Decorated chefs and experienced cooks have confirmed that restaurants would do well to incorporate the Caribbean red peppers into dishes generally, owing to the distinctiveness of Scotch bonnet peppers. Respect the heat. Scotch bonnets sit at the upper-end of spiciness for commonly used culinary chilies. You can also find them in many supermarkets (just like habaneros) right next to those jalapeños. Just because they are produce section neighbors, doesn’t mean you treat them equally. If you’ve decided to try a scotch bonnet in a recipe that expects jalapeños, significantly decrease the amount used. It’s very easy to over-spice here and ruin a meal.

Indoor Seedlings: After germination, your pepper seedlings need light. Use a grow lamp for the best indoor growth. (Here are my light recommendations). Once your plants are about 2-3 weeks old, they will be ready to move out of seed cells and into a mid-sized container. This process is known as transplanting. They range from 100,000-350,000 Scoville units on average – for comparison’s sake, jalapenos only measure around 5,000 units! How to Grow Scotch Bonnet Peppers Test the soil– Before planting, it’s a good idea to test your soil’s pH and nutrient levels. Scotch Bonnet peppers prefer a slightly acidic soil with a pH of around 6.0-6.8. A soil test kit or a local agricultural extension office can help you determine the pH and nutrient content of your soil.

Feeding and Watering

Dried scotch bonnet peppers are rich in flavors of smoke, dried flowers and tropical fruit aromatics; they are also a pure spice finish. However, they differ from the fresh scotch bonnet peppers in availability, as they are are available year-around. Varieties of Scotch Bonnet Peppers Here’s everything you need to keep in mind when planting these fiery little guys: Choose The Right Location

While some peppers like The Carolina Reaper (the world’s hottest pepper) are crossbreeds, the Scotch Bonnet is a purebred pepper. The original pepper has now been made into different strains such as the Chocolate Scotch Bonnet, from Jamaica. How did Scotch Bonnet Peppers Get Their Name? On the flip side, Scotch Bonnets aren’t as hot as super spicy chilies like Ghost peppers (1 million SHU), Trinidad Moruga Scorpions (1.2 to 2 million SHU), and Carolina Reapers (2.2 million SHU). As i mentioned in my last post despite being almost mid December my chilli plants still have ripe pods on them. That said thanks t the recent cold weather most of the plants are now looking very tatty with yellowing leaves, the last of the fruit losing their freshness. Preparation Carefully slide the seedlings out of their growing pots, making sure you don’t lift the plants by their leaves. Loosen the roots if they have formed a tangle at the bottom of the pot. So, with an affordable LED panel, you can help your plants get off to a strong start. These lights are efficient, quiet, and easy to set up. They also last a long time and will work great for other crops like tomatoes and herbs. LED grow lights above pepper plants.Most people would rather buy a sprouted plant that they can take home and plant in their gardens. Not everyone has the time, patience, or ability to grow a plant from seed. The sprouted ones at your local nursery are a safer bet. There are a number of Scotch Bonnet chili pepper varieties. Scotch Bonnet ‘Chocolate’ is mainly grown in Jamaica. It is dark green in infancy but turns a deep chocolate brown as it matures. Conversely, Scotch Bonnet ‘Red’ is pale green when unripe and matures to a brilliant red hue. The Scotch Bonnet ‘Sweet’ is not really sweet but rather sweetly hot, hot, hot. There is also the Scotch Bonnet ‘Burkina Yellow,’ a rarity found growing in Africa. How to Grow Scotch Bonnet The number of hot peppers that you will get from one plant can vary greatly. You should get at least 20 peppers per plant. At most, you can get up to 50 peppers from one plant.