"Phil L" wrote
I've succesfully grown (something of a feat in itself where I'm
concerned!) some Jalapeno peppers, the seeds were sent to me by Rusty
Spokes who used to frequent this group...the plants are now 2 feet tall
and heavy with fruit, each one having 20 or more long green (and hopefully
juicy and hot) peppers, my question is this: how do I know when they are
ready? - I don't think they turn red, and I tasted on about 2 weeks ago
and there was no fire in it at all - it tasted similar to any capsicum
type pepper.
Also how can I store them? - I once pickled some about 10 years ago and
also dried some from the same harvest, the pickled ones had no fire when
used - the dried ones did but no 'chilli flavour' if that makes sense, I
want to preserve both if that's possible, how do I do it?

Jalapeno's aren't that hot, Habernero's, Scotch Bonnet, Thai Dragon ......
are! The latter is our favourite as it's consistent and grows and crops well
out on our allotment.
To get them to be as hot as possible you have to stress the plant, this can
be done by withholding water and then flooding them a couple of weeks before
you wish to harvest. Lots of TLC produces mild chillies.
Freezing is best, they thaw out as they went in, almost.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK