# 2013 Bhut Jolokia "Ghost Pepper" TLO Organic Grow



## GartenSpinnen

So this is my first year using the TLO organic method of growing on my Ghost Pepper plants. 

I used no chemical fertilizers on these, only OMRI listed organic materials. The idea was not to
feed the plants but to feed the soil. I have living worm colonies in each of my pepper pots, and
when you touch the soil it moves, full of all sorts of beneficial critters.

I stayed away from peat and opted for coconut in the substrate mix, and the results were much better.
However, I have noted that the coconut coir that is used for reptiles contains a high amount of salts and
it is no good to use for growing. After this I am no longer going to use these coconut coir products in pet
stores, only steamed and sterilized coco fiber for my critters and my plants.

These products used to be much cleaner than they are now, so not sure what has changed over the years,
but I thought it was worth mentioning...

Instead of making salsa or hot sauce with my peppers, I instead went ahead and dried them all and made 
pepper powder, and I am very happy with the end results. The peppers have much better flavor compared to
other harvests from previous years. There were less pest damages even though I did not use any pesticides.

The only pesticides used were beneficial organisms such as jumping spiders, which work especially well with 
pest control. Also used lady bugs and praying mantids, but they tend to not stay on the plants like the jumping
spiders do.

Anyways, here are some pics...


In this first picture you can see some of the variation in the peppers. They came in all sorts of shapes. Some
looked more like jalapeno, some more like habanero, and some had that "scorpion tail" characteristic. Others
looked more like your average chili pepper similar in appearance to the Thai peppers. And some had this weird
"figure 8" appearance which is shown in the second pepper from the left in this photo. I am trying to breed this 
characteristic out of my plants.


Here is a shot of one of the plants from above. I used the FIM technique on all of the plants which resulted in them being
 bushier and lower in stature but spread out more. 


Here are some of the peppers next to the pepper powder. If you compare the color of this pepper powder to others 
that are marketed you can see that it is a brighter red because it is fresher and better material. Many of the powders
on the market are darker, made from imported peppers from India that have been dried and put in storage.

Reactions: Like 2


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## PlaidJaguar

Just curious, why are you breeding out the figure 8 shape?


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## cerialkiller

How much for some salsa??


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## GartenSpinnen

I just think the figure 8 looks cool. It is due to how the flowers fall off when fruiting. I did not make any salsa, just vials of ghost pepper powder that can be added to anything for a heat kick. A little dab nicely heats a bowel of chili. Stuff is extremely hot and blisters lips. I sell my little vials of powder for 7.50, which i think is fair. Each vial heats up several dishes. Tastes darn good too  I shoot for good taste and a lot of heat.

---------- Post added 10-18-2013 at 02:05 PM ----------

Lol I put bowel instead of bowl... It heats those as well X-D


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## Mike41793

Very cool! I'm no expert or hobbyist but i grew some lemon drop hot peppers this year. They were fun to grow!

Reactions: Like 1


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## GartenSpinnen

Have the rest of my season harvested and in the process of drying. I averaged something like 42 peppers per plant this year. I am a fan of the fimming technique, I really like the way it makes the plants grow. I prefer a shorter more spread out plant. I also experimented with growing two plants in a 1 gal pot vs a single plant, and found that the pots with two plants in a 1 gal had same yield as single plant in a pot. One plant in particular was hotter than the rest, but I mixed them all in my powder. 

Now that it is the end of the season what I like to do is cut my plants down to nothing but the main stalk. I leave this stalk about 4-5" long and cut the branches off. Then i pull up the root system and trim most of it off, leaving a little bit of root system that is flat. I put the plants in a small pot with some good soil, and water them so that the top part of the root system is above the substrate. What I get is a ghost pepper bonsai tree that is easy to care for. Throw a light on them and you could even put them in terrariums 

They stay as a bonsai and depending on the light type/spectrum and light cycle you put them under, they go into vegetative growth and under the right light and cycle will continue to flower. The next year you can put them in larger pots, and then trim them down again, and they will come back and yield fruit again. It does stunt their growth though. 

I think I will make them into bonsai trees this year and sell them for 20.00 each. Use the money to fund next years pepper venture. I also have thought about putting a ghost pepper bonsai in a terrarium setup, growing some moss on the roots, and using it to house a pokie 

Also I have found that you can grow ghost peppers in 1 gal pots but you get smaller plants. By fimming them the plants spread out and get decent sized. Although they grow alright and will yield fruit in a small 1 gal pot, they really crave a larger pot. If you put them in 5 gal buckets with good drainage and high quality soil, give them plenty of cal/mag, they can get impressive sized and yield much much better. Basically in 5 gal bucket you get the plants full potential, much less stress on them as well. 

Growing them in these small areas is really not ideal though.

---------- Post added 10-19-2013 at 01:35 PM ----------

Next year I think I will grow 5 plants in 5 gal buckets on my balcony. I expect to get around triple the yield per plant. I also will be growing 5 chocolate belle peppers, and 5 of the Thai peppers, but only if I can find good Thai genetics. There are a couple different Thai plants. One tends to grow more like the banana peppers, the other variety makes a dense bush. The later is what I am looking to find, as the yields on that particular plant were fantastic and the peppers were very hot and good tasting. Not near the heat of the ghost peppers, but still pretty good. These particular ghost peppers I grew this year are the hottest ghost peppers I have ever had. They are by far hotter than any previous season since I have been growing them. The odd part is that the skin is kinda fruity flavored and not very hot when they are fresh, but when you get through the flesh where the seeds are the heat is very impressive. By drying them and curing them it brings the heat and flavor out.


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## Wadew

The new pepper in town is a result from guys who crossed the ghost pepper with a Red Savina habanero pepper and came up with the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion. It packs twice thew heat as the Ghost and also has some nice flavor! I too am a fan of Hot peppers, and gardening in general. Nice looking peppers there Garten.

                                            Cheers Wade


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## Shrike

I'm curious...when you guys say these peppers have "good flavor" how are you consuming them?  Incorporating small amounts into your food?  Just popping them into your mouth?  That sounds insane to me, but then again, I get the hiccups from moderately spicy food.  Although I enjoy heat in my food, it's simultaneously my kryptonite.

I concur with Wade.  Nice looking peppers.


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## KingBaboon85

I gut the pepper and then eat to get the taste of the pepper without getting kicked strait in the mouth with heat. Lol 

I myself in the north grow cherry bomb peppers and Thai chillys
I either dry or pickle my peppers ...

I use exo terra plantation soil mix with black garden top soil and fertilizer and works perfect for me
On a balcony in buckets...fun hobby

Cheers Angelo


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## Wadew

Peppers with this much heat have to be diluted with food. At least for me to consume! Some peppers have little to offer other than heat, while others have flavor to go with the heat.


                                            -Wade


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## Mike41793

KingBaboon85 said:


> I gut the pepper and then eat to get the taste of the pepper without getting kicked strait in the mouth with heat. Lol
> 
> I myself in the north grow cherry bomb peppers and Thai chillys
> I either dry or pickle my peppers ...
> 
> I use exo terra plantation soil mix with black garden top soil and fertilizer and works perfect for me
> On a balcony in buckets...fun hobby
> 
> Cheers Angelo


How do you dry and pickle them? I might wanna try one of those methods for preserving them.


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## lagomorphette

Interesting thread! I tried some Trinidad scorpion pepper salsa last weekend & nearly had my face blown off, LOL. That packs some serious heat!! 
The ghost peppers & powder in your pics look amazing. Nice job--I PMed you about buying some.


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## Akai

These have been a Curiosity of mine for quite some time now.  I've seen plenty of people trying to eat these on YouTube.  funny stuff and I'd like to try my green thumb at these.  I've always wanted to know what the hottest pepper in the world tasted like.  lol


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## Louise E. Rothstein

*2013 Bhut Jolokia "Ghost Pepper" TLO Organic Glow*

Please consider separating the "Figure Eights" and breeding them separately.
Some people would like their distinctive shape.
Their unusual appearance could make food more distinctive.
Please consider offering them-or their seeds- for these reasons.


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## bluefrogtat2

great thread,i myself amm also a pepper fanatic,and have over 50 varieties froze in freezer right now....lol
great looking pods..
I've already got a headstart on next years season(I plan on planting the whole lot next to my shop)
so far I have 12 butch t scorpions,11 chocolate habanero,and 11 barracapore started,and plan on at least ten more varieties next season..great for flavoring food,intense when consumed fresh!!
great pics
andy


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## Galapoheros

OK, pepper fans, I plan on growing some too.  I've been watching pepper eating challenges on youtube, I recommend lol.


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