Calling the pepper gurus...

[Ian]

Anyone have an idea what this little striped warhead might be? It's about an inch and a half long and stoooopid hot.

 

[Rick]

Yes, I have an idea it is something to be avoided at all costs.

 

[462]

I don't know about peppers, but its colors are same-same as an Argentine primer box.

 

[JonB]

It has the distinct look of a Shishito (which aren't that hot), except not as long as typical. I don't recall seeing anything like that in the fiery hot category. I wonder if it is the result of cross pollination?

 

[Ian]

Very likely a cross, a coworker's mother had several varieties planted in the same box. Just had another one for lunch, it was a complete dud with no heat whatsoever, taste and crunchy texture very much like a banana pepper.

 

[JWFilips]

Definitely some sort of cross! 3 or more plantings of chili seed over 3 seasons can really mess with the heat and taste! Not only do the cross breed easily they divert back to strange parents if the were hi-brids

 

[fiver]

or they'll go F-1 F-2 like yours from a saved seed and you'll get mixed results on the same plant.
i save/buy seeds then use that same batch until i get something consistent and that i like, then i'll save seeds from that plant for the future plantings.

i've learned my lesson about mixing pepper plants, the wind is what pollinates them so a whole box can easily get crossed up with the right morning wind.

 

[Ian]

Thanks fellers. We thought it might be a fish pepper but if so the seeds got put in the wrong package and it doesn't explain one being Chernobyl and one being absolutely devoid of "heat", coming from the same plant.

 

[JWFilips]

Some chilies vary in heat from the same plant! Some of the middle eastern and far eastern chillies average one super hot per 10 normal! It is pot luck when you grow those type! I have grown hatch style ( Big Jims) for years from virgin seeds and some years the are normal light heat and some years the are very hot. I think weather conditions also have something to do with it. A hot dry seasons makes for hotter chillies. A normal or wet season makes for milder chillies! Now where the are from (New Mexico) They have pretty much a consistent growing season each year so They always know what to expect.

 

[KeithB]

Peppers and squash are so slutty they will pollinate anything even close to their genetic makeup.