Tim C. wrote:
Following up to "Phil L" :

.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,

The do turn red, but are generally picked and eaten green. They will
start going a shade darker green (as the red pigments start to build
up, but are not yet red to the eye) - then they're just about ready.
As others have said they need stressing a bit. I always let then dry
out and just start to wilt then water well a couple of times (this
happens normally throughout the summer anyway).

*Long* peppers? Jalapeno are pretty stout looking - fleshy and roughly
triangular. Are you sure you don't have cayennes? Either way, treat
them the same.

Cheers, I've just accidentally knocked one off while weeding around them
(I've been away for a fortnight)... so I tasted it and it was quite
powerful, I've just had it sliced on a pizza and also in some pasta sauce, I
did notice however that it was six inches in length but they are not dark
yet, nor any shades of red on any of them, although they get very little
sun, cowering beneath the tomatoes.
I don't know whether they are jalapenos or not, but a regular on here, Rusty
Hinge (I think...there's another Rusty in one of my other groups..) sent
them to me and said they were jalapenos, either way, they taste excellent!