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Operation Golden Garden 2014: Let's Get Started!

**Instead of starting an entirely new GLOG, I decided to tack 2014 on to the end of this one. So if you have already went through 2013's grow, just jump ahead to page 40.**
 
Before you go on, I would recommend you grab a beer or something else stiff to drink.  If you didnt follow my grow last time around, I have the tendency to go on, and on, and on, and on.  Also, I may not be the most "PC" out of the group, so if you are looking for clean language, on topic discussion, and general 'niceness', I am sure that I can point you in the right direction.
 
Ok, now that we got that out of the way....I AM STARTING A FREAKIN GROW LOG!  A quick bit of back story. Since I spent more time in high school partying than studying, I didn't have much of a choice following graduation. I decided to enlist in the Marines (there really isnt another choice) and now here I am 8 years and 5 deployments later.  This last go around I left the first few days of September and just got back yesterday (9 months for all the other 'non studying' folk).  As most of you know, if you want some bangin pepper plants, you need to start early, and May 25th aint early.  So right before I left I cut everything back and prayed to the pepper gods that my plants would make it through winter so I could have something to come home to.  Up until yesterday I thought that they were just taking time to put on some green, but when I walked through the fence to see my dogs, a ritual that I typically do after every deployment, I realized that the plants were not there and instead was four trays of new plants just waiting for planting.
 
Note:  IPhones are not the world's leading video recording devices.  And as a result, I may not be easily heard.  Dont worry, I didn't have much to say initially anyways, I was just a bit more surprised than anything.
 

 
For someone who seems to always talk a bit too much, I didnt have much to say initially.  I was freaking out inside and didnt know if my wife got them or what.  When she told me that the guys from THP did it, i was blown away.  You gotta understand, over the past 9 months Bill (RocketMan) organized a "Operation Hot Sauce" care package rotation for me and my guys.  A bunch of members here chipped in and sent packages of sauces, powders, peppers, and other treats to help make this deployment a bit more enjoyable.  To hear that they ALSO chipped in and GAVE ME A GROWING SEASON pretty much put me over the edge.  I know that I already messaged you guys but I wanna thank RocketMan, Coheed196, Romy6, KingDenniz, Silver_Surfer, STC3248, DesertChris, Sanarda, MuskyMojo, Pulpeteer, WalkGood, DocNRock. Stickman, Annie57, Pic 1, Pr0digal_Son, Jamison, Spicy Chicken, HighHalt, Fremp, SethSquach, 3/5 King, Patrick, Bigoldude again for helping make this happen for me.  And although giving me a garden was WAY MORE THAN ENOUGH, they also gave me a little sumpin sumpin that will help out picking up the last minute things that I need to make sure I have everything I need for the season!
 
So this morning, I got up early because I am still on Afghanistan time, cooked breakfast, and then after the family ate we went out to the garden to plant everything. 
 

 
 
The Peppers:
7 Pot
7 Pot Douglah
7 Pot Yellow
Aji Colorado
Bhut Jolokia
Bhut Jolokia Assam
Bhut Jolokia Yellow
Bonda ma Jaques
Cobra
Congo Trinidad
Fatalii
Jamaican Hot Chocolate
Lemon Drop
Marconi Giant Hybrid
TSMB 
TSMB Yellow
Naga Morich
Safi Red
Trinidad Scorpion
West Indian Red
 
Maters:
Black Krim
Black Pear
 
Oh, and did I tell you that THERE ARE 3 EACH?!?
 
Gettin to work tilling the rows a bit


 
The wife givin me a hand

 
The kiddo givin me a hand

 
Rows Complete

 
And Peppers in the ground!

 
Some goodies from Bill, Jeff and Bonnie (Bill also has goodies in the fridge :cheers:)

 
Parting Shot

 
 
Click to expand...
Matt you have quite the glog going on here.  It is ever expanding with tons of great info. I have a lot to say but not enough time to type so I hope you enjoy my partial pod review of the Assam's! They are delicious and pack a punch I've never really experienced before. Gotta love that burn  :fireball:  :dance:  :fireball:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVPNxIfW_Ks[/youtube]
 
Pic 6 is a Primo...Last pic is a Yellow 7 mystery in the back and a Yellow Brain up front...will watch the vid in a min!

Glad you got a break from the crazy brotha...great vid. Sounds like a good one! I really like the ones that you can use and not kill anyone with it. Sounds like just that! Thick walls and high production would mean great sauce and powder potential and the whole fam could use it! Great review, covered all the bases. Looking forward to the rest! 
 
Yep, the generosity of our pepper brethrens and sisterns, not a word but hey, never fails to amaze. Those are some really great looking pods and as always the reviews are great. 
 
with the expansion of the indoor grow/prep area are you also planning on expanding outdoors also? Looks like you have plenty of room to do it.
 
Have a great weekend Matt.
 
Nice pics of the future pain Matt!
I'll be waiting watching :D
 
Ya know I brought a true Reaper to work and we sampled it over two days, nothing like you do, just slices. When we got into the placenta, it's a really tasty pod, plenty hot but really nice...
 
Ill be back in to respond to everyone, I got up early to smoke some pig for dinner and figured I would have a couple hours of "alone time" on here to catch up....no such luck.  The kiddo got up 2 hours early and now I am trying to keep him occupied and quiet enough so mama and my sister (who is in town visiting) can sleep...
 
First off, I gotta thank Jeff for the AWESOME box of pods and powders!  There are some MASSIVE supers in there, and a few great lookin milds/mediums.  I am gonna be smokin some pig tomorrow, and I can't wait to sprinkle a bit of powder on there to light it up!

 
This one really had me stumped.  Smokin Hot, unusual burn, and a great flavor.  Too bad it decided to come up as soon as the camera stopped rolling.   

The Bottom line:  Great flavor, crazy heat.  A great choice for someone looking for a crazy pod that will light you up good.

On Heat. This pod was really made it hard for me to think.  I kept on trying to explain what was going on, but I couldn't think straight enough to talk.  It had a miserable mouth burn and although it may have been a throat burner, I really couldn't think about anything else besides my mouth.

On Taste.  Very fruity, and not that heavy capsacin taste that you sometimes get with Infinities.  The interesting thing is the fact that the flavor stayed with me throughout the burn, and a while after.  

On Vigor and Production. Everything I have seen has shown that these are great producers and put out huge, gnarly pods.  

Heat: T2 (But a HIGH T2....)
Flavor: T2
Production: T2

This pepper would work well in a sauce or powder because it is nice and beefy.  


 
 
Haha...that was amazing. Great review! Exactly how I would explain the pain...except I KNEW it was hitting my throat. Flavor description was spot on as well...sweet without the bitter following. The two pod shapes are on two different plants, and I dunno if that is due to it being unstable...or one being a potential cross. Seeds were from Dave (gnslngr) so maybe he could give some thoughts. Dude you're a beast...those pods are no joke! Could see the tears rolling down your face, you grabbing your stomach...could tell that one hurt. 
 
   Great reviews Matt. It's interesting to see how the different peppers hit you. Off topic a bit, but is that knife you use in your videos a zero tolerance ( ZT0350TSST). I've been contemplating purchasing one, but wanted to hear from someone if it was worth the price. The best deal I could find was about $120.
   I also wanted to congratulate Eric (Capsicum Select) on his first review. I was impressed by your poise. It's hard to concentrate after you eat any amount of a super hot. I hope this is only one of many to come.
 
  You guys inspire me. I have been thinking about doing a review for some time. Maybe in the near future?!
 
Tim
 
BrooklynXpat said:
Awesome looking pods Matt, you got some crazy presents to review. Very nice photos BTW- what app did you wind up using to work on them, I know you stepped up from iphoto? Aperture?
Click to expand...
Thanks Matt, yea, I ended up going with Aperture.  I am totally loving it!  I am still getting the hang of it, and I think that there are a ton of things that I am still missing! I am shooting in RAW as well, and that is pretty ya either get it or you dont.  You can really edit everything in RAW, but it takes some practice.  It really sucks when you think you got the photo you like (because the screen on the camera shows a JPEG) but when you import it, you may not get it!  So I end up take many more photos than I would usually.
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
Hurry up and finish so I can send you some pain. When you see the pictures of my Jay's I am sure you will do like I did, run and hide under the sand! 
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LOL.  I still have a TON of pods that I wanna do, and we shall see how many I can get through.  I am almost done with John Ford's, but those are easy cuz most are medium hots.  But the pods will pass and ill start itchin for a few more crazies!  And the funny thing is...I STILL HAVEN'T TRIED ANYTHING FROM MY GARDEN!! LOL.  I keep gettin pods in, and I shoot out the ripe ones around the community. Gotta love it here!
 
Capsicum Select said:
Matt you have quite the glog going on here.  It is ever expanding with tons of great info. I have a lot to say but not enough time to type so I hope you enjoy my partial pod review of the Assam's! They are delicious and pack a punch I've never really experienced before. Gotta love that burn  :fireball:  :dance:  :fireball:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVPNxIfW_Ks[/youtube]
Click to expand...
Great review!  Rabid racoon :rofl: 
 
You definitely took it like a champ, and we can tell you went through all the stages of superhots!  Burn, oh shit, regret, saliva, numbness, endorphines, and calm! You have a future in this...but it will suck! The Assams are freaking KILLER, definitely not a first round choice...so you jumped in head first!
 
-Thanks Jason for the clarification!
 
stc3248 said:
Pic 6 is a Primo...Last pic is a Yellow 7 mystery in the back and a Yellow Brain up front...will watch the vid in a min!

Glad you got a break from the crazy brotha...great vid. Sounds like a good one! I really like the ones that you can use and not kill anyone with it. Sounds like just that! Thick walls and high production would mean great sauce and powder potential and the whole fam could use it! Great review, covered all the bases. Looking forward to the rest! 
Click to expand...
Yea, it was great.  It is nice to not get murdered every time a pod comes across the table!
 
GnomeGrown said:
Nice review, CS.
 
:clap:
Click to expand...
Thanks!
 
RocketMan said:
Yep, the generosity of our pepper brethrens and sisterns, not a word but hey, never fails to amaze. Those are some really great looking pods and as always the reviews are great. 
 
with the expansion of the indoor grow/prep area are you also planning on expanding outdoors also? Looks like you have plenty of room to do it.
 
Have a great weekend Matt.
Click to expand...
It is crazy aint it?!  Yea, right now I have about 65 or 70 plants in the ground, and I am gonna dig out the rest of the grass next to the plot between it and the fence.  I am also planning to expand the rows a bit to get me some better spacing.  I am hoping to get somewhere between 100-125 or so in ground spots.  I have A TON of room and I could probably grow close to a 1000 plants in my yard, but I figure 100 plants is gonna be enough work. 
 
Devv said:
Nice pics of the future pain Matt!
I'll be waiting watching :D
 
Ya know I brought a true Reaper to work and we sampled it over two days, nothing like you do, just slices. When we got into the placenta, it's a really tasty pod, plenty hot but really nice...
Click to expand...
Thanks!  Yea, they do have a great flavor to them, I really have no complaints in that department.  AND they are plenty hot. 
 
GnomeGrown said:
:clap:
 
Great review and nice dogs, Matt.
 
:mouthonfire:
Click to expand...
Thanks!  If you want those seeds, shoot me a PM. 
 
WalkGood said:
Whoa I was surprised that you were at a loss for words ... but then again I wouldn't do that and she's one bad azz pod, great review ...
Click to expand...
Thanks!  Yea, my wife says that I never shut up....I think if she watches this review there is going to be Monster Infinity pods hidden in all my food from now on! lol.
 
stc3248 said:
Haha...that was amazing. Great review! Exactly how I would explain the pain...except I KNEW it was hitting my throat. Flavor description was spot on as well...sweet without the bitter following. The two pod shapes are on two different plants, and I dunno if that is due to it being unstable...or one being a potential cross. Seeds were from Dave (gnslngr) so maybe he could give some thoughts. Dude you're a beast...those pods are no joke! Could see the tears rolling down your face, you grabbing your stomach...could tell that one hurt. 
Click to expand...
Yea man, I was watching the playback and I was like holy crap, it looks like a firehose from my eyes!  It really had me stumped and caught off guard.  I thought with the pods that I have already tried that wouldnt happen.  But you get surprised all the time in this game!  I knew that it was Dave's pod, but I got distracted and forgot to mention it.  My mind was like mush, then I could feel that the pod was probably gonna come back up so I tried to wrap things up pretty quickly. 
Tim-
That is one of the reasons I wanted to try this pod.  Shane kept saying how it was the worst throat burn ever, and a lot of other guys who have tried it said the same thing so I had to see for myself.  I am not sure if the one I got is the same knife.  Mine is a SOG, so i am not sure if we have the same one.  I picked mine up for 90 bucks a few years back and it works great for what I need it for.  I carried it for a while overseas and like every service member with a knife, used it to open MREs and cut 550 cord.  I dont know what everyone thinks....there hasn't been a confirmed knife kill in like forever!  lol. 
 
do the review! Bust it out. 
 
J-
Yea, it was definitely a scorcher!  I am doin a couple mild peppers today and tomorrow THE BOC!
 
 
Damn dude! Everything looks great. Grub, booze, reviews, how tos, and an awesome grow. I definitely need to check out some charapitas for next year. Rock on man!
 
Darthpepper said:
Damn dude! Everything looks great. Grub, booze, reviews, how tos, and an awesome grow. I definitely need to check out some charapitas for next year. Rock on man!
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Thanks!  They are freakin awesome, definitely a great filler pepper!
 
Devv said:
Nice review, and it looked like a killer!
 
I saw the tears, now that's hot!
 
Well done!
Click to expand...
It definitely hit me pretty hard! Tears were in no short supply!
 
Time for the BOC!!
 
Ok...The Bottom line:  Amazing flavor, enough heat to satisfy even the biggest heat seekers. I have found my new favorite pepper.  A great choice if you are human.

On Heat. The BOC took a good two to two and a half minutes to build.  It immediately hit my tongue, really uncomfortably under it at first before spreading to the top and then the throat.  It had a nice coal throat burn, then started attacking the lips a bit.  I had some tingling on my fingers, but no real paralysis.  The burn lasted about 5 minutes at its greatest, but even now, 30 minutes later, my mouth still has a few hot spots.  

On Taste.  Amazingly fruity, bordering on unique.  I totally enjoyed this pepper, it had a few hints of floralness, but before that could really come out, it was all fruit.   Even as I was recovering and cooling down, it still tasted amazing.  

On Vigor and Production. Everything I have seen has shown that these are great producers and the pods are huge and blocky.  It is definitely orange, which is cool.  Not a lot of orange pods are actually orange, and instead just overripe yellow pods.  

Heat: T2
Flavor: T1
Production: T2

This pepper would in just about any pepper application you can think of.  Sauce, powder, fresh, sautéed, or pickled.  All of them would be awesome. This would also fit nicely for those who want to jump into sweet sauces.  





 
 
The joys of being a chillihead! In 13 minutes I've gone from never having heard of the BOC to it becoming a must grow for next season. Thanks Matt!
 
PS if you've still got that headache just tilt your head 90 degrees so that your ear is touching your shoulder and jump up and down for 60 seconds. If it works you'll feel something run free inside your head and the ache will quickly disappear. If not, well you can laugh at yourself for jumping up and down like a tool and hopefully that'll release some endorphins......or something :lol:
 
stc3248 said:
Dayum...that sounded freakin fantastic! I'll be growing that one next season! 
Click to expand...
Yea man, definitely the beez kneez!
 
Cartz said:
The joys of being a chillihead! In 13 minutes I've gone from never having heard of the BOC to it becoming a must grow for next season. Thanks Matt!
 
PS if you've still got that headache just tilt your head 90 degrees so that your ear is touching your shoulder and jump up and down for 60 seconds. If it works you'll feel something run free inside your head and the ache will quickly disappear. If not, well you can laugh at yourself for jumping up and down like a tool and hopefully that'll release some endorphins......or something :lol:
Click to expand...
Yea man, I had no idea what the hell it was until hangin in GA GH's GLOG. 
 
It actually got so bad that I had to go in to medical this morning at work.  They gave me a saline IV and then a painkiller shot.  It didn't really help much, but then they gave me some crazy super extra strength sudafed and that seemed to do the trick.  It was terrible, it hurt to sit up or stand from sitting, walk around, chew, etc.  I had a chili for tonight to review, but I need a day to get back to human!

 
Thank GOD the corpsman hit the vain in the first shot!  I am no bueno with sticking needles in my veins, and the dude kept on going, oh shit, i forgot x, hey senior chief do I do this? etc.  It was pretty unnerving. 
 
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