Was just at the biggest nursery in town looking for something else when I stopped by one of the prep stations to ask for some help. Noticed some heavy duty plastic transplant trays (well, heavy duty for your normal semi-reusable/disposable trays that is) that looked very much like the speedling trays. Only instead of being perfect pyramids they were more like the old fashioned elongated trapazoidal popsicle molds. Nice grooves down the sides, good air pruning holes in the bottom, each cell probably 2 inches by 3 inches, each try with 30 cells (5x6). Asked them if they had anything like it for sale. Said they were the empties from where one of the supliers had sent them a shipment of lilies. One employee thought the supplier wanted them back, but called the manager to see if they had anything close to it for sale. Manager said to just give me the empties. I said thank you, took the stack (only wanted one, but they gave me the full half dozen trays) and got out of there before somebody had time to change their minds. =) Can't wait for my second round of bhuts to sprout so I can put them over into one of these trays. I'll try to get pictures tonight when I get home.

I started growing bhut jolokias a couple of years ago. They do have a low germination rate. It is very important to use fresh seeds that were dried properly. Last year I spent close to $20 on about 30 seeds and had good germination from them. They came from a company called "seed man". I have read good and bad about the company. I had very good germination rates from most of it, but low on a couple of them and none of the Vietnamese Hot peppers germinated at all. So you spend your money and take your chances I suppose. Seeds are living things and some just don't do well. The seeds I saved had much lower germination rates. I'm still learning how to handle them and prepare them properly. This year I bought live plants, mostly for convenience and I suspect my own had bred with other varieties. But these Jolokies do not like the cold, they prefer high temperatures. And bugs love the leaves so you have to keep them dusted. Also, they are very late season, so people in northern latitudes have to get started indoors really early if you expect to get anything ripe. On the positive side, they apparently do well indoors. I brought one plan in for the winter. After loosing some foliage from the shock it took off and grew really well all winter. Lots of foliage under no light other than a 26 watt CFL (100W equivalent), but didn't produce any flowers or peppers all winter.

First question I have is did you get your seeds from a reputable supplier? Heat is key for the seeds, NO SUN. Light only after they have sprouted. I have 10 of these plants growing for about 8 weeks now, will start hardening them off next weekend. I dont do that baggie thing but that is just a personal preference, some folks on here swear by it. I just drop the seeds in a good medium, put heat under them at 85 degrees and walk away for at least 2 days before I give minimal water. Bill

hey juicy1 thanks for your kind words, they sound like music to my soul. sorry to hear about your peppers although it sounds good that they're still setting flowers and the heat has been less intense. i read that stress is a major cause for flowers not setting. however figuring out the trigger has got to be "the" question. what are the others saying. i went through the spider mite/ aphid/ green lacewing larvae thing which helped significantly. then i later relocated most of my plants in spots where they got more afternoon shade with more frequent watering and misting which also helped. it'll be interesting to hear what the trigger is for your bhut jolokia. do you have a soil kit. perhaps you can check your soil to see what nutrient your plant maybe lacking. i believe they sell them in walmart/lowes or home depot. so stay encouraged juicy1, it's not over yet. in the meantime, how about rick in va jolokia. isn't it awesome. it's inspiring just to see. rick in va, if there's yellow it must be just a hint. looks more like a lighter shade of orange where the last of the development to a deeper orange to red is occuring. man are those pods fierce. you could almost feel the heat coming of those things. what do you think juicy1. and struwwelpeter, is it the light or are some of your pods red. nice...don't pick them. lol. hey i just noticed something, the pods on both plants are ripening from the bottom up. that's different from my other pepper plants which ripened randomly somewhere around the middle. and my chocolate bhut which looks more hab (my cross)started ripening mostly from the bottom. could it be the begining of something. hey guys, how difficult is it to cross pollinated. like how many generations of plants does it take. did anyone see that post on my chocolate jolokia or hab post by a blogger cmpman...he posted a picture of a chocolate jolokia that looks like a beautiful, chocolate, tortured soul with a good length...lol. my god, i think i'm getting hooked on these things. hey juicy1, tell me i'm over the top. :) let my know what happens with your peppers. if i can maintain my plants to the stage of maturity, i'll send you some peppers. i feel another blog title coming up... :) thanks everyone for all your help. hope every signed up for the pepper trade. i'm excited. it'll be my first one.