This year we are growing a selection of some new superhots Moruga Scorpion Yellow, Naga Morich King, Naga Viper and the Trindidad Scorpion Butch T, all are now competing for the hottest in the world again.

This Years Varieties

Moruga Scorpion Yellow: (Capsicum chinense) The Trinidad Scorpion Moruga chilli originates from the Caribbean island of Trinidad. It is thought to a cross between scotch bonnet or Red Savina and the Trinidad Scorpion. The plant can grow to a height of around 100cm and roughly 100 cm wide. The pods turn from a green to a yellow from mid-late summer.
Naga Morich "King": (Capsicum chinense) Originates from Nagaland, the plant grows at the height of 120 cm bearing up to 150 fruits. The flowers are white, 2-3 at a node, and fruits are blood red in colour, conical measures about 60 cm in length and1-2 cm width. Heat Value 1,041,427 Scoville Heat Unit. The Naga Morich 'snake or serpent chilli' is one of the world's most respected hot chilli peppers.
Naga Viper: (Capsicum chinense) Another strain of the Naga, still to be stabilized as a new strain but regarded as one of the hottest in the world. Crosses of the the Bhut Jolokia, with two other varieties, the Naga Morich and Trinidad Scorpion, gave this variety. The Naga Viper record is  set at 1,382,117 Scoville Heat Units (SHU)
Trinidad Scorpion "Butch T": (Capsicum chinense) Another strain of the Trinidad Scorpion coming from a Butch Taylor of New Jersey, where the pods were more consistent in shape and most had well defined Scorpion tail. This Trinidad Scorpion record is  set at 1,473,700 Scoville Heat Units (SHU)

This Years Equipment

Growth Technology Chilli Focus Chillis and peppers have specific nutritional requirements. While it is true that they can perform reasonably well with general purpose “feeds”, the best results will be achieved by using a formulation designed specifically for them. Chilli Focus is precisely formulated for the needs of chillies and peppers – it does not contain urea. It supports the production of healthier, more vigorous plants and colourful, juicier fruits.
Growth Technology
Root Riot Cubes Made from composted organic materials, these cubes have a great spongy texture which retains the perfect air/water ratio for healthy, rapid root growth. Suitable for both cuttings and seeds, Root Riot® consistently outperforms alternative media. The cubes are specially inoculated with micro nutrients and biologically active ingredients to nourish young plants, and to aid root development. Greenhouse Sensation Vitopod Precise control propagator- the accurate electric digital thermostat can be set to any 1°C between 5°C and 30°C and the display shows the actual and the set temperatures. The lower temperatures are ideal for over-wintering cuttings and prized plants, the higher temperatures are great for getting hot chillis and exotic plant seeds off to a flying start. Large vents in lids and sides – for superior humidity control, so your plants don’t suffer from damping-off. Even Heat - delivers an even heat throughout the base, so there are no hot spots or cold spots and your seeds and cuttings will germinate evenly. Height adjustable – add the extra layers to give plants more space. Perfect for when the weather is taking its time to warm up enough for you to plant-out and for protecting taller mature plants from the cold. Robust - the Vitopod is built to last. The lids and sides are made from a robust acrylic and are treated to protect them against the UV deterioration which makes other propagators turn yellow and brittle. 
Greenhouse Sensation NFT Hydro System GS200 5 plant, it constantly pumps a stream of water and nutrients to the plant roots and provides unrestricted access to oxygen. The nutrients for the NFT include all the elements plants need for healthy growth. The planter reservoir is completely emptied and refilled every 3 or 4 weeks, so no elements are ever too depleted or too concentrated. (Now called the Vivigrow 5 Plant Kit).

Seedlings 4-6 weeks old
transplanted into 3 inch pots

February 2012

Feb 5: Was contemplating starting them off today, but after 4-5 inches of snow overnight I think it can wait. The Vitopod needs a clean and disinfect, but far to cold to go and get it and clean up.

Feb 19: Seeds have been sown into plugs and set in the Vito Pod to germinate. Temp set at 25C but won't be able to hold that at night at the moment. Few extras are Padrons, Serrano's, Lemon Drop, Medusa, Aurora and Habanero Trinity.

Feb 25: Signs of life today for all the varieties, King Naga and Naga Viper first to show. Even though we had a frost again this morning and a very cold conservatory the Vito Pod keeps them warm dropping to about 18C at the lowest.

Seedlings 4-6 weeks old
Greenhouse Sensation cube caps
Greenhouse Sensation Quad Grow
Plugs in 3 inch rockwool cubes

March 2012

March 17: All this years new seed varieties had germinated in 5-7 days and now on first true leaves, while some of our year or 2 year old packets and saved seeds have taken up to today which is just about 4 weeks.

March 18: Horrible wet day outside so in the greenhouse potting on most of the plugs into 3 inch pots. As there is no root disturbance with these foam like plugs the plants do not wilt when transposed. A bit of loose soil can be washed off the leaves as they are given a slight watering and back in propagator as nights are now frosty again. Greenhouse Sensations have these 3 inch rockwool caps this year and should keep the tops of the rockwool from getting too grotty, keeping pests and diseases at bay, and moisture in.

Seedlings 4-6 weeks old
2 month old and slow growing

April 2012

April 19: Can't wait any longer, NFT filled up, pump cleaned and descaled after a stuttering start. Amazing little pump still going after many years and takes only 6W. Rest of plants now greenhouse bound, dreaded whitefly on soil of a couple but they look dead (the whitefly), too cold for them as well.

April 29: Been cold and wet now for 2 weeks and there's hardly any progress on plants, even the small amount of whitefly has died and fallen to the soil from the leaves. Hydro NFT is looking even worse as there's been no progress on these small plants, should have left them in soil and washed off for NFT when much bigger.

Seedlings 4-6 weeks old
GS NFT Hydro System ( GS200 5 plants)
Greenhouse Sensation Quad Grow
3 x 20 watt LED strip lights

May 2012

May 06: Still no let up of the cold wet weather so have decided to add a bit of light at the end of the day with these 20w LED strip lights from GreenLightsLED and have put them on a timer. Was going to pot on all the plants today but have decided to leave another week as forecast is more rain for 4 days and a frost tomorrow morning.

Seedlings 4-6 weeks old
Greenhouse Sensation Quad Grow

June - July 2012

June 1: Plants all potted on into a mixture of good compost and perlite. The quadgrows all contain the hot Naga strains as does the NFT 5 planter. Other favourites include Lemon Drop, Serrano, Fatalli, Anaheim and Padron. Not much watering to do at the moment as the weather is so cold.

July 19: Plenty of grey sky and rain for almost a month now which isn't helping growing. Whitefly and greenfly now a massive problem even with constant soapy sprays, will end up doing a aphid wipeout with Provado soon. GreenHouseSensations quadgrows are doing well for foliage growth as the NFT was slowed by persistent aphid attack on the Nagas. Time to put a few strings in to hold the plants up now as they are getting to the lean over stage.

Seedlings 4-6 weeks old
Greenhouse Sensation Quad Grow
Greenhouse Sensation Quad Grow
GS NFT Hydro System ( GS200 5 plants)

July 2012

First of the croppers are the Padrons and the Serrano's which are growing in pots, so have started taking the Padrons before they get too big for a quick tapas snack.

July 26: We've just had a week of sun now and all the plants have come to life, all the Naga strains are flowering and have small fruits starting to develop. The Quadgrows are now consuming at least 10 litres of nutrients a week and NFT just had a complete bath change.

Seedlings 4-6 weeks old
Padron
Greenhouse Sensation Quad Grow
Serrano

August 2012

Aug 2: Weather back to grey and rain, time for a greenhouse tidy.

Aug 11: Just picked a load of Padrons, Anaheims and Serranos which are best picked green. I think a few Serrano's will go in a home made guacamole, while the Anaheim's can be grilled and stuffed. Among the hotter types the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Yellow is doing the best for size with plenty on the bushes. Lemon Drops are doing their usual and starting to flop all over the place so plenty of tying up on these to be done. Watering is daily now and filling up nutrient tanks every few days with the warmer weather and thirsty big plants.

Chocolate Cherry Bomb
Serrano
Chocolate Cherry Bomb
Lemon Drop
Chocolate Cherry Bomb
Trinidad Scorpion Butch T
Seedlings 4-6 weeks old
Moruga Scorpion Yellow
Greenhouse Sensation Quad Grow
Lemon Drop

September 2012

Sept 10: Slow month a few sunny days but generally gloomy as there is plenty of foilage growing like mad but slow fruiting. First to ripen are the Moruga Yellows and the Lemon Drops. Soon to time to start de leafing a bit to get more air and light through the plants.

Chocolate Cherry Bomb
Naga Morich "King"
Chocolate Cherry Bomb
Naga Viper
Chocolate Cherry Bomb
Trinidad Scorpion Butch T
Seedlings 4-6 weeks old
Fatalli
Greenhouse Sensation Quad Grow
Medusa

October 2012

Oct 10: This has to be one of the slowest years of growing for us. The only ones that have done really well are the Vitpod plants which have a constant source of water and nutrients below their soil pots. The NFT has suffered from poor starting roots and then aphid attack so has not really recovered. Pots plants have done well. and are now harvesting from all plants now. One last time top up and deleafing to help with light levels, better circulation and trying to keep damp and mould at bay for as long as possible.

inside greenhouse June

October 2013

Greenhouse is now a bit choked full of large plants, we have de leafed many of the large plants as can be seen to get maximum light and air through to prevent damp and mildew setting in to early, the tops have also been cut as the flowers now are too let to benefit from and taking energy from the plant.

Chocolate Cherry Bomb
Aurora
Chocolate Cherry Bomb
Naga Morich "King"
Chocolate Cherry Bomb
Naga Viper
Chocolate Cherry Bomb
Moruga Scorpion Yellow
Chocolate Cherry Bomb
Trinidad Scorpion Butch T
Chocolate Cherry Bomb
Lemon Drop
inside greenhouse June

October 2013

Plenty of ripening chillis to pick, all of these will eventually be used in our range of hot sauces throughout the year.