Operation Golden Garden 2014: Let's Get Started!

Dot Com · Aug 31, 2013

That BOC looks like it had a good amount of placenta :onfire:

I never heard of it either. Orange & Bhut? Nice!!!

As to the headache, have you always had that issue or is it recent? I never tried Cartz remedy. I'm going to try that. I rarely get headaches but, when I do, they are whoppers.

KiNGDeNNiZ · Sep 1, 2013

Nice boc review. GA sent me a few. And I shared with Melissa. Hope you recover better and put a little more time between your reviews.

Keep it up

stickman · Sep 1, 2013

That BOC review you did reminded me of the one Peri Peri did on the King Naga Jalokia this spring... sounds like one to grow in future if I can find seeds. Waiting with extreme anticipation to see what you're smoking on the grill... :drooling:

Have a great Labor Day weekend with your family!

MGOLD86 · Sep 1, 2013

Dot Com said:
That BOC looks like it had a good amount of placenta I never heard of it either. Orange & Bhut? Nice!!!

As to the headache, have you always had that issue or is it recent? I never tried Cartz remedy. I'm going to try that. I rarely get headaches but, when I do, they are whoppers.

Yea, it was definitely a nice burn to back up the taste. I have never really got headaches, but apparently it was a sinus infection and after some sudafed it was all good!

KiNGDeNNiZ said:
Nice boc review. GA sent me a few. And I shared with Melissa. Hope you recover better and put a little more time between your reviews.

Keep it up

Yea, should get back in the driver seat in a few days. And this go around I am gonna take a day or so in between for good measure.

stickman said:
That BOC review you did reminded me of the one Peri Peri did on the King Naga Jalokia this spring... sounds like one to grow in future if I can find seeds. Waiting with extreme anticipation to see what you're smoking on the grill...

Have a great Labor Day weekend with your family!

Thanks! Ill post up a pic in a sec and another one later!

BUT FIRST....The horrors of using weed cloth. It is great to keep the weeds down...until they take everything over!

I got 5 of 9 rows cleaned out in about 2 hours. My hands are raw and numb, so I think it is gonna be a few days before I finish up. It is pretty late in the season and I am probably gonna leave it off for the rest of the season. It would work much better if I put mulch on top, but I dont like to crawl around in mulch. I am gonna rethink my strategy with it for next season.

And the BBQ shot. This was at noon, about 12 hours on the smoker. Right now I am sittin at about 196 degrees, which is plenty to take it off but I am gonna let it go for a bit longer cuz dinner is at 530 and i want about an hour and a half to two hours of rest.

Thanks for stoppin in, I got some sides to work on and the kiddo is super sick. So ill try to jump in later when he is down. Got tomorrow and tuesday off so plenty of drankin time!

stickman · Sep 1, 2013

As advertised... killer porkage Matt! Enjoy!

Seacowboy · Sep 1, 2013

Feel your pain Matt. I spent a couple hours this morning pulling weeds and tearing cloth, left what was there but I to will be reevaluating next yrs strategy. Though I may have been ok if I wasn't cheap and bought those staple thingys. Instead I threw just enough dirt on top to give them enough to start and grow roots through the cloth. Your grow still looks great. The weeds and grass had taken my plants over but still pulled enough for now and there plenty more waiting to ripen.

Devv · Sep 1, 2013

Now that pig looks killa!

Weeds just plain suck, I like to use a heavy hoe like the one pictured below. I either scrape or go down deep enough to cut the roots, depends on the day and how I feel.

In the past, when I lived in a place that actually got rain I've used newspaper and mulch between the rows. Worked really well and I just tilled it all in after the season.

Hope your son gets to feeling better!

Enjoy the holiday!

stc3248 · Sep 1, 2013

Weeds suck...weeding sucks worse!!! Newspaper works really good as mentioned above and will let the water get through. I use some mulch or compost on top to hold it down and you can always throw more layers on the trouble spots.

BBQ looks delicious...can't wait to see the plate shots!

MGOLD86 · Sep 2, 2013

Seacowboy said:
Feel your pain Matt. I spent a couple hours this morning pulling weeds and tearing cloth, left what was there but I to will be reevaluating next yrs strategy. Though I may have been ok if I wasn't cheap and bought those staple thingys. Instead I threw just enough dirt on top to give them enough to start and grow roots through the cloth. Your grow still looks great. The weeds and grass had taken my plants over but still pulled enough for now and there plenty more waiting to ripen.

I used the staple things and in some spots the weeds pushed those staples right out of the ground! It really just goes to show the fertility of the plot. The weeds weren't your typical weeds, there were flowers and a whole lot of crazy stuff comin out of the ground!

Devv said:
Now that pig looks killa!

Weeds just plain suck, I like to use a heavy hoe like the one pictured below. I either scrape or go down deep enough to cut the roots, depends on the day and how I feel.

In the past, when I lived in a place that actually got rain I've used newspaper and mulch between the rows. Worked really well and I just tilled it all in after the season.

Hope your son gets to feeling better!

Enjoy the holiday!

I should really grab one of those next time I am at Lowes. I kinda enjoy gettin down and pullin weeds, but not when there are this many!

stc3248 said:
Weeds suck...weeding sucks worse!!! Newspaper works really good as mentioned above and will let the water get through. I use some mulch or compost on top to hold it down and you can always throw more layers on the trouble spots.

BBQ looks delicious...can't wait to see the plate shots!

Not time for the plate shot, I think it was easier to eat your primo cross than to try and balance the crying kid, make a plate for the wife, and get a second to grab another beer! BUT...I do have a nice shot of BEFORE it went on my plate and into my belly! Dude, 9.5 lbs is a TON of meat. But the benefit of doing it that big is I can set in in the smoker at midnight and wake up whenever. It required about 3 or 4 adjustments throughout the whole cook, and that was all after I woke up at 8. And, there is a TON left over. I vacuum seal them and then when I wanna eat I just bring a pot of water to simmer, drop in the bag, and let it reheat for a few minutes. Comes out moist and perfect!

stickman said:
As advertised... killer porkage Matt! Enjoy!

Thanks Rick!

Was out in the garden today and took a few photos. Also, I have some initial thoughts on the super soil experiment.

Assam, lookin crazy with an elf shoe tail!

This TS plant is LOADED down. One for 3 aint bad. Once these bad boys start to turn, gonna have a nice little haul. They got a great shape to em as well. Really lookin forward to these.

The yellow bhuts are looking loaded as well. I have pulled a few, but they were smaller and cracked. This new round of pods are much larger. I have noticed that there are a few different yellow bhut phenos out there. Most of the ones that I have seen have been really bumpy, but these are pretty smooth. I haven't tasted one yet, but am gonna try one to see how hot they are and see if they have the normal bhut flavor. Either way, it is loaded and happy. Anyone have this smooth type?

Doogies are great as always!

Yellow 7s, more like orange 7s! It is crazy, these pics dont do it justice. They are orange before the whole pod turns yellow.

And my babies aren't babies anymore! This is a BB Jonah, the Reaper has about 3 pods set, the BT MS has one or two, the BB Douglah Red has one, and the Savannah has one!

My initial thoughts on supersoil for peppers:

Bottom line up front: Save the money, amend the soil, and feed as needed.

The kiddo is going nuts, sorry, ill be back later to finish up. And I have a garden update vid uploading now.

WalkGood · Sep 2, 2013

What a difference in before/after weed shots … great job!

Da smoked carne looks great and so do the plant and pod pics

Devv · Sep 2, 2013

Great poddage pics there!

Bet that pig was gooodd!

MGOLD86 · Sep 2, 2013

WalkGood said:
What a difference in before/after weed shots … great job!

Da smoked carne looks great and so do the plant and pod pics

Yea, I love the look of it when the beds are all nice and clean! I can just feel the good karma when I pulled out all those weeds!

Devv said:
Great poddage pics there!

Bet that pig was gooodd!

Thanks Scott! It was awesome. I need to expand a bit on my smokin. Pulled pork is my go-to, but i have also done ribs and brisket. I think I need to give poultry and fish a shot. Whatcha think?

So here are my thoughts on the Super Soil. Out of the 8 plants that are potted up, the 4 or 6 that are doing great are split between the super soil and the amended sunshine. The 2 or 4 that are a bit behind are in the super soil and amended sunshine. That tells me that going with a nicely amended sunshine will give me about the same results as going with a much more expensive and labor intensive super soil. The leaves are like forest green and beautiful, the stalks look amazing, and they are about 3/4 of the size of some of the in ground babies that I planted the same time I potted up to a 1/2 gallon grow bag. And the comparison between the straight sunshine/earthworm castings/pearlite 1/2 gallon grow bags and the sunshine/earthworm castings/pearlite/DOLIMITIC LIME and MYCO 3 gallon containers are night and day. Taking into account the new shoes, it is just way better. I really think that the dolimitic lime really helps to stabilize the ph and allow the plant to take up nutrients more efficiently.

Now it could just be a fluke, but I am going to plan my start next season using sunshine. Every grow shop swears by it over promix, and now that I know if you mix it properly (ss/pearlite/ewc/dolimitic lime) the plants have the ability to thrive, I am gonna go all in. I am planning on starting a TON of seeds, so getting a brick of the sunshine would go a long way.

Anyways, check out the vid and you can see for yourself!
http://youtu.be/mrSMvwev1iM

Darthpepper · Sep 2, 2013

Spicegeist · Sep 2, 2013

Are the Yellow Bhuts from CCN?

MGOLD86 · Sep 3, 2013

Yes Charles, they are from CCN. Everything except the late starts are from CCN.

Spicegeist · Sep 3, 2013

Orange before Yellow? That's whacky...

MGOLD86 said:
Yes Charles, they are from CCN. Everything except the late starts are from CCN.

I've had Yellow Bhut from CCN that turned out different... grr unstable Yellow Bhuts...

stickman · Sep 3, 2013

Spicegeist said:
Orange before Yellow? That's whacky...

I've had Yellow Bhut from CCN that turned out different... grr unstable Yellow Bhuts...

Yeah... that happened to me this year too. I didn't ask where they got the seeds, but I bought a plant that was labeled Yellow Bhut from a local nursery. The pods were huge, and had some Bhut characteristics, but the color and shape were off. I still used them in sauces and powders though... why not?

Thanks for the vid of your garden Matt... nice to hear you have an estimated 8 weeks left to your season. If I'm lucky I'll have another 4, but things are winding down now anyway since the sun is becoming less intense here now and the days are getting shorter.

You did a great job selling the BOC... I got fired up and sent off an order for seeds from the fellow in Sweden that developed the strain. Your description of the heat and flavor was awfully similar to Lourens' (PeriPeri) description of the King Naga Jalokia. He sent me seeds for it, so I'm gonna grow them both to compare next year. Cheers

Devv · Sep 3, 2013

Thanks Scott! It was awesome. I need to expand a bit on my smokin. Pulled pork is my go-to, but i have also done ribs and brisket. I think I need to give poultry and fish a shot. Whatcha think?

I do beer can chicken all the time, can't beat how tender they come out. Cook it in the big pit using the firebox filled with Mesquite. Fish, we like blackened catfish with cajun seasoning. The fish we really don't smoke but cook in in a hibachi I made, fast and furious over flaming Mesquite.

Garden looks great, producing much better than mine for sure!

And I had to buy dirt like you have..sand don't cut it!

Really surprised the weeds grew under the weed stuff, I mentioned the hoe. I mainly use one after rains when things go nuts, otherwise it's git on yer knees and pull time..

have a great week!

Capsicum Select · Sep 3, 2013

Always so much to catch up on after being gone for a couple days! The garden is looking great and you are getting some nice harvests! I can't believe how many boxes you got at once to go through. Definitely adding the BOC to the grow list if I have room.

Hope you enjoy the brew! Definitely have to reiterate on how its over carb'd so careful opening it haha. The wife should like it too since it is almost like a champagne from all the carbonation. I think its a pretty good end of summer hard cider if I do say so myself. It's the least I could do as a thank you.

The BBQ looks amazing. Wish i had a smoker to make a rub out of some of the peppers you sent me and do a good roast or some pulled pork. Also, that TSMB lit me up proper! The red had a bit of what I can only describe as a soapy aftertaste because it was just pooling with oil on the inside. It was fantastic. The yellow one was not quite as hot but it had a much fruitier flavor.

Those are some interesting results with the super soil. Definitely good to know how much of a difference some good amendments can make and how much of a difference the dolomitic lime can make to help balance out the pH. Check out adding some charcoal or "biochar" as they like to call it. I'm sure you've read about it somewhere. It should help with holding on to the nutrients in your soil for your in ground garden. I'm going to try it out next year in a raised bed.

MGOLD86 · Sep 3, 2013

Devv said:
I do beer can chicken all the time, can't beat how tender they come out. Cook it in the big pit using the firebox filled with Mesquite. Fish, we like blackened catfish with cajun seasoning. The fish we really don't smoke but cook in in a hibachi I made, fast and furious over flaming Mesquite.

Garden looks great, producing much better than mine for sure!

And I had to buy dirt like you have..sand don't cut it!

Really surprised the weeds grew under the weed stuff, I mentioned the hoe. I mainly use one after rains when things go nuts, otherwise it's git on yer knees and pull time..

have a great week!

You know, I see it all the time and I am always like "I gotta do that".... maybe that will be my next plan of attack!

I have no room to talk, I am gonna be doin a major overhaul on the garden plot and THERE WILL BE DIRT!!! LOL. I will probably have to get a few yards to work into the soil, since I will get some loss when I pull the grass off and break up the subsoil. Also, I want to do more of a raised row so ill need some more dirt.

Capsicum Select said:
Always so much to catch up on after being gone for a couple days! The garden is looking great and you are getting some nice harvests! I can't believe how many boxes you got at once to go through. Definitely adding the BOC to the grow list if I have room.

Hope you enjoy the brew! Definitely have to reiterate on how its over carb'd so careful opening it haha. The wife should like it too since it is almost like a champagne from all the carbonation. I think its a pretty good end of summer hard cider if I do say so myself. It's the least I could do as a thank you.

The BBQ looks amazing. Wish i had a smoker to make a rub out of some of the peppers you sent me and do a good roast or some pulled pork. Also, that TSMB lit me up proper! The red had a bit of what I can only describe as a soapy aftertaste because it was just pooling with oil on the inside. It was fantastic. The yellow one was not quite as hot but it had a much fruitier flavor.

Those are some interesting results with the super soil. Definitely good to know how much of a difference some good amendments can make and how much of a difference the dolomitic lime can make to help balance out the pH. Check out adding some charcoal or "biochar" as they like to call it. I'm sure you've read about it somewhere. It should help with holding on to the nutrients in your soil for your in ground garden. I'm going to try it out next year in a raised bed.

I know what you mean, if I miss a few days I am screwed! I will check out the brew this week, and my wife is a fan of cider beer so she will probably like it as well. I LOVE my smoker. I had an el cheapo brinkman and it made some pretty decent pulled pork, but if you need to dial it in and hold temps steady, good luck. So I upgraded to the weber smokey mountain and it is workin awesome. Holds temps great, really efficient, and puts out some great meat!

Well I got a box from Brian (justaguy) packed with a ton of goodies!

This thing is packed with a ton of crazy pods. See that tail on the Barrackpore?!? I haven't done a review in about a week, so that should be enough time to let my stomach get back on track and I have my sights set on a special pod....