Hey Jamie it’s Mike in Wash.DC. I just wanted to let you know my plant is doin great!
I took some pics. One quick question. I’m noticing the plant kinda takin a purple color in the stems. Is this normal? Or indication of a problem. The plant is about 2 feet tall and very full and bushy. Just curious. Takes a look a the pics! Doin my best to make ya proud of me with a successful grow!
Take care buddy,
Mike
Dear Mike
It looks perfect and should start flowering soon. Keep me updated as it’s always good to see how other Bhut enthusiasts are doing with the seeds!
Mahalo,
Jamie
Since the site has been up, there’s been a lot of great questions and feedback coming in. Keep it up!
So here is another edition of Ask Jamie, where we take your questions and share the info.
Question:
Pehea ‘oe, I live in the Chicagoland area. I am an avid pepper and vegetable grower. The season is short here but I have been successful in my endeavors. Tell me, if it is not a big secret, what is your favorite soil mixes for peppers and veggies. I have tried several with fish emulsion, worm casings, organic mulch etc. I look forward to hearing from you. Good growing. Malama pono, Aloha.
~Bruce Webber
Answer:
Aloha Bruce,
Mahalo for your inquiry. Sounds like you are doing the right things. Peppers like loam with organic compost. I use fish emulsion and kelp as well as my soil from my compost pile. They are heavy feeders so I fertilize every 30 days. I deep water my peppers every 2-3 days here in Hawaii. The depth of water penetration should be at least 12-16 inches. This encourages root growth as they go deep for the water and you will get a stronger, healthier pepper plant. Peppers do not like to be deprived of water, they do not like distress, and it is not OK to allow your pepper plants to wilt.
As far as your other vegetables go, most like the same type of soil with a pH just slightly acid of neutral–so the 6.5-7.0 range. You can purchase an inexpensive testing kit at Home Depot or Lowes or your local nursery.
I hope this helps.
Jamie
The Waimea Bay Chili Pepper Co.
Here’s another addition to our “Ask Jamie” series of questions from you. Keep them coming!
Question:
Hey Jamie,
Last year I grew them, and the pepper started green then started to yellow and then bright red . . . HOT but this year they started green and ended up all bright yellow. They are the same size and shape so I’m leaving some on the plant to see what happens. They are still totally hot. My question is; what could be responsible for the color change – weather, water or fertilizer. I’ve also seen listing’s for the Naga Morich which looks similar. Is it possible that when I ordered my plants (Bhut) they could have been substituted. I did not order from you but next year I plan to. Do you have an online listing of all plants or a catalog I can get.
Thank You for Your Help,
W. Reed
Answer:
Sounds like you got the old “switcharoo” to me. You have to think about what is happening. The normal color change of a Bhut Jolokia is from green, to orange, then when totally ripe a beautiful deep red. A ripe hot pepper that is yellow is not a Bhut Jolokia. It is pretty easy to identify the Bhut Jolokia, please check out the photos in our photo gallery on thehottestpepper.com/gallery.html
For your knowledge a few words about yellow plants. When a plant turns yellow it is usually from the inability of the plant to get rid of water in the soil (could also be from an iron, or nitrogen deficiency, or a high pH). This is usually caused from a clay based soil that holds the water. If this is the case then you need to add compost to your soil. But I don’t think this is the problem because your peppers are bearing fruit. A clay soil will make it difficult for the plant to extract the nutrients it needs to produce the fruit and mostly likely if this was the case you would have a lot of peppers dropping onto the ground. I suspect that you went sent another type of pepper.
I have been in business since 1986 and I have learned that there are a lot of unsavory characters out there. You are only as good as your word, and all the money in the world won’t repair a damaged reputation because of dishonesty. When you need the real thing, send me an email and we will get them out to you ASAP.
Jamie
