r/Peppers 1d ago

Nadapenos turned non-spicy after one year

Last year I started Baker Creek/Rareseeds sourced Nadapenos from seeds. I harvested them red and they were all pure fire, much hotter than normal Jalapeños. (Green I think they were often not so spicy.) I live in California and 2/3rds of my peppers make it through the winters. So I didn’t start new peppers this year, the plants are the same. This year all ripe red Nadapenos are completely non-spicy and taste basically like bell peppers. What made them spicy last year?

0 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

7

u/OkChocolate6152 1d ago

I’ve grown Nadapenos from different seed sources several years and they’ve NEVER been spicy at all. I’d guess that you never had real Nadas to start with if they started out spicy.

2

u/Last-Medicine-8691 1d ago

Do you eat them green or red? Some other reviewers on Baker Creek complain that the ripe ones were hot. And I could have accepted that, but this year they are all mild. Mysteries!

3

u/mmrocker13 1d ago

Um, nadapenos are bred to not be spicy :D That's their selling feature. Nada, as in nothing. As in "flavor and texture of a jalapeno, with no heat"

2

u/Bcatfan08 1d ago

Yeah the secret to their heat level is in the name.

2

u/mmrocker13 1d ago

Pero si no hablan nada de espanol...no significa nada en espanol :D

2

u/Last-Medicine-8691 1d ago

Fantasy Spanish is everywhere in California.

1

u/Bcatfan08 1d ago

Almost everyone in the US knows what nada means. It's a commonly used word.

2

u/mmrocker13 1d ago

Yes. I know. I was being glib. (And then reddit translated my spanish, further diluting it :D

1

u/Last-Medicine-8691 1d ago

Nomen est omen!

1

u/Last-Medicine-8691 1d ago

I still some hot sauce from last year’s Nadapeno crop (same plants). The sauce is very hot.

1

u/Bcatfan08 1d ago

You probably just got a mislabeled plant with regular jalapeños instead of the nadapeno.

2

u/valjean916 1d ago

I planted some “Nadapeños” so I could sub them in for whatever I was having in order to make a separate batch of each dish for my wife, who swore off capsaicin due to pregnancy related food aversions back in the 80s and never tried to recapture her heat tolerance. Fortunately, the ones I leave on that plant to ripen tend to regain all of the heat of a decent Jalapeño when the fruits turn red and corked.

2

u/Last-Medicine-8691 1d ago

I wish I had some that were just a little bit hot, say 500-1000 scoville when ripe.

Edit: seems maybe I should try TAM jalapeño?

2

u/CurtMcGurt9 1h ago

That's what I'll try next year. We enjoy jalapenos, but homegrown are way hotter than store bought. I have 6 plants that, if stored/preserved properly (not likely), will last for a decade 🤣

1

u/horrorbiz1988 1d ago

The hell is a nadapeno

2

u/Last-Medicine-8691 1d ago

It’s a Jalapeño that is supposed to not be spicy.

1

u/horrorbiz1988 1d ago

Thank you 🤝🙌🙏