PSA: I tried growing ghost peppers in my Chicago apartment and they turned out sweet!

I used a grow light setup and followed the seed packet instructions exactly. After 4 months, I got a bunch of peppers that look exactly like ghost peppers, but they have zero heat. A friend who gardens said it might be cross-pollination from a bell pepper plant I had nearby last season. Has anyone else had a super hot pepper variety just lose all its spice? What could cause that besides cross-pollination?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason2091mo agoTop Commenter

So you basically gave your ghost peppers the plant version of a spa day and now you're mad they're not angry? That's like getting a guard dog and feeding it so well it just wants belly rubs. I guess next time you gotta skip the water, yell at them a little, maybe put on some bad music.

spencer7072mo ago

Man, that is the weirdest thing. I grew some Carolina Reapers a couple years back that did the same exact thing. Looked mean as heck, but tasted like a red bell pepper. My theory is the grow light messed with the stress levels the plant needs to make the heat. Peppers are supposed to suffer a little, right? Too perfect of conditions and they just forget to be spicy.

evayoung2mo ago

Yeah, I read something like that too. It was in this gardening blog that said capsaicin is basically the plant's defense against dry spells and bugs. So if you baby them with perfect water and light, like @spencer707 said, they just don't bother making the heat. I had some jalapenos once that were totally mild because I overwatered them all season. They looked great but had zero kick. Makes you wonder if we're just too nice to our plants sometimes.