Growing, Sampling and Testing in 2006 In May 2006 three plants of Dorset Naga were donated to the BBC “Gardeners’ World” to take part in a chilli trial. The plants were grown in 9 inch pots, bottom-watered by capillary matting and kept in an unheated greenhouse. In September, Dorset Naga along with all the other chillies in the trial were harvested and tested for heat level at Warwick HRI, the horticulture research department of the University of Warwick (see http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/whri/). The results of the chilli trial were reported on the TV show “Gardeners’ World” on BBC2 on Friday 20th October 2006: Dorset Naga came in at 1,598,227 SHU. However, few details about the sampling and testing techniques are available at the moment, and we will not be fully confident of this result until we get the information from the BBC. More information about the growing conditions, and the sampling and testing technique will be posted as soon as we have it. Our own crop of Dorset Naga has not been tested for heat level yet. However, the sample has been picked and dried down, and the whole pods will soon be sent to the States for testing. The first laboratory, Certified Laboratories, will grind the pods into a powder, test it for heat level then pass it on to another laboratory for further analysis. As soon as we get the results they will be posted here.
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