Where to get the seeds I actually want.

[pomerinke]

Hello everyone,
Is like to get some recommendations on where I can get some jolokia peppers. (or anything comparable)
I ordered some seeds from Amazon a few months ago, and started growing, but they ended up not being jolokia like I thought and was told they were. Turns out they were red habaneros.
I'd like to grow something extremely hot. I've always wanted to make my own hot sauce, so I guess I can practice with the habanero.
So, any trusted sources that you use would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for any help in advance.

-- Pomer

[webmaster]

Apparently it's difficult to obtain a consistent source of Ghost Pepper seeds out of India. However Pepper Joes found a reliable supplier and then supplemented that with other confirmed quality strains, like a giant bhut jolokia pepper that found was cultivated at the University of New Mexico from seeds originally from India. Give Pepper Joes a try, they're a reliable and reputable vendor of pepper seeds, they've been in business for many years.

[imafan26]

If you buy seeds from a reputable company and they turn out not to be as advertised most will refund or send you new seeds if they have them.

Getting the wrong seeds and empty seed packets happens. If you garden long enough you will probably encounter this too. It doesn't mean the company is bad, it happens to the best of them. I ordered yellow brandywine from Burpee and people complained because they got a red tomato, so Burpee sent new seeds and an apology letter to all the customers who purchased those seeds from them, even those like me who hadn't even planted the seeds yet.

Bhut Jolokia seeds are becoming easier to find now and Pepper Joes is a good source.

[pomerinke]

I appreciate the information. I will definitely try pepper Joe's. I would have contacted the company, but I bought the seeds from seeds direct in 2013, and now I've looked into, I guess they are extremely unreliable. (It's been so long because a whole bag of fertilizer got spilled into the pot, and killed the plant. I put it on the porch and at the end of last summer it started sprouting leaves again)

Again, appreciate the responses. And I'm glad I found this forum.

[3 Pound Tomato]

When do you plant your seeds?

[ElizabethB]

Hello Pomerinke - warm welcome to the forum.

The advice on ordering direct from Pepper Joe's is spot on.

Have you made hot sauce with some of the extremely hot peppers like Habanera?

I do not intend to sound condescending. I am sure you have done your home work on handling super hot peppers.

Handling Habanera and Bhut Jolokia requires a commercial kitchen with lots of ventilation and military quality personal protection - gloves, aprons, eye protection and air breathers.

Several years ago a friend of mine had a jelly/jam shop in a neighboring community. A local football player, Jake Delhomme was drafted by the pros. Sandy decided to make an Habanera Pepper Jelly that she named "Red Hot Jake Pepper Jelly". She made a lot and sold a lot but the investment in personal protection ate up a lot of her profits.

Please be careful.

Bhut Jolokia is so hot that it could qualify as a weapon.

I hope you find your seeds.

Good luck and again - welcome to the forum.

[pomerinke]

@3 pound tomato, I originally planned in the summer of 2014 (the seeds took months to get to me)

@ElizabethB, I appreciate your concern. I haven't cut any if these peppers yet, I harvest them and put them in freezer bags at the moment. Habaneros don't concern me too much. My wife stays away. And as a kid, my parents grew red chili peppers. Me and my sister used to try to eat more than the other before we puked. Most hot sauce doesn't bother me too much. I have about ten different bottles from hotsauce.com that I use in an almost daily basis.
I did first start getting suspicious of the plant when it didn't even smell spicy.
I would of course be wary of jolokia. But these definitely are not.

@raindog, I appreciate your pm, but I guess I haven't been active enough since I just joined to be able to respond to pms yet.

[3 Pound Tomato]

I have the hottest seeds as I have been growing the super hots for quite a few years. Jay's peach, moruga scorpion, Butch T, Carolina reaper, etc. Is it hard to send packages to Japan?

[imafan26]

I was told it is always a good plan to wear gloves when handling peppers or the seeds.

When I forget, and touch my face or eyes, I am reminded painfully.

[pomerinke]

I work on a military base, so I have an American P. O. box. I've never had trouble shipping seeds before.

[imafan26]

You are in Okinawa. Some states and the dept of Agriculture have interstate and foreign laws that restrict the transport of living organisms like seeds, plants and animals. Even shipping seeds can be dicey. For example rape and convolvulus are restricted and cannot be shipped to the states and for me to ship to Canada I had to fill out a customs form as well.

[pomerinke]

It is still necessary to fill out a customs form, but I can't think of any pepper seeds that are restricted. Some things are restricted like lady bugs and other plant aiding bugs, even certain electronics are restricted. But seeds have never been a problem.

[pomerinke]

I believe it also doesn't cost extra.

[3 Pound Tomato]

Do you need the seeds now? When is the growing season in Japan?

[pomerinke]

I pm'd you just a minute ago, but I believe the growing season is year round. I have a tomato plant that I planned in January, and it's doing just fine. I'm not on mainland Japan, I'm on a tropical island to the south.