A pressure canner can be your best friend.
Ditto.
root cellar?
- Thread starter mroe21877
- Start date
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Ditto.
forgeblast
Elite Member
Amazon has a few good books out there on root cellars but most of the info in the books can be found on line.
dmccarty
Super Star Member
I searched last week about root cellars and found a quite a bit of information on the web. We want a cellar for food storage, storm cellar and a place to make cider and beer.
Later,
Dan
Later,
Dan
adjusterr
Silver Member
I couldn't dig a root cellar, or cave, as the water table is very high in my area, lots of springs and artesian wells, I solved the problem by digging into the side of the mountain on which I live. I put up poured concrete walls and top slab and piled dirt on both sides. The front is exposed to date but is protected from the sun by a polebarn roof. The top slab is still uncovered as I'm considering a smoke house on top of the "cave" So far I have only kept apples and potatos but they kept very well. The floor is about 10" of rough gravel. Also, don't give up on dehydration, this past year we dryed a lot of apples, tomatoes, okra and beans and have really enjoyed them. With a good dehydrator, we slice the items thin, place them on the six shelves set the heat and forget about for a few days. When the items are dry, put them in a ziplock and your set for the Winter. My Lady puts the tomatoes directly into soups, stews etc or places the item in a small amount of water to re-hydrate them. Best apple pies ever.Good luck.
forgeblast
Elite Member
Adjuster can you post a pic of what it looks like.
Where i would like to build mine it would be in the side of a sloped hill. I will have to dig it out and then build it up.
how big is your cellar too.
thanks
Where i would like to build mine it would be in the side of a sloped hill. I will have to dig it out and then build it up.
how big is your cellar too.
thanks
DAY
Platinum Member
"Root Cellar" crops can also be left in the ground over the winter. Give them a good covering of 'mulch'- compost/ straw, etc, to keep the frost away. Here in eastern PA we are digging red beets right now, and they are mighty tasty. Carrots ditto. Potatoes should be dug, and stored in a cool place.
I've seen folks that have buried 55 gal barrels, with an insulated lid, as a root 'cellar'. Some crops shouldn't be stored with others; do the Google thing to learn more.
I've seen folks that have buried 55 gal barrels, with an insulated lid, as a root 'cellar'. Some crops shouldn't be stored with others; do the Google thing to learn more.
dmccarty
Super Star Member
During my root cellar search I saw where people had used an old fridge kinda buried into the side of a hill as well as someone who just dug out the side of the hill for the cellar.
When I looked at this a year or so ago I found "fancier" examples were people had buried an old bus.
Some of the root cellars on the web worry me regarding their structural safety.
Other options besides "root cellar" are storm shelters. Some septic tank companies make a storm shelter that is nothing more than a larger septic tank with more human friendly access door.
The idea I have is to dig a wide trench, something like 24 feet wide and 30-40 feet long in an area where we have a slight slope. Then build a 12'x24' PT structure in the trench and back fill with a gravel on the floor and sides for drainage followed by the spoil dirt from the trench.
One of the problems with this idea is that we would like a green house. Logically it follows to build the green house on top of the cellar. Design creep has shown its ugly head. Then there that money thing. Permits. Time.
Here is a manual for permanent wood foundations. There is more info on the web including building workshops.
http://www.wwpinstitute.org/documents/PWFmanual001-400.pdf
Later,
Dan
When I looked at this a year or so ago I found "fancier" examples were people had buried an old bus.
Some of the root cellars on the web worry me regarding their structural safety.
Other options besides "root cellar" are storm shelters. Some septic tank companies make a storm shelter that is nothing more than a larger septic tank with more human friendly access door.
The idea I have is to dig a wide trench, something like 24 feet wide and 30-40 feet long in an area where we have a slight slope. Then build a 12'x24' PT structure in the trench and back fill with a gravel on the floor and sides for drainage followed by the spoil dirt from the trench.
One of the problems with this idea is that we would like a green house. Logically it follows to build the green house on top of the cellar.
Design creep has shown its ugly head. Then there that money thing. Permits. Time. Here is a manual for permanent wood foundations. There is more info on the web including building workshops.
http://www.wwpinstitute.org/documents/PWFmanual001-400.pdf
Later,
Dan
Chuck52
Veteran Member
Drying is good for lots of stuff. Dried tomatoes are great. Drying concentrates the flavor. Lots of "gourmet" uses for them. Plus, if you dry them correctly, you can just stick them in a bag and store at room temperature. I plan to dry a lot more tomatoes this year than I have in the past because we really like them. We also dry apples.
Chuck
Chuck
dmccarty
Super Star Member
If your problem is getting humidity, you can use gravel for the cellar floor and throw water on the gravel. The water should flow down into the gravel but still provide humidity to the cellar.
Later,
Dan