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 )

 
Parting Shot

 

 

[stickman]

HAHAHA wow man! Earlier this week you encouraged me to have a crack at a more serious pod. After watching that review the moruga brown is well and truly OFF that shortlist!   

+1 on that!... I like me some heat, but not fond of that kind of pain. It'd be a quick way to kick some sauce up a notch or ten though... Thanks for taking one for the team and reporting Matt!

 

[WalkGood]

• Matt I like the picture of the SB7J cut in half and the review is great mon!
• Great pod porn, keep up dat great grow ...
• Brown Moruga … interesting burn and feeling descriptions you displayed. I was glad to see that you came back to state your flavor interpretation of “fruity, crisp.” One question, what do you mean by “crisp?” 
• Have a great weekend ^_^

 

[Mitch_from_OZ]

well done mate! That pod looked and seemed, by your expression, to be ridiculously hot!

 

[Devv]

OK, I watched the Brown Moruga review. Thinking I'll pass on eating one of those bad boys!
 
I could tell when the endorphins hit...LOL! So you got the cold water syndrome 'eh?
 
Sorry it was so much pain though....

 

[peppernovice]

    I watched that Brown Moruga review and laughed my butt off. My wife got home and we both watched it and laughed.  That was very entertaining. It's funny when you've been lit up by a pod, because you instantly know what someone is feeling when you watch a review. My buddy and I halved a 7 Pot Jonah Butch T. last week. It was very hot and about a minute it he got that "fight or flight" feeling. That's the same look you had with this pod. I was shocked when you popped the second half into your mouth. I was thinking "Is he nuts?". Nope, you just have balls the size of grapefruits, that is until they shrunk inside of you. Amazing review. Please keep them coming. My first whole pod was a ghost and I only kept it down for 10 minutes. I'm sure that wasn't your first whole pod, but it might have been your hottest.
 
Tim

 

[Fremp]

"hmmmmm" That boys and girls is how you know this pepper is Dylan!
 
In case you forgot what Dylan means....here's a refresher :
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9lg6HqJeY0

 

[MGOLD86]

Haha...wow. "I feel like my balls are shrinking up inside me!" 
 
Dude, I felt ya all the way through. I haven't puked yet...at least not on a pod. There was this one incident involving some Dave's Insanity and a shot glass, but heck that was in Bahrain so it doesn't count right? That looked painful for sure brother. Great job! I hope one of them hiding tags is a Reaper so I can hear how they stack up! Damn the luck having to go back through and re-review with whole pods...I think I got another Moruga Red the size of a tennis ball if you want it! I don't think it or the Reaper will be as painful as the Brown Moruga though. Hmmmm...may have to grow this one after all. I have been reading some threads on it, and wasn't to interested until I saw that. Brian (Compmodder) said the same thing, and I have seen him do back to back reviews of 7 congo sr and a primo while maintaining his Beuller....Beuller...composure, freakin machine! I heard the Biz got lit by this one too. I like how Judy is releasing this one, sending it out and letting the pain speak for itself! No hype...no BS...just pure freaking PAIN!!!

LOL.  I was like...holy shit...my balls.....they are....TINGLING!!!!  Man, as youll see later when tonight's vid uploads....the BMS has been bested in my book!  It is crazy how Brian can just sit there like nothing ever happened.  I watch him, the biz, and a few others just chill and are like...this is hot...yea....  For me, I am like I WANNA GO RUN IN CIRCLES AND HIT SOMETHING!!  Judy is doing it right, let the pod speak for itself, no hype needed.
 

I finally got caught up on your vids Matt! Wahooooo! Got taken for a ride buddddaaay! That Brown Scorp Moruga review was your best yet! When you started quoting taladega nights, I about died with laughter! Then you toss in Jim Carry for good measure lol

You say it's the hottest (or up there with the Jonah and Butch T) but also said it was the first whole pod you've popped like that. Do you think it still would have been up there with the Jonah and BT if you would have stuck with half?? Jonah's are huge pods, so even when you cut one of those in half, they're still the size of some normal pods lol. Awesome awesome reviews. I'm loving that they're in the backyard with the garden and dogs! Pure WIN.

Glad the plants worked out and you've got a badass garden (so clean and organized, I love that) that's giving you poddage.

Pizza pizza (NY thin) god now you've got my stomach talking....

Nice glasses, they even changed the way you talked...impressive what a dollar can get ya..lol

Stay classy Matt!

Good question.  I bet my tolerance is a bit jacked up from always doing half pods and now doing the whole ones.  But in all reality, the pod really cant get any hotter than the hottest it can be, if that makes sense.  They dont test the pod, they dry it, grind it into powder, and test that.  Eating two 1 million SHU pods doesnt mean that you ate 2 million SHUs, just that it will probably be more rounded out and last a bit longer....at least that is what I think.  What do I know? I'm just a docta....not for real.  another quote.
 

is that a usf hat?  did you go there

never ate somethin so hit i hadda take my shoes off lol

Yea, its USF.  I got lost on the way to college and ended up on some yellow foot prints....   
 
My wife went there so we have the memorabilia.  And yea, first thing to come off is the shoes. 
 

HAHAHA wow man! Earlier this week you encouraged me to have a crack at a more serious pod. After watching that review the moruga brown is well and truly OFF that shortlist!   

Just do it.  It is gonna suck, but the experience is worth it.  Just try a little piece. 
 

+1 on that!... I like me some heat, but not fond of that kind of pain. It'd be a quick way to kick some sauce up a notch or ten though... Thanks for taking one for the team and reporting Matt!

It would make a great powder.  Smoked Brown Morugas....MMMMMM!!
 

 

• Matt I like the picture of the SB7J cut in half and the review is great mon!
• Great pod porn, keep up dat great grow ...
• Brown Moruga … interesting burn and feeling descriptions you displayed. I was glad to see that you came back to state your flavor interpretation of “fruity, crisp.” One question, what do you mean by “crisp?” 
• Have a great weekend ^_^

 

Thanks Ramon!  "Crisp" to me is my explanation of a pod that has that...snap.  Imagine biting into a fresh bell pepper.  Real crunch to it. 
 

well done mate! That pod looked and seemed, by your expression, to be ridiculously hot!

It was amazingly hot.
 

OK, I watched the Brown Moruga review. Thinking I'll pass on eating one of those bad boys!
 
I could tell when the endorphins hit...LOL! So you got the cold water syndrome 'eh?
 
Sorry it was so much pain though....

LOL.  Its all good.  I enjoy tolerate it for your enjoyment!
 

    I watched that Brown Moruga review and laughed my butt off. My wife got home and we both watched it and laughed.  That was very entertaining. It's funny when you've been lit up by a pod, because you instantly know what someone is feeling when you watch a review. My buddy and I halved a 7 Pot Jonah Butch T. last week. It was very hot and about a minute it he got that "fight or flight" feeling. That's the same look you had with this pod. I was shocked when you popped the second half into your mouth. I was thinking "Is he nuts?". Nope, you just have balls the size of grapefruits, that is until they shrunk inside of you. Amazing review. Please keep them coming. My first whole pod was a ghost and I only kept it down for 10 minutes. I'm sure that wasn't your first whole pod, but it might have been your hottest.
 
Tim

Bwahahaa.  They did shrink up in there real good.  Crazy thing is, tonights pod was...dundundun....HOTTER.  But, no ball shrinkage, just complete paralysis with my hands.  Couldnt even open them at one point! And crazy thing is, it was my first whole one! 
 

"hmmmmm" That boys and girls is how you know this pepper is Dylan!
 

HAHAHA! I was spittin some fire man. 
 
So as I alluded to in my responses, tonight's pepper was hotter for me.  Ill be back later with the video and my writeup.  Crazy shit....it never stops.

 

[Dot Com]

you picked a mean pod to be the first superhot you ate whole. Nice going.

 

[thegreenman]

Awesome job with that pod...you guys are freaking nuts... I can't imaging anything hotter than what you just ate, or wan'ting to try another one after that..
 
But I'm betting the next one is gonna be the Lava 7. 

 

[peppernovice]

  Geez Matt......It's been over an hour. How long are you going to keep us in suspense?!
 
 
Tim

 

[MGOLD86]

Geez!  Sorry Tim!  Blame Youtube!
 
Now this is a shining example of how peppers hit people differently and how it is about impossible to REALLY tell what is the hottest without testing.  In reality, testing can go out the window because I was told that Ed had this pepper tested and it came out shy of 1 million SHU.  Now either he had a bad batch, I had a super pod, or more likely, peppers effect people differently.  To me, I judge heat on four things: Burn intensity, burn longevity, physical paralysis, and panic.  Directly comparing this to the Brown Moruga, the burn intensity and longevity was higher, the physical paralysis was more intense, and I definitely was in panic mode.  

On Heat.  No room for cheesy lines today, pure and utter pain.  I don't swear in my reviews, I do enough of that in life.  But today this pod made me drop the f-bomb.  I straight up hit panic mode and seriously considered turning the camera off and trying to crawl into a hole.  Unfortunately I knew that would do nothing so I just rode it out.  It was a very intense mouth burn, with lips feeling like they were cracked and then you got hot sauce in them.  I kept my timer going after the end of the video and the burn lasted on the lips for 51 minutes.  I had some stomach discomfort, but I sat on the couch for a bit and drank the other half of my TMudder elixer.  

On Taste.  It is really tough to describe the flavor, but I know that it was a different flavor, almost something I have never had.  I want to say there may have been a hint of bitterness but I can't really place it.  It was good, but I would need another go at it (which will never happen) to nail it down.

On Vigor and Production.  Judging on the size of the pod, this is a very healthy variety.  It is a hybrid, and as a hybrid it SHOULD have some variance from generation to generation.  But in this case, Ed said that these pods are pretty much spot on from the previous seasons so he is leaning more to a mutation than a cross.  

Heat: T1
Flavor: T2
Production: T1

 

you picked a mean pod to be the first superhot you ate whole. Nice going.

Yea....could have chosen a bit differently....but I am glad I did.
 

Awesome job with that pod...you guys are freaking nuts... I can't imaging anything hotter than what you just ate, or wan'ting to try another one after that..
 
But I'm betting the next one is gonna be the Lava 7. 

LOL, Thanks. 
 
No, sadly no Lava.  Judy is still keepin that one close hold.  Maybe sooner or later.
 

  Geez Matt......It's been over an hour. How long are you going to keep us in suspense?!
 
 
Tim

yea yea yea..you'll get your comedy soon enough.

 

[Peptacular]

Wow man, super impressed with your videos dude.

You remind me of a mix of me and my cousin Ned. He's a hardcore, no-nonsense, fast talking military man with good speaking skills and a charismatics presence. I'm a biology major who's knowledgable about my major and many peripheral subjects. But not so good at transferring that knowledge to Joe Everyman without excessive "ums" and awkwardness.

You're very thorough and scientific without a stutter or pause. But sometimes you go rapid fire with a bullpup swing on the subject. Take your time man, I'd sit still for a half hour video when you wax scientific. (Obviously tasting videos are a different beast)

You're one sharp ass tack and a good vocalizer; no need to rush your point when it's enjoyable to listen to. And the tasting videos? You have me chomping at the bit to get my own pain high haha.

I love the idea of isolating (within practical means) strains you want to advance and preserve, and keeping notes to ensure that end. Careful tending to pollination and mutations can only lead to great things. Awesome stuff man, you seem like a kickass individual.

Edit: no offense intended. Keep on keeping on man, you're recordings are on my permanent radar.

 

[peppernovice]

   It wasn't as much the comedy as the need to know what could top the Brown Moruga. I wasn't really expecting it to lose it's heavy weight title so abruptly. The comedy is just a bonus. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into your reviews. I hope you didn't take it the wrong way when I said the Moruga review was entertaining. I will now say 3 hail marries and take 30 lashes with a wet noodle. This will be extremely painful considering I'm a Baptist.

 
Tim

 

[thegreenman]

---that looked like real torture. I thought you were going to bail for a minute there. The hand paralysis is strange, I've never felt anything like that, but I do get the ear pain that some others do.
 
I wonder if we could find out how the different capsaicinoids interact with different parts of the brain's pain receptors, and why people feel them differently. 
Sounds like a project for DARPA. 

 

[stc3248]

Awesome! Now I will officially strike that one off the list of stuff to eat! I have eaten some crazy hot stuff too. The Infinity hit me hardest and I did actually have to walk around and leave the room for a few. I had a guy filming me, and he followed and I really wanted to punch him in the face. I have never had the extremities seize up or even really tingle. I have felt a bit light headed and get a ringing/burning inside my ears. Unbelievable you went back to back days testing, takes my system a few days to recover. I am going to attempt a Primo/Reaper side by side this weekend to see how they stack up flavor and heat wise. I think I will quarter them and eat them in succession....for as long as I can anyway??? Heck better yet maybe I'll send them to you and let you do it!!!

---that looked like real torture. I thought you were going to bail for a minute there. The hand paralysis is strange, I've never felt anything like that, but I do get the ear pain that some others do.
 
I wonder if we could find out how the different capsaicinoids interact with different parts of the brain's pain receptors, and why people feel them differently. 
Sounds like a project for DARPA. 

Haha...funny you wrote this as I was typing I saw the "new post" message. Look up...and same reaction!

 

[laynlow]

Wow great review on the Savannah.    I couldn't help but laugh just a little as the pepper was burning you up and reading your tshirt  "Keep Calm"   hahaha

 

[stickman]

Hi Matt, no offense meant... but chit man... you an adrenaline junkie sho' 'nuff!  

 

[JoynersHotPeppers]

Great painful review. I love the fact that others can tell me what I should turn to powder and forget about the fresh route for tasting! Holy heat stroke!

 

[WalkGood]

• Gotta love how you say “a lota pod,” … I’ll say!
• What do you mean by saying “almost clean tasting in the mouth?”
• Sorry to see you lose the seeds, good to hear you have a bag if you do wana grow dem
• Sad you couldn’t nail the flavor but I can see why … masked by all dat heat
• Lightbox pics getting better, little tip I learned if you care for one is ... loads of light outside the box is your friend
• Have a great weekend mon!

 

[Jamison]

Matt, your guts have got to hate you man! You are beastmode brotha. I couldn't even do it man, couldn't do it. I'd love to send ya some pods to review. Let me know man!