Thai peppers are hot, habeñeros are hotter and bhut jolokias are the hottest. Says who? Jason Bayer and the Scoville scale. “I bought 10 seeds for 10 plants on eBay from a guy in the Caribbean,” said Bayer, proprietor of Bayer’s Garden Shop in Imperial, Mo., and South City. Currently, he has around 75 one-gallon pots for sale. (Call ahead to check supplies.) Depending on how soon you get your bhut jolokias (aka ghost peppers) planted, you can conduct a hot taste test in July or August.
This article appears in May 1-31, 2009.