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8:22 pm
November 18, 2011
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jamie
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|  Golden Apple | posts 1820 | |
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I know we kind of touch on this topic in other posts, but I thought I might share a couple of ideas I came up with that may work for others.
One thing I found out is by not using my central furnace in the basement it dropped the temp from about 65 degrees F. to a constant 60 degrees. While a little warm for a root cellar it's perfect for canned goods and grains and most of the long term items a prepper would store for maximum shelf life.
Coolers can be used as small root cellars and I'm looking at using my enclosed porch as a cellar but storing the food in styrofoam coolers. If I can keep the food from freezing in the coolers I should be good to go.
Also a good rule of thumb is to store root veggies together and fruits like apples in their own spot and not mix them together.
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8:44 am
November 20, 2011
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fifteenfifty
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|  Fresh Fruit | posts 38 | |
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Post edited 8:45 am – November 20, 2011 by fifteenfifty
I wish I had some kind of basement. They are uncommon in much of the country. When I lived in the Northeast (where absolutely every home has a basement) I'd heard that the whole purpose was so that plumbing, etc.. could be below the frost line. Don't know if that is true but it certainly fits with why houses here don't have them.
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9:05 pm
November 20, 2011
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jamie
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| Golden Apple | posts 1820 | |
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There are a ton of ideas for root cellars even some above ground. I know I was thinking I needed a "Root Cellar" but you can do a lot working with what you have available or even some simple low cost materials. I'm not sure of your area if it's a high water table or another consideration. Where I'm at we have very warm ground via geothermal activity. In a way it's a plus because I know even without heat my basement will maintain 60 degrees F. and while on the cool side is quite livable. There are always trade offs, I'm a bit envious of the folks in the south that get a couple of growing seasons per year. Work to maximize what you can in your area, heck if it's a high water table, you can get water! Me it's warm ground while it not great for preserving it's great for staying warm without additional heat. Since -20 degrees F. for several weeks is somewhat common. That's no small consideration, hypothermia is contraindicated for survival.
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9:31 am
November 21, 2011
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Gallo
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|  Bronze Apple | posts 924 | |
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In the absence of a basement or root cellar, I wonder if a small concrete tornado shelter buried in the ground would work. The shelters are relatively cheap and some counties in tornado alley subsidize up to 50% of the cost.
This is what I’m talking about:
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9:54 am
November 21, 2011
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Crab Apple
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| Bronze Apple | posts 860 | |
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You could buy allot of plywood, rebar and concrete by the yard for $3500.
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8:16 pm
January 2, 2012
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jamie
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| Golden Apple | posts 1820 | |
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Update on my basement as a root cellar
I'm not running the big central furnace this winter so my basement is almost 10 degrees F. cooler than last year (50 degrees now) and it's been a mild winter so far.
I stored some potatoes in Oct and they are doing great in my big Styrofoam cooler in the basement. I think I can create a cold room within the basement and have a real root cellar that will stay about 40 degrees F. at least fall through early spring.
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12:14 pm
January 3, 2012
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Jarhead
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|  Diamond Apple | posts 2326 | |
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Gallo said:
In the absence of a basement or root cellar, I wonder if a small concrete tornado shelter buried in the ground would work. The shelters are relatively cheap and some counties in tornado alley subsidize up to 50% of the cost.
This is what I’m talking about:
The trouble with using storm shelters for root cellars is humidity or lack there of,. Root cellars need very high humidity and storm shelters are normally built to prevent humidity.
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" When a well packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and it's speaker a raving lunatic." Dresden James
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4:10 pm
January 3, 2012
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pm97
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| Bronze Apple | posts 715 | |
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Why do you need/want humidity in a root cellar? Here in FL humidity helps destroy things faster. Maybe we have too much?
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4:31 pm
January 3, 2012
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Jarhead
| | Arkansas | |
| Diamond Apple | posts 2326 | |
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Post edited 4:32 pm – January 3, 2012 by Jarhead
pm97 said:
Why do you need/want humidity in a root cellar? Here in FL humidity helps destroy things faster. Maybe we have too much?
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Humidity
After temperature, humidity is the next most important feature of a typical root cellar. It is a good idea to equip your root cellar with a humidity gauge called a hygrometer. Most fresh fruits and vegetables require high humidity to avoid shriveling. A typical underground root cellar will naturally maintain a high humidity if it has an earthen floor, but depending on your particular environment and intended cellar use, you may wish to adjust the humidity level up or down by your management practices. Coolness is generally a desirable characteristic regardless of what you’re storing, but if you are storing a lot of canned goods, nuts or dried fruit, humidity can be your enemy because dried fruit can easily rot and metal canning lids can rust in humid environments. Once you make a list of the products you would like to store, the value of a root cellar with one humid chamber and another dry chamber might become more evident.
Humidity can be increased with an exposed dirt floor, sprinkling water on gravel floors and packing vegetables in wet sawdust. Humidity can be lowered by using concrete floors, barrels of rock salt or by allowing for more ventilation entering from drier air outside.
One problem with high-humidity environments is that sometimes the air will condense as it cools, and that condensation can be a problem if it drips off the ceiling structures onto produce stored below. Avoid placing storage barrels below potential drips. Pre-treating the ceiling with disinfectants like chlorine can also slow the potential spread of dripping diseases.
http://www.hobbyfarms.com/food…..14908.aspx
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" When a well packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and it's speaker a raving lunatic." Dresden James
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9:07 pm
January 3, 2012
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pm97
| | Florida | |
| Bronze Apple | posts 715 | |
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