Thanks to David who shared his great post with us about growing our seeds! Read on....
During our travels through New Mexico on an Alien Tour—from the Meteor Crater to Roswell, where even the most ordinary dishes come with a fiery kick—I found myself falling under the spell of Hatch chili peppers.
It seemed fitting that our journey took us straight through Hatch, New Mexico, the undisputed mothership of peppers.
The moment we got home, I went online to feed my new obsession, which led me to the Sandia Seed Company.
One phone call later, I was deep in conversation with a wonderfully knowledgeable woman who gave me a crash course in pepper cultivation.
By the time we hung up, I had ordered ten different varieties, covering the Scoville Scale from a mild 2,000 (Big Jim Chile) to a blistering 1,569,000 Carolina Reaper). My pepper-growing adventure has begun.
With ten trays, six of the same pepper plants in each tray each, 10 trays for 10 different peppers, the wait now begins. Exciting. I use a spray bottle of filtered water every day, spritzing with a light mist, making sure not to soak the soil. I have been keeping my tray of seeds indoors in a North East facing window. Our weater in Florida has been unusually cold this year, where temperatures have been dropping down into the low 60’s/Upper 50s at night.
I can’t wait to see these grow and my first harvest so I can make my almost famous Hot Sauce: And wait until you see the name I have picked out for this batch (Alien themes) to fit my Science Fiction writing.
Order of seeds sprouting (planted on 2/15/2025)
- Chimayó (2/23/2025 – 8 days)
- Devil’s Tongue (2/25/2025 – 10 days)
- Hatch Green Medium / Big Jim’s (2/25/2025 – 10 days)
- Carolina Reaper (2/25/2025 – 10 Days)
- Yellow Jamaican Hot (2/26/2025 – 11 Days)
- Habanero Red (2/26/2025 – 11 Days)
- Hatch Green X Hot (2/27/2025 – 11 Days)
- Bhut Jolokia Red Ghost (2/27/2025 – 11 Days)
- Tombstone Ghost (2/27/2025 – 11 Days
- Trinidad Scorpion (2/28/2025 – 12 Days)
After 18 days, the germination percentage is 88.33%, which I think is pretty great. Between the quality of the Sandia Seed company, the starter soil, my loving care and Florida weather, we will see if the 7 empty plots are just late bloomers or sterile seeds. (* Sandia Seed note: Looks like these were mostly Trinidad Scorpions and looks like one Carolina Reaper, which can be notoriously slow sprouters! Hope to hear from David that the rest germinated! We have faith. :)
Thanks David for your kind review and great photos!!
Read David's blog post »
