Growing Naga Chilli plants from seed

[garreth64]

I've grown a few Chilli plants quite successfully last year, so decided to step up this year and have just ordered some Naga Morich Chilli seeds to grow this year.

Now I like hot chilli as much as the next man, but these are real bad boys and am wondering if I'm going to be able to usefully use them in cooking.

Anyone grown the same and got any recommendations for growing and/or cooking?


Extract from the website I have ordered them from:

The Naga King Chilli - Naga Morich

This strain of Naga Morich is straight from the hills surrounding Nagaland where it was tasted by Gordon Ramsay on his Great Escapes programme for Channel 4 television. Gordon Ramsey visited a village of one of the famous Naga Warrior Tribes in his latest show. The Naga Morich 'snake or serpent chilli' is one of the world's most respected hot chilli peppers. The Nagaland government has finally won the patent rights for the Naga King Chilli and also registered as the proprietor of the chilli with the Government of India, according to the Geographical Indication Registry recently.

• We only know of 2 companies that stock the original seeds of Naga King Chilli direct from Nagaland.**

In Nagaland it is grown in districts of Kohima, Mon and Peren. Traditionally chilli is being grown for green fruits during summer months in the upland jhum paddy fields. Its fruits form an essential ingredient of the Naga kitchen cuisine. 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 two inches in length and a half-inch width. Heat Value 1,041,427 Scoville Heat Unit. The people of Nagaland have been eating it for decades. Due to its extra-ordinary pungency level and irritating properties it has also been used as lachrymatory agent (a chemical compound that irritates the eyes to cause tears, pain, and even temporary blindness). Nagas are known to have used this chilli as a biological weapon in ancient warfare to get rid of enemies and also used it to smoke out foxes and rodents in their fields.

Naga King Chilli Heat

The heat of chillies is due to the presence of a group of seven closely related compounds called capsainoids, but capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and dihydrocapsaicin are responsible for approximately 90% of the pungency. The Naga Morich has a high percent of these two compounds.

Currently original Naga King Chilli seeds are scarce, and Naga seeds with proven provenance are even scarcer still. Our Naga King Chilli seeds come from certificated germination and heat tested stock. (Capsicum chinense Jacq) Seed Origin Nagaland

[Tim74]

It's the one variety I've stopped growing commercially this year. I'll need around 50 kilos of dried naga this year, which equates to around 250 kilos of fresh naga, and not only do I not have the room to grow that quantity of naga plants, it seems to be becoming a finicky plant to grow here, at least on a commercial scale.

It needs a very long season - lots of UK growers reported last year that much of their crop didn't ripen, due to the lack of light in spring, a late frost in May and then early frosts in October.

Seeds need to be sown now. You can germinate at 23c - 25c, but I germinate at 28c. Germinating at the lower temps will give you more plants, but the seeds will probably germinate erratically. Higher temps give you less plants, but germination will occur more or less at the same time. The latter is preferable in my case because I want to deal with potting on seedlings all at the same time as once the seeds have germinated, the temp has to be lowered to around 20c.

If you sow now at 28c, you should see germination in 10 - 14 days. It'll be a bit longer if you sow at the lower temp. Pot the seedlings on slowly to begin with. First size pot for individual plants with two sets of true leaves would be a 7cm x 7cm x 8cm for me. Then into a one litre pot around late March, where they would stay until planting out in the ground inside polytunnels during the second week of May. If growing in pots in a glasshouse or on a patio, aim for a final pot size of ten litres, no smaller. I keep some stock plants in pots and these go from the one litre into a three litre in May and then into the ten litre in June.

I don't see any ripe fruit on nagas until early September, but further south it can be early/mid August. Good luck!

[Bob the Planner]

I am using mine in chilli sauces with a thai chilli so its actually edible. Sowed in September and they are just reaching maturity with some decent weather this month. Interested to hear the germination temp as mine where raised at about 22C but got 50% yield from the seed. Spent all their life outdoors but watered through the dry periods.

Will be giving some to my workmates as they think they can eat anything. You can not tell an Aussie anything - especially if you are a Pom.

[Paulbav]

Bob the Planner said:

I am using mine in chilli sauces with a thai chilli so its actually edible. Sowed in September and they are just reaching maturity with some decent weather this month. Interested to hear the germination temp as mine where raised at about 22C but got 50% yield from the seed. Spent all their life outdoors but watered through the dry periods.

Will be giving some to my workmates as they think they can eat anything. You can not tell an Aussie anything - especially if you are a Pom.

They will learn

[spikeyhead]

Bob the Planner said:

I am using mine in chilli sauces with a thai chilli so its actually edible. Sowed in September and they are just reaching maturity with some decent weather this month. Interested to hear the germination temp as mine where raised at about 22C but got 50% yield from the seed. Spent all their life outdoors but watered through the dry periods.

Will be giving some to my workmates as they think they can eat anything. You can not tell an Aussie anything - especially if you are a Pom.

Please, put the results on youtube so we can all laugh.