There are several factors that determine how fast your mulch, no matter what is used, will be digested starting with how healthy your soil is. If you have a good, active Soil Food Web they will digest your mulch (provided it is not stone or rubber) fairly quickly, but that then depends on the type of material and wood chips can take longer then would shredded leaves. Thickness is also a factor, because the more there is to digest the longer it will take, but in some of my beds wood chips 4 to 6 inches thick get digested in 2 years. Shredded leaves are an excellent mulch, although in my soil the shredded leaf mulch I applied last fall is now gone leaving the soil now bare and exposed to the ravages of the sun, wind, and rain. There is no need to remove a mulch from a planting bed, unless your soil is in such bad condition that the plants have a difficult time growing. I would put shredded leaves on top of the wood chips. I find that the soil bacteria apparently work on the easier to digest leaves because after spring I see few, if any, leaves and only see the wood chips. Leaves, left whole on grass, can keep the grass from gettng access to the sunlight all plants need to grow so whole leaves could kill the grass they cover. You can mulch mow those leaves into your turf and the soil bacteria will move them into the soil for you feeding your grass so it grows better next year. Joe Vargas turf grass students, back in the 1980's, mulch mowed leaves into a turf plot at MSU and found the grass in that plot (nothing else was done except normal watering) grew greener, thicker, faster than any other grass plot they had.

Bacteria issues can be avoided by making sure you follow hygienic kitchen practices in the first place, store the cooked food properly and reheat it properly. Do not put hot food in the fridge. It can change the overall temp and cause other foods to spoil. Quick chilling it before refrigerating (in an ice water bath, for example)is the safest method. However, I only go to that trouble if I am feeding someone who is elderly and of frail health or has immune system problems. Generally, if food is allowed to come close to lukewarm or room temp before refrigeration it will be fine if you have followed good cooking practices during it's preparation. Is the carrot souffle an actual souffle, or just something called a souffle? If actually a souffle, it won't keep. But I've seen a variety of salad like dishes called souffles that are not. Your cranberry sauce will actually taste better with time for the flavors to blend, especially if it's a more jazzed up recipe than the basic.

OK: first, the long answer: I am guessing that what you are interested is using a custom hood "surround"--which is a hood, often built by your cabinet maker, out of wood, stone, tile, stucco, copper, etc etc--to your exact specs. It is actually a "sham" hood--the actual ventilation is done by a stainless steel hood liner, which sits flush with the inside of your hood surround. The liner is what actually captures the smoke, and contains the grease trapping apparatus, typically some type of baffle system. It is exhausted by a fan ("blower") which can sit either inside the hood itself and which blows the exhaust out a run of ductwork that exhausts somewhere else--usually roof or wall, You can also use an external blower, located on the roof or in the attic. There are big advantages especially regarding noise levels, but that's beyond the scope of this post--see other threads for detailed discussion. Here are a couple to get you started: help with ventilation Range hood decision Very confused on hood The cost may be slightly more than a stainless steel hood, but the difference may be surprisingly little if you choose well. It's a two part process to get price quote. First you need to design and get someone to build the hood surround--again, that's most commonly your cabinet person, unless you're doing something exotic, like hammered copper. Then, you need to choose a good hood liner. I am a huge Modern Aire fan based on my experience and that of many others who post on this Forum: Modern Aire Ventilation The short answer: Contact Modern Aire. I may get flamed for my overt Modern Aire bias, and it's absolutely true that there are many other great options, but the one thing that Modern Aire has is Jeff Herman, their hood expert, who will spend endless time with you by phone or email to help you design exactly the right hood. Much preferable to spending dozens of hours reading posts like these :-) Take a look around, especially on the GW Appliance Forum. There are many other options. For example, erikanh and klb have these gorgeous Modern Aire barrel hoods: if you scroll down through these threads, you'll see pictures: erikanh's hood klb's hood Post back with questions to help get you started. I can also get Jeff Herman directly in touch with you if you'd like, just email me through GW.

For all of these, I would repot with a good, well draining soil mix. You can easily do 60% perlite (don't forget to sift it!) and 40% commercial cactus and succulent mix. Here are some answers to your questions: 1. A lot of times, repotting into good soil (see above) does a lot of good. I don't think you are having a watering problem currently, but with better soil, you will be able to easily avoid one. Sedums can take some pretty hefty sun, so don't be shy there. Just move it into full sun slowly to make sure it doesn't burn (unless you already have). 2. For this one, I think watering with a syringe would be rather painstaking. Many people here water from the bottom, immersing the whole pot into a tub of water. With good draining soil, you won't have to worry about thoroughly soaking the soil. If you do get a bigger pot, just make sure it has drainage holes. 3. From this angle, it is hard to tell if it is actually burning, or just coloring up. Time will tell. Keep a close eye on this one. A leaf that is just coloring up will remain sleek and shiny, while a burn spot will turn all crispy and an ugly brown-black color. Hope I helped!