But Why?

So a friend of mine had recently acquired a scorpion pepper plant from Pinder’s Nursery. Having a successful harvest that was shared with friends in an evening of capsaicin glory, I found myself, in the words of Sean Evans, “Chasing the Dragon.” I was hooked on the combination of how flavorful, yet potent, a pepper could be. I always enjoyed the spicier things but never knew the level it could be turned up to without sacrificing flavor.

I was lied to…

Having known that my friend was growing these red balls of spice, I wanted to provide some additional, albeit different supply of peppers. I happened to be at a certain orange branded home improvement store and noticed that they actually had some plants labeled as Carolina Reaper. Excitedly I picked up one and began my journey down the pepper road. As you will see in the gallery below, these turned out to not be Carolina Reapers. While I was extremely disappointed that I would not be getting the reapers I longed for, they have turned out to be really nice Red Habaneros.

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While I didn’t get what I had expected, this turned out to be a really hearty plant. I have about 50 fruits still maturing on the plant and will keep it around as both a reminder of my missteps and to fill out the spectrum of heat as I explore the more spicy peppers I can grow.

Road to Redemption

Having been disappointed by my first harvest not being what the label advertised, I decided to go straight to the source. “Smokin’ Ed” Currie created the Carolina Reaper and runs the Pucker Butt Pepper Company out of York, South Carolina. I have acquired their Triple Chocolate Death seed bundle which contains the following seeds:

• Organic Chocolate Bhutlah
• Organic Chocolate Scorpion
• Organic Chocolate Reaper

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At this point I have started the instructions for germination by refrigerating the Chocolate Carolina Reapers. Once they’re done I’ll be sure to continue to document the process and hopefully be rewarded with a great harvest.