Spicing it Up

Ellen C. Wells

Peppers are a hot veg item in the garden, and the hotter the pepper, the more in demand it is. Burpee has heard the call and is meeting that demand with a new hot pepper that sounds hot just by the name alone. Bred by the UK’s Tozer Seeds, Armageddon is the first F1 hybrid super-hot chili pepper. And by super-hot, they mean it! At 1.3 million Scovilles, it’s one of the hottest peppers on the market. To put that in some perspective, jalapeños are 2,500 to 8,000 Scovilles (get me a mango lassi, stat!).

Burpee’s Jayson Force informed me that Armageddon has more fruit per plant and is two to three weeks earlier to produce than Carolina Reaper. The good news is that this 2020 variety is actually available now via Ball Seed. So for you southern growers and retailers, you can meet demand for those winter/early spring gardens. GP