Types of Hot Peppers

There are many varieties types of hot peppers that range in heat from "Oh, now that's spicy" to "Oh my gosh, someone call the fire department to put out the fire in my mouth." You measure the heat is in Scoville heat units. Hot peppers range from 10, obviously not hot at all and include pickled pepperoncini, to the hottest of them all, the Bhut Jolokia, also called Naga jolokia, ghost chili, ghost pepper and Tezpur pepper. The Scoville heat units for these hotties are over 1 million. Pure capsaicin, the chemical in peppers that make them hot is between 6 and 15 million Scoville units. In fact, in India they smear Bhut Jolokia on fences to deter wild elephants.

Other Hotties

The Dorset Naga or Naga Morich is a close second with 923,000 Scoville units.

Red Savinas, once marketed as hottest of the hotties is only between 350,000 and 577,000 Scoville units.

Other types of hot peppers in the 100,000 to 500,000 Scoville unit range include Scotch Bonnet peppers, South American Chinenses, Habanero and African Birdseyes.

Next on the hot hit list are Santaka, Rocot, Chinese Kwangsi and Chiltepin peppers with 50,000 to 100,000 of heat units.

Piquin, Tabasco, Cayenne Long, Pakistan Dundicut and Thai prik khee nu have 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units. If you select anything with fewer units, you're not a hot pepper aficionado.

Another Chart

Many people don't recognize the peppers by their botanical or proper name. Here's a chart of commonly grown peppers that will help you if you're looking to trade seeds or purchase them online.

Ghost Peppers 1,001,304 Scoville heat units

Habenero 200,000

Thai 80,000

Tobasco 80,000

Cayenne 30,000

Serrano 8,000

Jalapeno 4,000

Cherry Bomb 2,000

Paprika 1,000

Anaheim 200

You probably noticed the difference between the two charts for the Habernero pepper. That's because there are several different varieties with different levels of capsaicin. You have to thoroughly investigate before you buy or try a sampling of several types of hot peppers to find the one with the best fire level for your taste. Once you identify the plant, save seeds for next year's crop.

Start peppers from from Seed

If you start your pepper from seed, begin it about two to three months before the last frost. They take quite a long time to germinate and often require a warmer temperature that the average for homes. Find the warmest spot in the house, normally atop a refrigerator, to place your seeds until you see the first signs of life peek through the soil. Then transfer the container to a sunny area. Make certain you keep the soil moist but not soggy.

How to Grow Hot Peppers Seedlings and When to Plant

Make certain that the area you select receives full sun and plenty of shelter from cold Northern winds. Hot peppers like it hot too! Don't transplant if there's a chance of frost.

Prepare your soil by making certain that it contains a lot of organic material and has good drainage. Put mulch around your plants for weed control. It also prevents the soil from drying.

If you're sampling different types of hot peppers plants in order to save seeds for next year's crop, keep the peppers separated from each other. While peppers are self-pollinators, there still is a chance for cross breeding. Keeping them at a distance prevents the potential from occurring and insures a pure strain.

Time to grow hot peppers

If you grow the plants from seed, you'll be twiddling your thumbs while you wait for germination. It takes forever. Once that occurs, normally the entire time from seedling to peppers is about 70-90 days, depending on the pepper.

Pest and Diseases

Okay, if you have a start for the Bhut Jolokia, you can cross wild elephants off your pest list. However, tiny little aphids and larger caterpillars such as corn borers and hornworms might be a problem. Spray off aphids with a heavy spray from the hose or use a mixture of common household liquid soap, water and cooking oil to spray on the aphids. Pick off the caterpillars or use predatory insects to kill them.

Tobacco mosaic virus is a danger to both your tomato plants and pepper plants. Don't touch the plants after you smoked a cigarette. Aphids often carry other viruses. If you control the aphids, you shouldn't have problems.

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