Dear List Jalopenos: what? they get red? I've only ever seen green ones (I told you I was a novice at this!) I picked 3 of them that were about 3 inches long and a friend tasted one for me -- the verdict was that they were not ripe yet. She told me to wait about 2 more weeks to pick any others. So, there is lots of advice from the list. A bit confusing --- do I wait until they get lime green/red/black shoulders??? Do I pick them at thumb's length or 3-4 inches or August vs November??? Help!! Blackberries: I have 3 large Navaho bushes of them and they are just getting ripe here too. I wait to pick them until 1. they are fully black and 2. they feel soft to the squeeze. I find that by waiting for the softness factor they are much sweeter than they would be otherwise. I get a pint or two off of them almost every day for several weeks. I freeze them while I look for interesting recipes. Wash and dry them. Place them on a cookie sheet, single file and in one layer and freeze them for one hour. Then transfer them to a container and return them to the deep freeze. Carolyn Bethesda Zone 7a _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com