I think you can grow peppers in Kansas, but you might need to adjust when or where or how you grow them. I'm not an expert at this you should ask on the vegetable forum or maybe the texas gardener's forum and you will find people who grow lots and lots of different kinds of peppers, there is also an oriental vegetable forum they might know your specific type. From what I understand, blossom drop in tomatoes and peppers is caused by: -lack of pollination-if you grew them inside or you didn't have any bees around you need to shake the plants or tap the flowers to get the plants to pollinate so they will make peppers -not enough light-I think they need like 8 hours of full sunshine on them -or too much nitrogen (If you fertilized too much) -temperatures too hot or too cold, will fall off if daytime is above 90 F, or night time below 60F or night time above 75 F-I had this problem with my tomatoes this year, it was above 100F for so long that a lot of flowers fell off before the temperatures finally got cool enough for tomatoes.

Hi Carol, thanks for the reply- I guess I just assumed with the link given that it meant all tomatoes, red or green, were bad to can if they were end of season. Hmmm, I guess what they say about assuming is true...lol. :) Oh, and yes you did catch me pre-compost- it was flurrying outside, and I was too wimpy to take the tomatoes out in the yard! :) I have a football game tomorrow night, and plans Saturday morning, so hopefully my toms will still be green by Saturday evening, and maybe I will give the green tom salsa a try then after all. Thanks for helping! Lisa

Here is a recipe I wrote for basic chili sauce and posted here eight years ago: Basic Chili Sauce 8 whole, dried chilies (Ancho, Pasilla, Guajillo combination*) 2 cups water 3 cloves garlic 1 tsp dried or fresh oregano 1 tsp red wine or balsamic vinegar (optional) Remove the stems from the chilies and slit open to remove seeds and membranes. Place the chilies in a saucepan with the rest of the ingredients (except the vinegar) and simmer covered for 20-30 minutes, or microwave for about 2-1/2 minutes and let stand for 20 minutes, microwave for one minute more and let stand another 10 minutes. Blend coarsely with a stick blender (or pulse in a blender), and strain the mixture through a coarse sieve (or food mill) to remove chili skins. Store in glass jar in refrigerator until ready to use. If you plan to store it very long, add 1 tsp of vinegar - I normally use it within 2-3 days, if not immediately, however. For two cups of water, I would use 3 Ancho chilies, 2 Pasilla chiles and 3 Guajillo chilies, all of which are dried, but you can vary the amounts. Using 4 Anchos and 4 Guajillos is also good. For the last chili sauce I made, I used fresh Poblano chilies (in place of Pasilla chilies) and smoked them, but you could roast them over a gas flame instead. I do not use any raw fresh chilies in chili sauce, and some people fire roast the dried ones before making sauce, but I have not found that to be necessary. I make a Habanero chili sauce with chilies from my back yard, and I grill them (in a grill pan) over mesquite charcoal/wood with some red bell peppers to make a Habanero sauce that is very potent, which is why I add the red bell peppers. I add quite a bit of vinegar and salt to my Habanero sauce so that it will keep longer, as it takes me a while to use it up. True chili sauce does not have tomato in it - if it does, it is then what I know as Adobo sauce, which I also make but use differently. Chilies have a very distinctive flavor that is best appreciated in a pure form to start with, and then you can combine them with other ingredients, but it is best to start with a pure chili sauce, and then it will be more versatile, and you will appreciate the true flavor of the chilies. The chilies I listed for the basic chili sauce are all very mild (by my standards), and so I generally add habanero sauce as needed for heat. If you want to use Arbol chilies, make a sauce with them by themselves - they do not blend well with other chilies. They are good in Adobo sauce and benefit by being diluted with tomato, but their flavor is so complex that I find them difficult to utilize. Where I grew up, you could order one alarm, two alarm, or three alarm chili (made with beef), and I never went beyond two alarm. I think in Minnesota, the one alarm chili in Texas would have been way too hot! I eat chili sauce every day, in one form or another, whereas I seldom use black pepper, although I do like it. I find the flavor of the various chilies to be more complex and interesting. Lars

Lois, my first experience with white chili was bland too. This is the one I came up with and I like the beans pureed to thicken the soup...no cream. Then, be sure and top with the black bean and corn salsa for the supper bland beater: Black and White Chili 1 pound ground chicken (or turkey) 1 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion; chopped 2 cloves garlic; minced 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons chili powder 1 Pablano pepper; roasted, seeded and chopped (or 1 can green chilies) Kosher salt to taste Fresh ground pepper to taste 3 cups chicken broth 28 oz. can cannelloni white kidney beans Handful fresh cilantro; chopped Black bean and corn salsa (must have) In a large soup pot, cook ground chicken in olive oil along with onion, garlic cumin, chili powder, n salt and fresh ground pepper. When chicken is cooked thru and onions are tender, add chicken broth. Puree beans with sauce in food processor until smooth and stir into chili. Simmer chili at least 30 minutes to blend flavors or longer to cook down and thicken more. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed, stir in cilantro. If it gets too thick add chicken broth to thin. Serve topped with black bean and corn salsa. Black Bean and Corn Salsa 15 oz. can black beans; rinse and drain 1 cup roasted corn 1 small onion; chopped 1 Roma tomato; seeded and chopped juice from 1/2 fresh lime 1 1/2 teaspoons Southwest seasoning 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro Combine ingredients at least 1/2 hour before serving with tortilla chips or on soup or salad. Marilyn