chile to my knowledge. Last week, I heard about a variety called Barker-supposed to be much hotter than Sandia. A friend of mine from yoga class owns a nursery and told me where to find seed for it. Going to be interesting to see how hot that is next year.

[barkeater]

I don't think it matters, Michael. Over the years I've got it from many different seed companies, and it's always been the same. Most recently are seeds off the rack, probably Ferry-Morse or Northrup seeds.