Scotch Bonnet Chilli Pepper – 20 Seeds

Scotch bonnet chilli pepper, also known as scotty bons, bonney peppers or Caribbean red peppers is a variety of chili pepper. It is named for its resemblance to a tam o shanter hat. Found mainly in the Caribbean islands, it is also in Guyana (where it is called the ball-of-fire pepper), the Maldives Islands (where it is called mirus).

The scotch bonnet chili pepper is widely used in Jamaican cooking. This species of chili pepper is closely related to the Mexican habanero pepper and is similar in many respects.

Ripe scotch bonnet peppers come in many colors – most commonly green, red, yellow and orange. Peppers are small (about 2-4cm in diameter) and irregularly shaped. Scotch bonnet peppers are rounded with wrinkled, crenulated flesh, similar in shape to a Chinese lantern or a traditional Scottish bonnet (for which they are named). The Scotch Bonnet is a great alternative to the Habanero chili.

Most Scotch bonnet peppers have a heat rating of 100,000–350,000 Scoville units. For comparison, most jalapeno peppers have a heat rating of 2,500 to 8,000 on the Scoville scale.

These peppers are used to flavor many different dishes and cuisines worldwide and are often used in hot sauces and condiments. It has has a sweeter flavor and stouter shape, distinct from its habanero cousin with which it is often confused, and gives pork and chicken dishes and other Caribbean dishes their unique flavor.

Growing Scotch Bonnet Chilli Pepper

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.