It's the Furnace Fault :D

This bucket used to be next to our furnace in the basement. Well, I actually put it next to the fireplace cleaning opening. DH decided that we are not going to use the fireplace in one of the house living area because his mother will be difficult to deal with just going to their side of the house. So, he decided to get a furnace instead that will run in wood and coal. It sits in the basement for a month or so, then he decided to work on it and gather woods to do the first burning.

I never thought he will actually continue burning wood and coal in them without the duct work. Well, he did and I moved this bucket of spuds to the other side thinking it will not get warm there. But I was very wrong. When the furnace is burning very well, it gets up to 70°F in the basement. And he always have the lights on down there.

Yesterday, (March 3, 2014) he tag-a-along with one of his friend to go to Reading PA and I was left in charge of the furnace. Making sure it stays lit and have enough coal. Whilst waiting for a few minute to air the furnace I do things down there, i.e. sweeping, putting things in order, and looking around. And this is what I saw. I notices the brown paper bag in top of this bucket was pushed up. I was dark and I turned the lights on. The spuds sprouts is pushing the bag off. I'm not even ready to dig outside because we still have about 1 1/2 foot of snow still waiting to get melted.

I wonder what will happen if I cut off the sprouts and put them inside the brown paper bag then move them inside the big shower room in the basement. That was the coldest part of the basement right now because there is door and we left it close. If we don't get warm weather next week, I think I have to do it.

So far I have 2 things waiting to get put in the ground. Potatoes and lemongrass.

Vegetables Update

6/20/13
Here are my Indian corns, they are over a foot tall. You can see in between them are my squash.

These are the potatoes. I read somewhere that if you buried/covered the stems with more soil, they are likely to grow more potatoes. I didn't had a chance to do so, because they were already tall when I read the fact.

Here is one of the eggplant. I should have said, "here is one of the eggplant ans what is left of it."Not so bad from last year. As you can see, a flower coming out and three leaves have so much holes from being eaten by flea bugs.

Our Vegetable Garden

As usual, we covered the area with black plastic to kill the weeds off the area. We only put them when we knew there will be no more snow coming. And this year, since I still have the mound from last year, we didn't bother tilling the soil. Plus, if we did, up until now, there will be no plants because it is still pretty wet.

When I put the Indian corns and squash, I cover them with straws and it helped control the weeds. Here are tomato, eggplants and bell peppers. I have to de-bug the eggplant everyday. Those flea bugs are eating the leaves of the eggplants.

Here are the plot of potatoes.

I still have about 1/4 of the garden empty and still have the black plastic cover on. By this week, I will add more peas and corn to that side.

Patriotic Potato Salad

Show your patriotic colors this 4th of July with a red, white, and blue potato salad. Harvest new potatoes of 'Red Pontiac', 'Katahdin', and 'All Blue' now, gently digging around potato plants, taking 2 to 3 spuds per hill.

Sweet Potato

My sweet potatoes are getting bigger. I know this is only one bush but I planted them far apart and I can only take one of them in one shot. I don't really care about the actual potatoes, I like the tops better. My garden is getting there.

Storing Potatoes For Winter Use

For maximum harvest and good keeping quality, potatoes need time to fully mature. Potatoes should be dug 2 to 3 weeks after the tops die down. This will give the skins time to toughen up and become thick enough to protect them during storage. Once dug, potatoes need time to cure before storage. Don't wash them, but gently brush the excess dirt off, then allow them to cure for about 2 weeks at temperatures of about 45F, with good air circulation. Then you can store them all winter in a cool, dark location, with plenty of air circulation.