Just Planted Some Bhut Jolokia...

[sven914]

I grew habanero (successfully) last summer and was wondering if I need to do anything differently to grow Bhut Jolokia. My biggest concern is living in north east Ohio, and the probability of it not being warm enough.

I heard that they need to be in soil that stays at or above 75 degrees. The directions on package said to put the planter on a heat mat. I was planing on bringing them in every night, but am also considering getting a heat lamp to grow them in the house for the next couple of months.

Would I need to do this? And if so, would a regular table lamp with a UV bulb be sufficient?

Someone also suggested to plant match heads with the seeds. They said it would give the chillies extra phosphorous. Is this advisable or beneficial?

I appreciate any other advice and thank you in advance.

-SVEN-

[johnny123]

Never grew them but peppers need warm soil.
Get the heating mat.

[garden5]

I'm growing them myself. The heat-mat is only for starting the seeds. They have to be in warm soil in order to sprout. Once they are up, room-temp is fine.

I've heard of the match-head theory, but have never tried it.

Keep in mind that bhut jolokia seeds take longer than other to sprout and also take longer to fruit. Mine did not produce fruit until the end of the season, but that was just my experience. You may have a better one if your soil is a little richer.

[veteran]

I grew Bhuts last year, and am growing them right now. Advice I can offer is

1) DO NOT over-water. They need very little water. I let the soil dry almost completely out before adding more water.

2) If you use fertilizer, use a low nitrogen level. I am using a 2-5-5 right now.

3) Heat, and then more Heat. You may get them to sprout at 65 but it will take awhile and they won't flourish. Keep them at 80 or so. I used a heating mat for germination, and my CFL system is keeping the more mature plants around 85-90.

4) Be prepared for a long, long, long wait.

5) Plant a lot, because you will lose a lot for various reasons. They are hard. If you plant 20 expect 5-10 to make it. Maybe

6) Get your seeds from UNM. All other seeds are most likely fakes. (I made the mistake of buying off amazon 2 years ago, they were habaneros)

[sven914]

I got them from amazon and only planted half the seeds (about 10). How would I get them from UNM? Is there a website? The seeds were fatter and somewhat misshaped as compared to the habanero seeds.

I have a Fluorescent desk lamp. Could I use that or do I need an actual grow lamp?

I grew the habaneros in Miracle-Gro potting soil and planted the Bhut Jolokia in that this year. Would that soil have too much nitrogen? I know the fertilizer is high in nitrogen.

I'm not looking to get a huge crop of these. I have two pounds of habanero from last year and some of my plants came back this year. I would be happy to get two plants.

[gooberfarmer]

https://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/cart/seeds/other_varieties/

This is from New Mexico State University, which is what I think sven may have meant. Either way here is another trustworthy place to buy them from.

[veteran]

I got them from amazon and only planted half the seeds (about 10). How would I get them from UNM? Is there a website? The seeds were fatter and somewhat misshaped as compared to the habanero seeds.

I have a Fluorescent desk lamp. Could I use that or do I need an actual grow lamp?

I grew the habaneros in Miracle-Gro potting soil and planted the Bhut Jolokia in that this year. Would that soil have too much nitrogen? I know the fertilizer is high in nitrogen.

I'm not looking to get a huge crop of these. I have two pounds of habanero from last year and some of my plants came back this year. I would be happy to get two plants.

It looks like goober sent you the link you asked about, and the chili pepper institute is the correct one. It's the only place you are 100% going to receive the correct seeds.

2) A regular florescent tube will suffice for early stages, but once it get's I'd say a second set of leaves you need to move up to metal halide or at least CFL's.

[sven914]

So then one of those energy saving florescent bulbs would work, right?

The only halide bulbs I've seen are huge (use one for a street lamp in the drive way). Do they come small enough to screw into a socket for a regular incandescent bulb?

I bookmarked that link for next year... Thanks.

[veteran]

So then one of those energy saving florescent bulbs would work, right?

The only halide bulbs I've seen are huge (use one for a street lamp in the drive way). Do they come small enough to screw into a socket for a regular incandescent bulb?

I bookmarked that link for next year... Thanks.

The MH's require a ballast to generate the correct power needed. They are also quite pricey, a ballast system at home depot would even run $75 and up, the bulbs average around $25 each. It is also a huge power consumer. This is the reason I run CFL's. The Metal Halides are also too large to fit in a lot of indoor growing areas. Although the bulb looks like it can be used in a regular socket, it can't.

As far as what you meant by 'energy savings bulb' I believe you are talking about CFL's. (The twisty light bulb) It's a compact florescent. If you use the one's that say 'Daylight' and have a high enough wattage you are fine. But not with one, depending on how large of an area you will most likely need more. I would say with Bhuts probably 40-60 watts per square foot. In my case, I am running right in that area which equates to 777 lumes per sq. foot. I am using the 100 watt CFL daylight bulbs, each output is 1750 lumes @ 4 bulbs.

I hope this helped.

[ThePepperSeed]

I grow them in northern Illinois without any problems. If you want any this year and you're in Ohio I hope you already have sprouts/plants that are 8 weeks or so along. If not you might not get any peppers this year before it freezes. Also no need to bring them in at night after last frost danger passes. Mine grow in raised beds (and sometimes pots) and can survive the occasional upper 30's night. 40's are no problem. Lots of folks would say that stressing them (lower temps, not much water, etc) will actually make the pods hotter. Good luck and enjoy the heat!

[sven914]

I got them started late this year so I probably won't get any sprouts before July. I was planing on growing them in the house and am not really expecting anything until October. Once it gets hot out, I will be leaving them outside for most of the time.