>If pods are placed on compost pile, What >are the odds that the heat will dissipate >while rotting down ? Had some that were >picked green and rotted before ripening. Last century I tossed some unripe pods on the brush pile and the heat did not dissipate after they ripened/sat. One of the neighbor kids found out the hard way wiping her nose (no tissue, of course) after handling the "pretty red pepper". It wasn't a compost pile, generating heat as a part of the decomposition process, but they were rotting down. I doubt that a normal heap would generate high enough temps to break down the capsaicinoids. Scott... Happy new millenium... KCK