A couple of years ago I bought some Naga Jolokia seeds and decided to grow them in my greenhouse with a few other varieties. At the end of that season I was making some chilli powder and decided to hold a few seeds back from the Naga pods.
As it turned out, these pods were packed with seed and so I germinated them the following spring. I ended up with nearly 90% germination success. Out of ~100 seeds I had over 90 healthy seedlings. Due to my lack of ruthlessness I decided to keep them all; but making presents of some to friends, neighbours, and also selling a few (aided by the honesty box).
Thinking that the poly pots may restrict their growth I decided to plant them out behind the rose bed (The only free space, but plenty of light). The sight I had at the end of the summer was more chillies than I'd ever seen before. I made jars of chilli powder, hot sauce, curries, ristros, and jars of chilli flakes, although I didn't freeze any for some reason.
The look of the chillies was unexpected though. The result was an unintentional Apache hybrid cultivar, which looked like a small wrinkled Naga without the girth; or should I say 'They looked like Apaches'. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the autumn and winter killed these plants. My sister has still got hers on a windowsill. Apparently, it has started flowering and bearing fruit already. I will try to get a pic.
I have decided to germinate some of last seasons seeds. I may try to produce an F1 hybrid by inbreeding the plants produced. Perhaps getting a few more Naga-ish traits coming through. I hope I don't bite off more than I chew though. One thing's for sure; It won't be the hottest in the world, but it will be mine. And you never know I may just make the effort to produce my own super-hot chilli... I have the Bhut Jolokia going and some Trinidad Scorpions on the way... Let's see what happens.
