Hi Daryl, I wish I could say I have figured out the perfect system, but I credit our success to at least 60% pure luck, LOL! As I mentioned in my OP, our previous experience with hot peppers was like yours - low yield and little heat. We have done well with jalapenos and serranos, but nothing of the hotter varieties has ever done well for us. We have started a few plants inside to give them a running start at our short growing season, but our garden is strictly outdoors. This year we made a new small garden up against the south facing wall of the garage, and the extra heat reflecting off of it seems to have made a difference. One thing that might be a "pro tip" - hot peppers don't do as well if you water them too much. In fact, they get hotter if you starve them for water a bit, to the point of even seeing a slight wilt to the leaves. Doing that a couple times during fruit growth, and right before harvest, can help increase the heat content. I ended up with over 200 peppers from our one plant this year, it was quite the sight and by far the best success we've ever had.

Thanks to the suggestions here, I just got done drying some in the dehydrator, and have a batch pickled. Last thing I'm going to do is cold smoke a batch and see what I can do with them. I'm looking forward to trying it all out, the rest of my family, not so much, Ha!

Most of the hot peppers I'm familiar with are grown in hot climates. Seems like the hotter the weather, the hotter the pepper.

Some of the hottest jalapenos we ever grew were in San Antonio, TX during a summer that had a record number of days over 100 degrees. Those peppers were brutal, heat normally associated to hotter varieties.

Thank you for the info.....maybe this coming grow season I will try some in a raised garden on the back side of my garage