OT:Cellar's not cellaring very good

Anonymous-0 · Nov 28, 2008

Hey folks,
a while ago, I posted about ground water getting in the cellar under the barn. I sunk a 5 gal bucket in the lowest spot, put in a sump pump, and spread plastic and put gravel on the floor. Temp stays at 8-10 degrees celcius and a barometer says between 60 and 65% humidity. Thought I was good, so put a pallet crate in and put a 50 lb bag of potatoes and 1 hundred lbs of carrots, and some sugar beets there in spring/early summer. Went to get some carrots for the horses today and everything was shot (mushy, hairy, and just nasty).

What did I do wrong? Plenty of room for storage and keeping drinks cool if I can just figure it out.

Thanks, Dave

Anonymous-0 · Nov 28, 2008

Ventilation would probably help quite a bit, and the humidity needs to be a lot lower.

Bus Driver · Nov 28, 2008

Those things have limited storage life. I think the storage time ran out long ago.

ohiojim · Nov 28, 2008

i'd recheck that barometer reading again ....LOL

Rusty wheel · Nov 28, 2008

That doesn't sound like a very good root celler to me. You need to get the temperature just above freezing, a lot lower humidity, and eliminate the light. And even at that, the life of those veggies is limited. Use'em up, don't let them go to waste. rw

550Doug · Nov 28, 2008

Potatoes need the higher humidity, 75%+, but almost all other veggies need lower. Insulation will help with consistancy of temp and if you have power in there, try a thermostat controlled heater set at 35F. The starch in potatoes start to convert to sugar at temps just above freezing.

sammydwm · Nov 28, 2008

Actually all roots like it 85% or higher humidity.
But the carrots should be kept in boxes of sand. And should be topped prior to storage.
Potatoes do OK in just boxes but you can layer them with straw.
You're not near cold enough for long term storage.
A vent pipe or 2 one to let in colder air that runs to the bottom of the cellar and one to let out warm air flush with the ceiling will help out.
run the inlet to one end of the cellar and keep the outlet on another end for good circulation.
Of course you'll have to watch the temps now that winter is here.
Most root cellars are meant for keeping stuff from fall to spring.

http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/miscpubs/mp0562.htm has listings for temps and humidities.

Anonymous-0 · Nov 28, 2008

We try to keep our potatoes at 37 degrees farenheit, and keep the humidity over 95% humidity with a evaporative cooler, If you get those conditons you can store potatoes for a long time.

Anonymous-0 · Nov 29, 2008

Temp went below freezing.Put in a remote thermometer that you can read in the house.You just got educated...

OT:Cellar's not cellaring very good

Anonymous-0

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Bus Driver

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