Westville man growing super hot peppers

Mark Riggs has been growing peppers for almost 10 years

Looking for a way to spice up Sunday dinner? Why not try a hot pepper?

Mark Riggs of Super Hots Canada Food and Plants in Westville has been growing hot peppers in his backyard greenhouses for almost 10 years.

He likes to switch up what he grows each year, but one staple is The White Bhut Jolokia Ghost pepper, which can reach over a million Scoville Heat Units.

The jalapeno pepper’s high range is around 8,000.

This year everything outside the White Bhut Jolokia Ghost pepper is something Riggs is trying out for the first time.

“I’m trying to shift myself back towards growing some of the hottest in the world, that’s why I am trying out a few new varieties in here this year.”

Some of the other varieties he is trying to grow include, seven pot primos, skunk (chocolate), despair and hurt berry.

He is also working on some cross-breeds in a separate greenhouse. He has a whole tracking system set up to track every one of the plants each year and tries to detail all the different traits.

This is especially important for the cross-breed.

“I’m trying to make sure I am doing it right for when I actually do release them,” says Riggs.

He is planning on naming the cross-breed after a friend of his, who passed away in 2016.

“About a month before she passed she joked I should name one after her one day.”

The cross-breeds are just starting to grow. Overall, it has been a slow-growing year.

His peppers are normally ready around mid-October to November.

He has seen some early growth, though — some peppers have reached maturity already. This usually doesn’t happen until at least midAugust. He says this is most likely due to climate change.

Riggs usually has around 50 to 200 plants a year. He has scaled back the size of his production in the last few years due to space, money and plant logistics.

He has also had to prioritize caring for his mother.

His journey to growing hot peppers started with a trip to Halifax to visit his brother in

2004. Together they went to an Indian restaurant near his brother’s place.

Riggs’s brother tried to dissuade him from trying a spicy dish but, going against his wishes, he ordered a very spicy curry.

In the curry, he found a new favourite food and an affection for the heat.

He does still find the peppers hot, depending on how much he has been eating them. He says if you are not constantly eating spicy foods, your tolerance diminishes.

He is not one of those people that can pop full ones like candy.

While curry is a good dish for hot peppers, people can put them on burgers, steaks or anything they like.

A trick for beginners would be trying them on greasy foods like pizza, as the grease cuts back the heat.

For people interested in Rigg’s hot peppers, they can keep an eye on Super Hots Canada Food and Plants on Facebook, superhotscanada on Instagram and Super Hots Canada on Twitter.

They can also check out his website: https://www.super hots.ca/.