... that's more than two years. Though there are exceptions, it would probably be easiest for you to think that plants that go from seed to seed in one year, and do not return the next, are annuals. Completes life cycle & goes from seed to seed & dies after a year = annual Takes 2 years to complete its life cycle = biennial Capable of persisting for 3 growth cycles (years) or more = perennial The geographical location a plant is grown in has nothing to do with whether a plant is a perennial or annual. "... are there any true annuals?" Yes, of course - many thousands of them. Something I wrote a while back that is related & may give you more insight: "First, let's make a differentiation between annual and perennial. Technically, and in most cases, an annual is a plant that germinates, flowers and dies within the period of one annual growth cycle. You can artificially prolong the life of annuals by preventing them from setting seed or by manipulating photoperiod (day length - more specifically, night length is actually the determining factor). Perennials are plants that are capable of living for three or more growth cycles. Trees are perennials. We often mistakenly refer to plants such as Coleus, snapdragon, petunias, or Impatiens as annuals, simply because they will not overwinter in some zones, when in fact, they are all true perennials because they are capable of living for three growth cycles. Annuals have adapted to their reproductive strategy for a number of reasons. 1) The plants die in order that they can translocate biological nutrients and minerals to the seed. 2) They die in order to leave growing space and return nutrients to the soil for the next generation. 3) The plants die so duff can insulate the seeds (with the dead leaves and stalks) against winter's cold. 4) It may be a timing issue to take advantage of a cultural opportunity to set seed early to gain a space advantage or to ride on autumn winds or the coats of migrating animals, etc You might think the physiology of death in annuals would be through simple aging; that is, accumulated mechanical injury or tissue damage causing increased sensitivity to environmental stress, bringing on death. But actually, simple nutrient withdrawal/translocation to seeds from the leaves eventually brings on starvation or some other nutrient deficiency, causing death. That is, the seeds take what nutrients they need by diffusion from the adjacent cells and this causes those cells to become an energy sink, where the nutrients pass from the leaves to the seeds. Hormonal or chemical messengers are released by the developing flower or seed, or the photoperiod influenced leaves themselves, which causes the plant to begin degrading itself and transporting the resulting nutrients out of its cells into the developing seed. In most cases, freezing temps are only the coup de grace, as the plant would have been already in the last stages of it's life cycle, ready to succumb, with or without the aid of Jack Frost." I hope this was also helpful - I don't know what more I can offer. Al

Meats may be canned ground, in strips, cubes, or chunks. Your choice and the same processing time. You may can them hot or raw as long as you remove all the excess fat. But unlike poultry there are no tested provisions for including most bones in meat canning as they usually qualify for the "remove all large bones" (to insure proper heat penetration) requirement. Use the bones for stock. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Canning meats

Dan The human body is not designed for processing meat--that's why most of our teeth are blunt--for grinding and chewing on fruits and veggies. This is why doctors recommend not introducing meat into a child's diet for the first six months to a year; because their stomachs are not srong enough to learn to process it yet. People that do eat meat usually eat it on a regular basis; and they have been doing so since early childhood. Their bodies have been conditioned to accept the meat and process it to the best of their abilities. They have trained their bodies to process the meat through gradual introduction, followed by consistent consumption. Once meat is removed from a diet, especially for an extended amount of time, the body loses some of its ability to process it--the system's not used to it anymore. The degree of illness experienced when meat is suddenly re-introduced varies from person to person. A few factors to consider are: 1)how long has meat been absent from the consumer's system, 2)was that person a rigid vegetarian who read every label to check for animal broths and fats, etc., and, 3)how much meat was ingested? The degree of the reaction also depends on the sensitivity of the person's stomach, too--whether it is prone to reject spicy stuff or stuff with too much fiber; or if they started out with a relatively hardy constitution. I know that personally, I have a pretty strong stomach. I rarely have any funky reactions unless someone has accidentally (or spitefully!) slipped me food that was tainted with animal products. I get pretty sick even if I eat portabellos that are grilled on the same grill where meat has been cooked (if it isn't well-cleaned!). But then I haven't had any meat, animal fat, or broth or anything for several years (I do still consume a small amount of cheese; and sometimes I will eat cake that was baked with eggs; so I fortunately have few reactions to dairy!). I have also read that the body does react the same way when dairy is removed from the diet. Generally, our bodies were not intended to process any milk other than what our own mothers have produced for us. But after that supply dries up, we no longer need to get the nutrients provided in breastmilk from breastmilk because our bodies are strong enough to eat the foods in which those vitamins and nutrients naturally occur. Apparently we should all be lactose-intolerant; but I suppose our bodies just follow the same conditioning as it does with meat consumption. Anyway; I hope that that novel has helped you understand why you probably had stomach cramps! When that happens to me, I find that eating dry toast with a glass of water helps to alleviate the stress. Sometimes even the water alone helps to flush the meat from your system. I hope you find some of this helpful!!! Melissa

No idea. I can see it under Garden Forums.