Getting the Heat out of Jalapeno Peppers

Mild jalapeno varieties vary in their heat levels and in their tendency to occasionally produce hotter fruit. Anything that stresses the plant will cause a mild Jalapeno, such as 'TAM Mild,' to produce hotter fruit. Keep them growing vigorously from seed to harvest and you will have the mildest fruit the variety can give you.

A very good way to reduce heat in a harvested pepper is to remove the inner seed walls. When you slice a pepper open you will notice some white membranes extending into the fruit interior. These are where the seeds are attached and where the substance that gives peppers their heat, capsaicin, is concentrated. Remove these membranes and the seeds and you will have a greatly reduced amount of heat. Boiling or roasting will not do the trick.

When to Harvest Apples

If the seeds inside an apple are brown, the apple is ripe. Pick a few test apples and cut them open; if the seeds are brown you can begin harvesting. If the seeds are still white or tan, the apples are underripe--though you can still use them for apple pie! Apple varieties differ in their tartness, but red and golden delicious should be crisp and slightly tart in flavor.

Cross Pollination of Squash and Gourds

Don't worry about separating these plants. The only concern is if you plan to save seed for planting next year. Cross pollination does not affect the current year's fruits--only the seeds. (This might be a concern if, say, you were planning to harvest pumpkin seeds for roasting.) However, if you compost the plants and some of the seeds sprout, you could have some strange gourd/squash mutants growing out of the compost pile! But there's no need to worry about this year's crop.