Folks, I have a three-year old red savina hab. This spring, when I put it outside, all looked rosy. It started to put on leaves, bloom, and set fruit. However, after the fruit set, everything just seemed to come to a halt except for the ripening chiles. The leaves curled up and it quit growing new ones. I tried all kinds of things: not watering, watering, feeding. Finally, around mid-July, I decided to repot. Here in Kentucky, we are in drought conditions, I've not had more than a total of one inch of rain since the first week of May. We were also headed into what would become the hottest part of the summer, weeks of 90+ temps. Anyway, the hab loved the repot and weather. It has simply exploded into a lush green four foot high bush. The problem, here it is, almost September, and the hab is blooming and setting fruit like mad. I have only a few weeks until the end of the growing season; first frost averages mid-October. To ensure the maturity of some chiles before I bring the hab in for the winter, should I be pinching off some of the new buds before they bloom? Brandon C. Nuttall Frankfort, KY bnuttall@kih.net