Comments on: Root cellar check-in http://tinyfarmblog.com/root-cellar-check-in/ Daily photo-journal of organic market gardening: growing local food with two acres and some tools...! Tue, 22 May 2012 22:37:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: rosewyhttp://tinyfarmblog.com/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-111379 rosewy Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:43:42 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/12/14/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-111379 Hi All,  I'm in the process of digging a root cellar on my property here in northern Wyoming.  I have a two chamber design.  I have one as dry storage for canning goods and lots of other things and the "wet" storage is for the root veggies.  As far as I can see the main concern is the ventalation, its different for both.  My next project is a ice house or may be a spring house over the creek.  Thank you for the time to share.  Rose   Hi All,
 I’m in the process of digging a root cellar on my property here in northern Wyoming.  I have a two chamber design.  I have one as dry storage for canning goods and lots of other things and the “wet” storage is for the root veggies.  As far as I can see the main concern is the ventalation, its different for both.
 My next project is a ice house or may be a spring house over the creek.
 Thank you for the time to share.
 Rose  

]]> By: Barefoot Besshttp://tinyfarmblog.com/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-109590 Barefoot Bess Sat, 23 Jul 2011 21:29:09 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/12/14/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-109590 Retired from teaching and now living in the beautiful mountains of western NC.  This is my first attempt at gardening in clay soil.  When I lived at home with my parents in MA, they were able to store so many vegetables in the cellar.  We have a large crawl space under our cabin so I'm reading lots of literature on what I need to know about  humidity, temperature, moles, mice and successful winter storage.  It is so empowering to be able to feed ourselves throughout the cold snowy winter when we can't get down the mountain after a blizzard closes all roads for days.  Enjoying your blog. Retired from teaching and now living in the beautiful mountains of western NC.  This is my first attempt at gardening in clay soil.  When I lived at home with my parents in MA, they were able to store so many vegetables in the cellar.  We have a large crawl space under our cabin so I’m reading lots of literature on what I need to know about  humidity, temperature, moles, mice and successful winter storage.  It is so empowering to be able to feed ourselves throughout the cold snowy winter when we can’t get down the mountain after a blizzard closes all roads for days.  Enjoying your blog.

]]> By: Johnhttp://tinyfarmblog.com/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-109288 John Sun, 12 Jun 2011 23:37:41 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/12/14/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-109288 I'm a contractor/hobby farmer in Chapel Hill, NC and have read all the posts to this forum with great interest (since I'm getting ready to dig a root cellar). There are some basic building issues that have come up that I thought I would address. 1) For gods sake DO NOT USE FIBERGLASS INSULATION in below ground applications.  Once it gets wet (which it will) it is useless - more than useless - it becomes a health hazard breeding mold. 2) treated lumber is OK below ground -  but why wouldn't you use concrete or cinder block on walls? 3) Excessive moisture in your concrete tomb is because your ceiling is impervious and moisture simply condenses on the cold surface - better dig up gravel on floor and lay heavy mil reinforced plastic down as a moisture barrier then cover back with gravel.  This will stop moisture so easily coming into that space, but will not prevent ALL moisture from getting in. 4) It's best not to have a root cellar under your house (unless contained and separately vented)-  a root cellar has to have a high relative humidity and that is the last thing you want directly connected to your living space. Your house acts as a chimney pulling moist air up into your house where your HVAC system has to deal with that moisture. You are adding significantly more to your electric bill to keep your house comfortable.  There are some great (and not so great) ideas out there and I enjoy reading them all ... keep up the good work on this blog! I’m a contractor/hobby farmer in Chapel Hill, NC and have read all the posts to this forum with great interest (since I’m getting ready to dig a root cellar). There are some basic building issues that have come up that I thought I would address. 1) For gods sake DO NOT USE FIBERGLASS INSULATION in below ground applications.  Once it gets wet (which it will) it is useless – more than useless – it becomes a health hazard breeding mold. 2) treated lumber is OK below ground –  but why wouldn’t you use concrete or cinder block on walls? 3) Excessive moisture in your concrete tomb is because your ceiling is impervious and moisture simply condenses on the cold surface – better dig up gravel on floor and lay heavy mil reinforced plastic down as a moisture barrier then cover back with gravel.  This will stop moisture so easily coming into that space, but will not prevent ALL moisture from getting in. 4) It’s best not to have a root cellar under your house (unless contained and separately vented)-  a root cellar has to have a high relative humidity and that is the last thing you want directly connected to your living space. Your house acts as a chimney pulling moist air up into your house where your HVAC system has to deal with that moisture. You are adding significantly more to your electric bill to keep your house comfortable.  There are some great (and not so great) ideas out there and I enjoy reading them all … keep up the good work on this blog!

]]> By: clairehttp://tinyfarmblog.com/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-95584 claire Thu, 23 Sep 2010 18:34:43 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/12/14/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-95584 We live in Eastern BC and have a wood stove fueling the furnace in our basement. As a result, there is no spot in the house that stays cool through the winter, and no space outside that doesn't freeze and get covered with lots of snow. Does anyone have ideas on how to work around this issue for storing potatoes? Thanks! We live in Eastern BC and have a wood stove fueling the furnace in our basement. As a result, there is no spot in the house that stays cool through the winter, and no space outside that doesn’t freeze and get covered with lots of snow. Does anyone have ideas on how to work around this issue for storing potatoes?
Thanks!

]]> By: utarihttp://tinyfarmblog.com/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-95109 utari Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:48:34 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/12/14/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-95109 i like you farm blog. Very interesting and informative. Keep blogging! i like you farm blog. Very interesting and informative.
Keep blogging!

]]> By: Jannette Veeserhttp://tinyfarmblog.com/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-95034 Jannette Veeser Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:55:16 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/12/14/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-95034 Some webmasters try to apply articles from free substance directories to make visitors to their internet site and make some money. This is mostly important for those who have just begun working as an affiliate for several companions and do not even have any financing, yet need to develop small niche internet sites to visitors to their website so that they can start out making revenue. Some webmasters try to apply articles from free substance directories to make visitors to their internet site and make some money. This is mostly important for those who have just begun working as an affiliate for several companions and do not even have any financing, yet need to develop small niche internet sites to visitors to their website so that they can start out making revenue.

]]> By: farms for salehttp://tinyfarmblog.com/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-92235 farms for sale Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:50:21 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/12/14/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-92235 "Excellent farming blog! I, too, used to run a farm (just a small hobby farm), but that was too much trouble time-wise since I wasn't able to spend a lot of time there. And, by the way, I can't imagine myself having enough time for farming AND blogging. Not sure how you do that. :) Do you live at your farm location throughout the year?Oh, and as far as our farm, I decided to sell it last year. It's still listed for sale at Horse Clicks in their <a href="http://www.horseclicks.com/properties/farm/" rel="nofollow">farms for sale</a> category. Just in case anyone interested, contact Rick Schaufer, our listing agent. =) Report violation “Excellent farming blog! I, too, used to run a farm (just a small hobby farm), but that was too much trouble time-wise since I wasn’t able to spend a lot of time there. And, by the way, I can’t imagine myself having enough time for farming AND blogging. Not sure how you do that. :) Do you live at your farm location throughout the year?

Oh, and as far as our farm, I decided to sell it last year. It’s still listed for sale at Horse Clicks in their farms for sale category. Just in case anyone interested, contact Rick Schaufer, our listing agent. =)
Report violation

]]> By: Shawnhttp://tinyfarmblog.com/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-80092 Shawn Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:16:39 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/12/14/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-80092 I just read the posts from the last couple years here and it seems that nobody has responded to the question a installing a root cellar under an existing home that has a crawl space. I am working on such a project now with some good sucess so far. I have gone thru the crawl space hatch door in our walk in closet and started digging out the dirt with a short handled shovel, removing the dirt in 5 gallon buckets; hauling it outside to the backyard to make raised garden beds. I now have a 6' x 9' x 7' deep cellar that keeps a nice, cool, even temperature. I was hoping to keep it all dirt walls but the engineering requires it to be poured cement or cinder block walls so I will now pour a foundation (running a trough thru the foundation vent hole) and put up the block walls. The floor will be gravel, the ceiling will be spanned with wood beams OVER an exterior grade plywood which will have stryrofoam insulation sandwiched between that and an out-layer of the plywood - that being covered with plastic and some remaining dirt. All of this will make the cellar completely under-ground for a longer temperate environ inside the cellar which equates to longer storage life for the foods. As mentioned in earlier posts, there will also be an inlet and outlet for good air circulation. This is just one way it can be done...... I just read the posts from the last couple years here and it seems that nobody has responded to the question a installing a root cellar under an existing home that has a crawl space. I am working on such a project now with some good sucess so far. I have gone thru the crawl space hatch door in our walk in closet and started digging out the dirt with a short handled shovel, removing the dirt in 5 gallon buckets; hauling it outside to the backyard to make raised garden beds. I now have a 6′ x 9′ x 7′ deep cellar that keeps a nice, cool, even temperature. I was hoping to keep it all dirt walls but the engineering requires it to be poured cement or cinder block walls so I will now pour a foundation (running a trough thru the foundation vent hole) and put up the block walls. The floor will be gravel, the ceiling will be spanned with wood beams OVER an exterior grade plywood which will have stryrofoam insulation sandwiched between that and an out-layer of the plywood – that being covered with plastic and some remaining dirt. All of this will make the cellar completely under-ground for a longer temperate environ inside the cellar which equates to longer storage life for the foods. As mentioned in earlier posts, there will also be an inlet and outlet for good air circulation.
This is just one way it can be done……

]]> By: Chris S.http://tinyfarmblog.com/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-79501 Chris S. Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:28:33 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/12/14/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-79501 We live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, where it gets below freezing, but not severely so.  After reading a recent article in Mother Earth News about a "Dirt Bag House" (built of stacked sandbags full of soil into a dome-roofed structure), we are going to try to build a small root cellar structure on the sloping area of the backyard.  The walls will be about 12" thick and covered with loose soil and planted with something to hold the soil and make it more attractive. If it works out well, I will be happy to share the photos and experience with anyone interested (if it is an abysmal failure, I will just push the dirt back into the hole and try to forget the entire experience!) We live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, where it gets below freezing, but not severely so.  After reading a recent article in Mother Earth News about a “Dirt Bag House” (built of stacked sandbags full of soil into a dome-roofed structure), we are going to try to build a small root cellar structure on the sloping area of the backyard.  The walls will be about 12″ thick and covered with loose soil and planted with something to hold the soil and make it more attractive.
If it works out well, I will be happy to share the photos and experience with anyone interested (if it is an abysmal failure, I will just push the dirt back into the hole and try to forget the entire experience!)

]]> By: Karrenhttp://tinyfarmblog.com/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-79486 Karren Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:29:37 +0000 http://tinyfarmblog.com/2007/12/14/root-cellar-check-in/#comment-79486 How nice that this terrific subject is still open and being posted to.  I have a suggestion that's worked very well for us here in Northern Indiana for several years.   We live on sand, and have a small place in the country.  We get extreme weather this close to Lake Michigan with lots of heavy snow.   We bought new and buried metal garbage cans in the ground out in the back.  We left just about an inch and a half of the edge of the can sticking out of the ground.   We fill one with apples, and another with potatoes and beets.   We then bought a smaller one and filled it with onions and cabbages. We rake about 4" of leaves over the top, lay a tarp over that and lay some 3" tree limb sections over that to hold it down. When we open that can with the apples in it in the middle of the winter, that spicy delicious apple smell comes flooding out and just amazes me, every time.    The kind of apples to store is very important, and I know Fuji and Golden Delicious are great, but always have to ask at the orchard when we get them to make sure we get the right kinds.   We always pick them ourselves at the orchard, carry them home very gently, then wrap each in newspaper and put them back in bags with the name of the kind written on the outside.   I can go out, turn back the tarp, lift the lid, and reach down inside with the hook end of a fireplace poker to lift out my apples as we need them.    Our granddaughter thinks its just the best ever. Each spring, when store potatoes are soft and withered, ours are crisp and fresh out of our barrels.   What a low cost, low work alternative we've found and it works very well for us. The only problem we've ever had was this spring when we got so much heavy rain that the ground was totally saturated and everyone's crawl spaces flooded.   The water forced the cans up out of the ground.   I went out to get some potatoes one day and found them floating almost completely out of their holes, but the food inside was still chilled and delicious.     How nice that this terrific subject is still open and being posted to.  I have a suggestion that’s worked very well for us here in Northern Indiana for several years.   We live on sand, and have a small place in the country.  We get extreme weather this close to Lake Michigan with lots of heavy snow.   We bought new and buried metal garbage cans in the ground out in the back.  We left just about an inch and a half of the edge of the can sticking out of the ground.   We fill one with apples, and another with potatoes and beets.   We then bought a smaller one and filled it with onions and cabbages.
We rake about 4″ of leaves over the top, lay a tarp over that and lay some 3″ tree limb sections over that to hold it down.
When we open that can with the apples in it in the middle of the winter, that spicy delicious apple smell comes flooding out and just amazes me, every time.    The kind of apples to store is very important, and I know Fuji and Golden Delicious are great, but always have to ask at the orchard when we get them to make sure we get the right kinds.   We always pick them ourselves at the orchard, carry them home very gently, then wrap each in newspaper and put them back in bags with the name of the kind written on the outside.   I can go out, turn back the tarp, lift the lid, and reach down inside with the hook end of a fireplace poker to lift out my apples as we need them.    Our granddaughter thinks its just the best ever.
Each spring, when store potatoes are soft and withered, ours are crisp and fresh out of our barrels.   What a low cost, low work alternative we’ve found and it works very well for us.
The only problem we’ve ever had was this spring when we got so much heavy rain that the ground was totally saturated and everyone’s crawl spaces flooded.   The water forced the cans up out of the ground.   I went out to get some potatoes one day and found them floating almost completely out of their holes, but the food inside was still chilled and delicious.
 
 

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