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MT, USA
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Posted: 10/23/2011 7:34:20 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Abearir]
Anybody build one or have one they are using? How does it do ect.....? I'm in the process of digging one myself and looking for tips.
My specs are for it to be 8' long, 2' wide, and 3' deep. Frost depth last Feb 15 was: (6" soil temp 29F) (18" soil temp 32F) (30" soil temp 37F) My plan is to add 6" of bead board all the way around outside the bin box to equal about R-18. The lid will be at ground level also with R18 foam board. Thoughts? UPDATE 11/25/2011 Outside air temps have been as low a -4F, Cellar temp has not been lower than 39F and is pretty stable at 40.5F. UPDATE 01/17/2012 So far so good, Potatoes, Carrots and Beets holding fine. Minimum recorded temp 34F thus far with -11 air temps. We lost 2 degrees yesterday due to a cellar run 
UPDATE 04/12/2012 Ok, Spring has finally sprung here and all the root crops survived in VERY good shape.... Coldest recorded air temp here was -22F and the coldest the pit got was a balmy +32F. It stayed at this temp for 3 day and slowly returned to "normal" of about 38F. Due to the mineral content of taters and such they don't actually freeze until +28F so things were in real good shape. We've been in the mid 50's and peaking into the 60's and the pit is still +44F with good humidity. If you garden and wonder what to do with your harvest it's WELL worth the time, money and effort to build this. I think I'm going to can my leftovers to make room for this years harvest. Yes they held that well. |
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IN, USA
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Posted: 10/30/2011 8:07:30 AM EDT
[#1]
I do not have a root celler but have debated digging one. I think you would not want to insulate the sides and bottom of the hole. Earth mass provides the warmth. Maybe have a good cover and insulate to the 18" level? What will you use to hold your veggies?
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MT, USA
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Posted: 10/31/2011 12:02:27 AM EDT
[#2]
Originally Posted By BradWilliamson:
I do not have a root celler but have debated digging one. I think you would not want to insulate the sides and bottom of the hole. Earth mass provides the warmth. Maybe have a good cover and insulate to the 18" level? What will you use to hold your veggies? Well, I dug the thing. THAT was a chore to do by hand at my age. Solid clay/gumbo top to bottom. Dug it 30" wide, 32" deep and 103" long. I built the "cellar" out of 2x4 pine, 9 boards high (31.5") x 24" wide, 96" long. I wrapped the outside in some leftover Tyvek. Built the lid with another row of boards and a spare piece of OSB sub-flooring. I then lined the inside of the lid with 3" bead board. I then used more 3" bead board to line the outside of the cellar 18" deep from the surface down on 3 sides only. The back and both narrow ends. The floor is basically bare but I did add a couple inches of 3/4" washed gravel to aid in drainage and level things out. About all I have left to do is back fill it a bit and do some contouring for drainage. If I have time and it warms up I'll slap some paint on the top too. I'll add some pix when I get a good shot. 
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MT, USA
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Posted: 10/31/2011 6:12:14 PM EDT
[#3]
Well, it's a work in progress....Here are some updated pix of the progress.
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AK, USA
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Posted: 10/31/2011 7:16:54 PM EDT
[#4]
That looks really nice. You wouldnt want to do that in Oklahoma, it would be full of things that bite.
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Posted: 10/31/2011 7:59:54 PM EDT
[#5]
Looks nice, but would already be full of water here. 
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Posted: 10/31/2011 8:11:59 PM EDT
[#6]
Originally Posted By Waldo:
Looks nice, but would already be full of water here. Probably here too. 
Lay in a good thick layer of straw and you can mitigate that I think. 
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Posted: 10/31/2011 8:13:06 PM EDT
[#7]
Looks really nice, I'm tempted to try it here.
Keep us posted on how it works for you if you don't mind. |
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Posted: 10/31/2011 8:14:21 PM EDT
[#8]
Originally Posted By Feral:
Originally Posted By Waldo:
Looks nice, but would already be full of water here. Probably here too.
Lay in a good thick layer of straw and you can mitigate that I think.
A sump pump, maybe.  This has been the wettest damn year here I can remember and I'm getting kind of old. 
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Posted: 10/31/2011 8:19:59 PM EDT
[#9]
Originally Posted By Waldo:
Looks nice, but would already be full of water here. Add an aerator and keep minnows here. Very nice project. |
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IN, USA
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Posted: 11/1/2011 1:43:45 AM EDT
[#10]
that is very nice sir. well done. especially by hand.
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MT, USA
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Posted: 11/1/2011 8:25:43 AM EDT
[#11]
Originally Posted By odontia32m:
Originally Posted By Waldo:
Looks nice, but would already be full of water here. Add an aerator and keep minnows here. Very nice project. Water is my concern too but i think I'll be ok. I'm doing a lot of back filling around it to aid drainage away from it. Luckily it sits on a high point in the yard with a good slope away from the backside. I put several inches of 3/4" washed gravel in the bottom so if a bit gets in it wont float anything....I hope.  Worse comes to worse, I line the bottom with invereted milk crates til fall comes if the spring is wet.
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MT, USA
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Posted: 11/1/2011 8:27:53 AM EDT
[#12]
Originally Posted By USCG_CPO:
That looks really nice. You wouldnt want to do that in Oklahoma, it would be full of things that bite. Black Widow spiders and Hobo's I assume? We have them here too. Thats one of the reasons I wrapped it in Tyvek and have a perfect seal on the lid. |
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USA
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Posted: 11/1/2011 9:31:50 AM EDT
[#13]
I'm in Oklahoma... before we moved into the country, I did a similar project for storing stuff I didn't want to freeze, but I also didn't want in the house or garage. Paint, chemicals, ect...
I picked up a few open head 55gal drums, and using the post hole digger on my tractor started a hole deep enough to make the top of the barrel flush with the ground. I of course dug out the hole big enough to fit. It worked well enough that I have considered doing something similar for veggies and potatoes. Steam cleaned open head poly drums are $8 around here... and removes all the concerns about water, critters, and such. Insulate the top with 2 little square bales of wheat straw... Apparently this technique is also popular with the Iraqis and afghanis for caching stuff. |
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MT, USA
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Posted: 11/1/2011 3:44:24 PM EDT
[#14]
Originally Posted By abinok:
I'm in Oklahoma... before we moved into the country, I did a similar project for storing stuff I didn't want to freeze, but I also didn't want in the house or garage. Paint, chemicals, ect... I picked up a few open head 55gal drums, and using the post hole digger on my tractor started a hole deep enough to make the top of the barrel flush with the ground. I of course dug out the hole big enough to fit. It worked well enough that I have considered doing something similar for veggies and potatoes. Steam cleaned open head poly drums are $8 around here... and removes all the concerns about water, critters, and such. Insulate the top with 2 little square bales of wheat straw... Apparently this technique is also popular with the Iraqis and afghanis for caching stuff. YewHaw......Guess I'll be on another watch list now. 
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MT, USA
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Posted: 11/25/2011 7:08:18 PM EDT
[#15]
bump
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Posted: 11/25/2011 8:09:04 PM EDT
[#16]
Very nice. It'll be interesting to see how your temps do through the cold months.
Thread marked NO ARCHIVE |
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OK, USA
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Posted: 11/26/2011 12:41:59 PM EDT
[#17]
Originally Posted By Abearir:
Originally Posted By USCG_CPO:
That looks really nice. You wouldnt want to do that in Oklahoma, it would be full of things that bite. Black Widow spiders and Hobo's I assume? We have them here too. Thats one of the reasons I wrapped it in Tyvek and have a perfect seal on the lid. I'm in Oklahoma too. I know that we get scorpions, fiddlebacks and black widows in the storm cellar. My dad almost got tagged one time by a small timber rattler when he was cleaning out his spinkler head housings. He was reaching in, and grabbing the leaves out by hand. He felt the snake and yanked his hand out without getting bit. We have copperheads, western diamondbacks, pygmies and the occasional timber rattler. |
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MT, USA
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Posted: 11/26/2011 3:22:07 PM EDT
[#18]
Originally Posted By Feral:
Very nice. It'll be interesting to see how your temps do through the cold months. Thread marked NO ARCHIVE Thank you... will update |
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Posted: 11/26/2011 9:31:25 PM EDT
[#19]
Guys - one caching trouble I ran into was a hard rain floating the container up to the surface....how do you guys fix this? Besides a huge rock on top....
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MT, USA
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Posted: 11/28/2011 6:54:59 PM EDT
[#20]
Originally Posted By FordGuy:
Guys - one caching trouble I ran into was a hard rain floating the container up to the surface....how do you guys fix this? Besides a huge rock on top.... Good question. Don't have that issue here as I live on a small hill and we only get 12" of moisture a year typically in the form of snow Jan to March.
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Posted: 11/28/2011 7:29:30 PM EDT
[#21]
Originally Posted By Abearir:
Originally Posted By FordGuy:
Guys - one caching trouble I ran into was a hard rain floating the container up to the surface....how do you guys fix this? Besides a huge rock on top.... Good question. Don't have that issue here as I live on a small hill and we only get 12" of moisture a year typically in the form of snow Jan to March. Great posting from all. We have had 6 inches of rain in 3 days here. I like the poly drum with sealable lid as I already have some. I would need to pour a sack on concrete in the bottom though and hope it did not pop up. My Mother's neighbor in Oklahoma had a swimming pool placed a few years ago and a few months later it was bobbing on the surface to meet him I know nothing about figuring buoyancy and hydraulics so I am really interested.
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Posted: 11/28/2011 7:38:36 PM EDT
[#22]
Is that treated wood?
Around here it would last only a couple years in contact with the ground from bugs. TRG |
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Posted: 11/28/2011 10:19:22 PM EDT
[#23]
I wonder if a fella could use that "hardy board" from lowes that is made of concrete, fiber, and "other" materials?
When you see other, I think they really mean "peckers and lips" but maybe that's just hot dogs, boloney and vienna sauseges. Not sure. Originally Posted By TheRedGoat:
Is that treated wood? Around here it would last only a couple years in contact with the ground from bugs. TRG |
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Posted: 11/29/2011 8:11:15 AM EDT
[#24]
If it doesn't work out as a root celar, add some plexiglass or glass to the top and make it into a cold frame green house.
Not mine but similar idea: 
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MT, USA
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Posted: 11/29/2011 10:07:24 AM EDT
[#25]
Originally Posted By TheRedGoat:
Is that treated wood? Around here it would last only a couple years in contact with the ground from bugs. TRG No I used plain untrated pine. It is wrapped in Tyvek on the outside to hopefully keep bugs out and limit soil contact. I figure it should last about 10 years. |
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Posted: 11/29/2011 10:14:53 PM EDT
[#26]
Tag
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Posted: 12/1/2011 6:12:31 AM EDT
[#27]
anyone have an opinion on using "hardee board" or similar concrete products in the framing of this?
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MT, USA
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Posted: 12/1/2011 8:58:56 AM EDT
[#28]
Originally Posted By FordGuy:
anyone have an opinion on using "hardee board" or similar concrete products in the framing of this? I thought about it. I was concerned the pressure of the surrounding dirt would collapse it. Wood bends, concrete snaps. If i had the money I would have perfered to use those plastic deck 2x4's. |
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MT, USA
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Posted: 4/12/2012 12:07:49 PM EDT
[#29]
Bumped for update in OP
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NY, USA
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Posted: 4/12/2012 9:44:26 PM EDT
[#30]
Not sure if you have neighbors or not, but I wonder if they thought you were digging a grave....lol
I work at a historic estate, we have a root cellar on site that is over a hundred years old and still in use. Root crops from the garden every fall, as well as bulbs, root stock from "more southern zone" perennials, whatever else needs it. Works like a charm every year. Ours is big...5 x 10, with bilco style doors I suppose you'd call them. Steps down in, brick lined, gravel floor, it's very nice. I restored it.
When I get my own place going finally, root cellars and cold frames....old technology, but good stuff. |
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MT, USA
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Posted: 4/13/2012 12:56:03 AM EDT
[#31]
Originally Posted By Martsmth:
Not sure if you have neighbors or not, but I wonder if they thought you were digging a grave....lol I work at a historic estate, we have a root cellar on site that is over a hundred years old and still in use. Root crops from the garden every fall, as well as bulbs, root stock from "more southern zone" perennials, whatever else needs it. Works like a charm every year. Ours is big...5 x 10, with bilco style doors I suppose you'd call them. Steps down in, brick lined, gravel floor, it's very nice. I restored it.
When I get my own place going finally, root cellars and cold frames....old technology, but good stuff. Yeah, I'm impressed for such a simple setup. BTW, I do have neighbors on both sides. SUPER cool people. The one asked if I needed a tarp or duct tape!!! We don't live in the best area in town and we as a group have a certain understanding about bumps in the night.
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Posted: 11/13/2018 10:25:43 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Abearir: Yeah, I'm impressed for such a simple setup. BTW, I do have neighbors on both sides. SUPER cool people. The one asked if I needed a tarp or duct tape!!! We don't live in the best area in town and we as a group have a certain understanding about bumps in the night.
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Posted: 11/14/2018 11:52:02 PM EDT
[Last Edit: ChickenDaddy]
[#33]
That is pretty cool, i have to admit.
In my mind, when you say Root cellar i think about a walk-in underground storage room, typically on the exterior of a home and accessed from outside the home. But why not a fridge in the ground or connected to the home. Now that i think of it my grandparents was built under their home alongside their badement and accessed from the hone. Nice work |
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Posted: 11/19/2018 8:18:11 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ChickenDaddy:
That is pretty cool, i have to admit. In my mind, when you say Root cellar i think about a walk-in underground storage room, typically on the exterior of a home and accessed from outside the home. But why not a fridge in the ground or connected to the home. Now that i think of it my grandparents was built under their home alongside their badement and accessed from the hone. Nice work Then my best friend (who was the weird kid whose family were homesteaders from Pennsylvania--my first experience with what "homesteading" was) had a strange plywood door in her bedroom. The house was a basement house, basically, and later they built a frame house on top of it, but for all my school years, it was just a poured concrete, earth-sheltered house. That strange plywood door led to the root cellar, and lemme tell ya, there were some wolf spiders in there the size of dinner plates.  So once I had seen the root cellar, I slept with one eye open when I spent the night. 
At that point, I became a little enamored of root cellars, but at my present home, I don't have one. Would like to make one. |
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Posted: 11/19/2018 11:52:38 PM EDT
[#35]
Funny, same here—dont have one but want one.
I didn’t really like my grandmas cuz it had a low ceiling and always seened to have standing water. Someone told me when i was a kid there were rats in it so i kept an eye on it at all times. Now I just have an extra fridge in the basement. |
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