Steel trash can root cellar DIY

John C Daley wrote:Looks like a great plan, man!!
So how do you plan to create the primary cellar room?

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

There is a modern cheat: if you have a basement that is not insulated from the outside, you can create a cold nook in a corner against the concrete. Create an insulated box around it with whatever you can lay your hands on -- even cardboard. It's a starting point; live with it, experiment, and adjust based on experience.

Thank you Douglas! I suppose it would be pretty stupid to dig a trash can 2meters deep. Seems I do need an alternative. My basement is sadly insulated but I do have a cold spot near the walkout. This is a small area but I could attempt an insulated chest or cabinet with venting. I’ll explore this further, again thank you so much!

Jan White wrote:This is my third winter with one of these. Here's what I wrote after the first winter.

https://permies.com/t/140268/Garbage-root-cellar-success#1099745

My winters are warmer than yours and our frost depth is only 30". I'm not terribly careful about keeping the top of the hole insulated, though. I'm still using a couple paper leaf bags to cover. Last year they had leaves, not straw stuffed in them. The bags just barely cover the hole, not much, if any, overlap of the surrounding ground. In your climate I could see laying some styrofoam down over the hole in addition to whatever else you use to help insulate. If you make sure you've got good overlap around the hole's edges, I bet it would work.

It turns out, the way I do it anyway, no ventilation is needed. I have a pretty high straw to potato ratio, though. The last couple years I've made sure each layer of potatoes has some straw separating it from the next layer. The potatoes in each layer don't quite touch each other. This year I had more potatoes and didn't want to change my setup to accommodate a second garbage can. So I've got more potatoes in each layer, all touching and piled a couple potatoes deep.

I'm just finishing off the damaged or otherwise unsuitable for storage potatoes, so I haven't even checked the garbage can yet this winter. I'll let you know how they look once I get in there.

I'm super happy with my set up, though. I ate my very last Yukon golds in July last year, after digging them at the end of September. They were sprouting a bit, but still good.

Katherine Burelle wrote:
. Last thing I need is someone holding my feet as I dangle down a deep whole.

Jan White wrote:It turns out, the way I do it anyway, no ventilation is needed. I have a pretty high straw to potato ratio, though.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

Jan White wrote:It turns out, the way I do it anyway, no ventilation is needed. I have a pretty high straw to potato ratio, though.

Good idea. Dry straw will soak up any excess humidity.

Jan White wrote:For insulation, I'm thinking regular fiberglass or rock wool batts sandwiched between styrofoam. Cover with cardboard to protect the styrofoam, then wrap in plastic or something to keep the insulation fibers from escaping. Each batt sandwich would be light and not too big, so pretty easy to move around to get underneath.

John C Daley wrote:Sounds good, in Australia we dont have a problem with snow at this time, just 44 deg C. and no rain for months!!
Is there good space under the porch?

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

There is a modern cheat: if you have a basement that is not insulated from the outside, you can create a cold nook in a corner against the concrete. Create an insulated box around it with whatever you can lay your hands on -- even cardboard. It's a starting point; live with it, experiment, and adjust based on experience.

That's my long-winded 2c. Luck!