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

 

 

[Pr0digal_son]

Hey Matt,things are looking good. Looks like you are trying out some natural lighting for your pod shots. Morning sun is really good to work with and late in the day you can get some warm effects. If the sun is harsh you can set up in a semi-shaded area and use a piece of paper to reflect light onto your subjects.

 

[MGOLD86]

Nice update Matt!
 
Glad to see all the poddage!

Thanks man, me too!! I have got to send a few boxes out already, and I am hopin that we get a nice and long season so the champion harvests come sometime in September.
 

Great walk through. I'm doing the planning stuff as well for next year and trying to decide on more hid or a large fluorescent set up for seedlings on a 4x8 flood tray. Sure you'll come up with a solid plan and use what you learned from your previous experience to make it that much better and be a success.

Man, I can't stop thinking....right now it is the whole size dilemma.  I have a pretty ambitious grow next year, which needs plenty of space in the tent.  I took the wife's car in today to get some maintenance done so I spent the whole time on the net and now I am leaning towards a combo HID/FLOURO grow.  I am thinking about doing a two tier bench in the shape of a "U" and the bottom bench will act as a germ chamber and then they will get moved to the top under T5s.  Ill let them grow until they get going well (maybe a month or so) so they can take some more heat and then I was thinking of swapping the T5 for my MH.  Then I could move my T5s under the shelf and start a whole new round of seeds that can just grow under the FLOUROs.   If i make the bench like 26-28" high, that should allow me enough room to hang the MH light at height, and grow plants under the shelf to about 20". Inside my crazy head...I like to write things down, even if I just toss it at the end.

Great video walk through a clean, well run grow, Matt.

 
Happy Harvests!

Thanks!  It is definitely a blast walking through the garden and seeing all the color!
 

This glog's getting outa control! Pods are looking wicked, vids are awesome and you have one of the top notch looking gardens on THP (well the ones I've seen.

Thanks, thats a great compliment.  There are a ton of growers here and I am just lucky to be a part of the fun!
 

Hey Matt,things are looking good. Looks like you are trying out some natural lighting for your pod shots. Morning sun is really good to work with and late in the day you can get some warm effects. If the sun is harsh you can set up in a semi-shaded area and use a piece of paper to reflect light onto your subjects.

Cool, thanks for the heads up.  Yea, I need some more light for the lightbox to work properly, right now it is too dim and the camera translates that to grey.  Even in post process I can't get it white, so I tried taking some photos outside and now it is a bit too much sun.  But practice makes perfect!

 

[Seacowboy]

I'm the same way especially with all my idle time sitting around on the tug doing nothing. Don't know which fluorescent lights you looking at specifically but I have found some decent deals on the Quantum Bad Boy fixtures on a few sites, Hydro Galaxy has them priced good and offers first time sign up discount of 5% and free shipping, a couple others have the light just a little cheaper but with the discount and shipping its the same or less. For HID I found Discount Hydroponics has good deals for couple light kits, ballast, reflector and bulbs and you can customize them as well. I'm with you on the size deal, while I won't be using a tent I'll be using an enclosed shed attached to the house so space is still limited. Want to get my reloading room back so I'll be using the shed but will have to get a heater to maintain temps, if going the HID route I maybe able to get away with out the heater but bulb life and my concern over a short and blown bulb while I'm gone has me leaning a lot more towards the Bad Boy units, now just to decide on how many bulbs and the size of the flood table I'lll build.

 

[stickman]

Very nice vid of the garden Matt... most of the plants look pretty happy, and for the rest... Eh! it happens. What I can't believe is you have plants in the ground that you didn't even start until you got back from Afghanistan, and they're budding. I hope your season is long enough for you to get at least a few of those pods. My Chocolate Habs are losing leaves... nothing's damaging them... just what they do this time of year.

 

[romy6]

 Great action Matt. You deserve all the love from the pepper Gods for all that you do for us civilians. 
 
 Gracias mi amigo. 

 

[MGOLD86]

I'm the same way especially with all my idle time sitting around on the tug doing nothing. Don't know which fluorescent lights you looking at specifically but I have found some decent deals on the Quantum Bad Boy fixtures on a few sites, Hydro Galaxy has them priced good and offers first time sign up discount of 5% and free shipping, a couple others have the light just a little cheaper but with the discount and shipping its the same or less. For HID I found Discount Hydroponics has good deals for couple light kits, ballast, reflector and bulbs and you can customize them as well. I'm with you on the size deal, while I won't be using a tent I'll be using an enclosed shed attached to the house so space is still limited. Want to get my reloading room back so I'll be using the shed but will have to get a heater to maintain temps, if going the HID route I maybe able to get away with out the heater but bulb life and my concern over a short and blown bulb while I'm gone has me leaning a lot more towards the Bad Boy units, now just to decide on how many bulbs and the size of the flood table I'lll build.

Yea, the BadBoys are sick, and a bit less expensive than the Hydrofarms, but they don't come with bulbs.  The HF come with bulbs but cost a bit more.  I have a 4X6 HF fixture that I used last year, so I know they work well.  I also have a 600w dimmable HID that all I need to do is swap out the reflector for an aircooled hood and some ducting/fan.  My wife wants to me start some flowers for her next year, so I am gonna be needin the extra space....
 

Very nice vid of the garden Matt... most of the plants look pretty happy, and for the rest... Eh! it happens. What I can't believe is you have plants in the ground that you didn't even start until you got back from Afghanistan, and they're budding. I hope your season is long enough for you to get at least a few of those pods. My Chocolate Habs are losing leaves... nothing's damaging them... just what they do this time of year.

Thanks Rick! Yea, you kinda just have to accept that there will be some casualties along the way.  And I was out there this evening checkin up on things and I saw 2 open flowers on the Savannah 7 Pot....CRAZY! There are a about 2 dozen buds across all the plants, AMAZING!
 

 Great action Matt. You deserve all the love from the pepper Gods for all that you do for us civilians. 
 
 Gracias mi amigo. 

Thanks Bud!  I couldn't have done it without all of your help!

 

[MGOLD86]

HOLY F TARDS.  I just got like 60 pods.  3 FRIGGEN BOXES!  The first review came 20 minutes after the boxes came!  Stay tuned for the Choc Moruga review, pics, and A METRIC SHIT TON OF REVIEWS over the next 2 weeks!

 

[GnomeGrown]

 
More generosity from the good folks at THP.

 

[stc3248]

You need to donate your stomach to science...think that may happen sooner and not later!

 

[Devv]

Looking forward to the future reviews!

 

[MGOLD86]

 
More generosity from the good folks at THP.

You know it!  CRAZY!
 

You need to donate your stomach to science...think that may happen sooner and not later!

Yea man...it is on its way already after the first review!! I am gonna stick to the every other day to keep me vertical, but the good news is there are some no supers to keep the stuff flowing.  Yours will be the next super I eat. Time for a proper match with the Monster Infinity!
 

Looking forward to the future reviews!

Well first one is up below!
 
This is my first review for John Ford.  I have a few pods to go through over the next week or so, and I wanted to start with this badboy because I just did tried the Brown Moruga and wanted to do a comparison.  

The Bottom line:  Good Flavor, Good Heat.  A solid all around pepper.

On Heat.  I was expecting a bit more heat on this one, however, it didn't disappoint.  Very heavy mouth burn with a stingy type burn that you would normally expect from a Habanero type pepper.  The heat built a bit and kept going for a while, but eventually it hit full force and was really attacking my tongue.  

On Taste.  Overall a very pleasant taste, scorpion citrusy and not bitter at all.  The pod was thick walled, and had a 'snap' to the bite.   

On Vigor and Production. I am told this plant puts out about 30-50 pods a plant, and if you have a long enough season this could definitely do well for you in the long run.  

Heat: T2
Flavor: T2
Production: T2

This is a solid T2 variety and has a number of applications.  The thick walls make it ideal in sauces or powders, but it would also do well to just kick a pizza up a notch!

My GLog: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/39420-operation-golden-garden/






 

 

[GA Growhead]

Pod overload! You got way over 60 pods there.

The 3 browns i didn't mark are the choc barrackpores, but you probably figured that out. Enjoy Matt. Going to watch that review now.

 

[MGOLD86]

Pod overload! You got way over 60 pods there.

The 3 browns i didn't mark are the choc barrackpores, but you probably figured that out. Enjoy Matt. Going to watch that review now.

Thanks, I was wondering.  There are SOOO MANY FREAKIN PODS!!!!!!!  What are the one that are brown and look like HUGE jalapenos?  Smooth, and about 3 inches long.   I am definitely gettin a BOC review up soon.  There are so many pods and I wish I could just like freeze them (not literally) so I could review EVERYTHING!  But the BOCs are definitely gettin camera time!  I think that THSC is the only ones who have reviewed it so far. 

 

[GA Growhead]

Those are the brown eggs. Mellow heat, no c. chinense taste, real fruity like. Almost watermelony with apple green grape taste mixed with red bell taste.
Looking forward to the BOC review. You will be surprised by the taste.
There also are some Peruvian white habs mixed in with the jellybean whites.

 

[stc3248]

Great job on that one! Figured that one would be much hotter...huh. Can't wait to see the rest!!!

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Looks like you got some peppers to eat soon lol.

 

[Dragonpeppers]

Very Nice Harvest!!! Chocolate Moruga looks Excellent!

 

[Devv]

Nice review!
 
That one seemed more manageable than some of the earlier ones...

 

[MGOLD86]

Those are the brown eggs. Mellow heat, no c. chinense taste, real fruity like. Almost watermelony with apple green grape taste mixed with red bell taste.
Looking forward to the BOC review. You will be surprised by the taste.
There also are some Peruvian white habs mixed in with the jellybean whites.

I tried a bunch of the pods today and the brown egg is definitely like you said, watermelon like.  Really crisp, filled with moisture!  I took a bunch of pics also. 
 

Great job on that one! Figured that one would be much hotter...huh. Can't wait to see the rest!!!

Yea man, below is the Clavo Red review which is about as hot as a hab.  Tomorrow is the monster infinity!  Gonna be interesting!
 

Looks like you got some peppers to eat soon lol.

LOL, You are tellin me!
 

Very Nice Harvest!!! Chocolate Moruga looks Excellent!

Thanks!  But i can't take credit, it is the generosity of the guys here!
 

Nice review!
 
That one seemed more manageable than some of the earlier ones...

Yea, definitely not as bad as I thought.  I am guessing tomorrow's pod is gonna be a bit hotter....lol.
 
Today I had another review for John Ford, and it was one of his mild varieties.  

The Bottom line:  Good Flavor, Mild heat.  A solid pepper for those who aren't looking for a lot of heat but want something hotter than a Jal.

On Heat. The pepper had a bit of the stingy burn right up front, but it quickly changed to a more steady mouthburn.  Hit the tongue, roof of the mouth, and a little on the lips.  I would compare it to habanero heat level.

On Taste.  Very similar to a jalapeno, so it was something that I definitely enjoyed.  

On Vigor and Production. The plants produce somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-500 peppers!  A definite production powerhouse.

Heat: T4
Flavor: T2
Production: T1

This pepper would make a great snacking pepper and has a bunch of lower end applications.  Overall good pepper.

 
I started doing the whole ID pics, but got tired.  So here is the edited pics without text.
 
BOC

 
Pi something (Red and Peach)

 
Choc BP

 
Jay's Red and Peach

 
Monster Infinity (Tail)

 
Not sure, I think it is either the BP Tail strain or a Primo

 
Primo Cross

 
Giant Twisted Choc Hab

 
Monster 7 Pot Yellow

 
IIght folks, got some single malts to sample!

 

[BrooklynXpat]

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?