I laid out my garden in long rows, separated by about three feet. In that space between the rows is where I put all mulch and compost that eventually breaks down and becomes part of the soil makeup. In order for wood chips to break down to compost, from my reading, it requires an absorption of surrounding nitrogen. So, if you have it surrounding the plants too closely, it will be using the available nitrogen the plant needs for early growth. I found this to be the case a few years ago, so I always keep anything resembling mulch a few inches away from my plants. But once the plants have established themselves, the roots are reaching down under those spaces between the rows to absorb their nutrients. At least that's how I explain this whole mystery to myself.

No need to apologize. Things can be confusing when merchants supply information that isn't accurate. Fuchsias are shrubby and they live from year to year. However, plant merchants sometimes refer to fast-growing plants that bloom on new wood as "annuals" because people in climates too cold to overwinter them can treat them as such. They freeze to death and that's the end of that. I would also suspect that your Fuchsia is probably relatively short, to be used in annual bedding. Now, this is confusing too: Fuchsias are naturally upright, but some have been bred to have weak stems so that they cascade out of a basket. The type that would work best for a basket would be referred to as a "trailing" Fuchsia. Yours might work fine but don't be surprised if it doesn't cascade down the sides of the basket. Palo Alto is very mild and with irrigation your "annual" Fuchsia will live from year to year indefinitely. Now, as for what to do with it; what little frost you ever have, you probably don't even get every year, and when you do get it, it's probably not enough to kill a Fuchsia even exposed in a hanging basket. If you are in a hard frost area (for example, in a cold air drainage pocket, or at some elevation), you could still overwinter it by just planting it in the ground and mulching it a bit. Don't be surprised if it looks a little tired in the winter. It is fine, and will perk up quickly in mild weather. Fuchsias respond quickly to fertilizer, being especially fond of liquid types, and will usually reward you with a flush of growth and blooms. They bloom on new wood. You can clip to train them. If they get senescent (the wood starts looking like it is dying of old age), you can start them from cuttings and start over again. Fuchsias are extremely easy to root from cuttings--as easy as old-fashioned Coleus were. Fuchsias like mild weather. Not too hot, not too cold. They like bright open shade. They can stand a few hours of sun as long as it's not too hot (morning sun better than afternoon in that regard). Dry heat is very hard on them--possibly fatal. In dry weather you will probably have to irrigate your basket daily. If you like Fuchsias, keep your eyes open for Fuchsias that your friends have that you like--they can probably be talked into a cutting. Also consider contacting a local Fuchsia society--they will have hundreds of varieties, probably with bigger flowers, in more variety of colors, than Lowes. Mine are all uprights that I plant in the ground. Easier to take care of than in a hanging basket, which in my climate, that is colder than yours, I would have to protect for the winter, not to mention water it daily in the summer. I grow them along the north side of a fence, open to the sky but shaded from direct sun. They sit on a bank, and so their flowers are close to eye level. It is a very popular feature for my neighbors to look at. Some of mine are wild species--not hybrids. They have some variety of form--for instance one of them in habitat would clamber up a tree almost like a climber. Another one has dainy fern-like foliage and tiny but brilliantly colored flowers, and one has berries that are considered tolerably palatable (usually Fuchsia berries are bland). Another one gets big as Fuchsias go--it can hit about 7 feet tall (and perhaps even wider) or so before its weak wood bends under its own weight. You can grow some I can't--like the beautiful Triphylla types, such as the popular "Gartenmeister Bonstedt". Much too tender for me.

The rings will sometimes feel loose after canning but that doesn't affect the seal. I know it's hard not to fiddle with the jars, but it's important to just leave them alone for 24 hours. Don't re-tighten any rings even if they do feel loose. Ironically, that can break a good seal. It can definitely take a while for lids to "pop." Sometimes it happens right out of the canner but it's equally likely to happen over time depending upon the size of the jar, the headspace and the method of canning (raw or hot pack, for instance). Carol

Pam, If you're using the polycarb ridge cap with the same kind of corrugations as the panels, you need to screw it down like the sheets. Or, you can just buy lengths of galvanized steel ridge and screw it to the corrugations and use filler strips to plug the spaces in between. I've used a vented ridge cap on some applications too. It allows hot air to escape through non-leaking vents in the pieces. Easy way to crawl on the structure is to cut a piece of 3/8" OSB to just short of where the ridge edge will go. Build a "stop" out of 2X that'll screw onto the top plate or exposed wall studs to hold the OSB. Screw that to the OSB. Ladder up to the platform and lay the pre-drilled cap in place. Come down and move the structure down the wall 4'. Don't forget to orient the seams away from the prevailing wind. Seal them with some silicone. Depending on the pitch of the roof, you may have to put some thin battens on the OSB sheet to keep from slipping off, or losing a drill...