Carolina Reaper Chilli – 5 Seeds

The Carolina Reaper Chilli Pepper, originally named the HP22B, is a cultivar of the Capsicum chinense plant.

Bred by cultivator Ed Currie, who runs PuckerButt Pepper Company in Fort Mill, South Carolina the Carolina Reaper is an absolutely amazing pepper. It has a sweet chocolate-cherry under tone with a hint of citrus. It’s as tasty as it is hot. And is it HOT! The Carolina Reaper Chilli pepper was rated as the world’s hottest chili pepper by Guinness World Records according to 2012 tests, averaging 1,569,300 SHU on the Scoville scale with peak levels of over 2,200,000 SHU.

These little peppers are fiery red with a little scythe shaped tail at the base of each fruit, hence the name reaper. The heat rating on these monsters is 1,569,300 Scovilles, in comparison the spicy habanero is a mere 100,000 scovilles!

Growing Carolina Reaper Chilli

Indoor Sowing: Mid Winter, Late Winter and Early Spring.

Direct Sowing: Not Recommended.

• Peppers take a long time to grow large enough from seeds to produce mature fruit, and they require a fairly long growing season.
• The best way to get a good crop is by planting the seeds indoors 8-12 weeks before your average last frost date.
• Soak your seeds overnight in warm water to help them germinate faster.
• Sow the Pepper Seeds about 1/4-inch deep in a moist sterile potting mixture.
• Mist the potting mix with water daily so it stays moist, or seal the pots in plastic bags so they don’t dry out.
• For best germination, keep the soil between 23 and 26 degrees Celsius.
• The pots won’t require light until the seeds sprout.
• Peppers typically require 14 days to germinate, but they may take as few as seven or as many as 30 days or longer to sprout.
• After the seeds have germinated, place the pot on a light windowsill or in a heated greenhouse.
• When they are 2.5cm tall prick out seedlings, moving each into their own 10cm pot. Make sure the roots are well covered and the leaves are just above the surface of the compost.
• Water and place in a light spot indoors.
• While plants are still growing indoors, move into 13cm pots filled with general purpose compost when roots begin to show through the drainage holes in the base.
• When plants are about 20cm tall, or before if they start to lean, stake with a stick.
• Pinch out the tops of peppers when they are about 30cm tall to encourage lots of branches.
• Plants are ready to go when all danger of frost has passed.
• Either plant directly into the ground, spacing them 45cm apart or transfer them to 22cm pots to give them plenty of space to grow.
• Make sure you water regularly, especially in hot weather and feed every two weeks with a general purpose liquid fertilizer. Feeding should start when the flowers first appear and should continue until the fruit have been harvested.