Need an idea....

Okay, so I am VERY new here.  I am a lifelong gardener and do great at the canning, freezing, dehydrating, etc.  But when it comes to long term storage I am completely stumped.  In my house in the basement we have a bump out area that we are wanting to turn into the root cellar.  Our goal, when we have the money, is to do a ventilation system through the foundation. Until that day we need to find a way to keep that area cool and humid.  Right now we framed it up and used black plastic.   We didn't leave space to ventilate so last year didn't last long on storage, and obviously it wasn't super cool anyway. I feel like we need to make sure there is space at the top of the black plastic to let out any heat rising up.  We kept a fan going to circulate air as we kept the heat out of it, but it was still too warm.  I think we can afford to insulate the ceiling, that shouldn't be hard.  But, I was wondering if a portable room AC unit would work to keep it cool this year.  I know that they really don't cool an area down much but it might be helpful.  I am storing onions, garlic, potatoes, and later this fall apples.  

Any direction and advice on how to create this space would be so appreciated.  Thanks.  

Hi Carol,

Welcome to Permies.

I’m not a fan of portable ac. Based on experience and research they tend to be inefficient, ineffective and expensive compared to alternatives.

While I appreciate the idea of a passive root cellar, traditionally these seem to be very highly insulated and have very high thermal mass, even by modern basement standards.  Even though basements are somewhat cool in summer, by autumn the summer heat seems to have seeped in.  So we’d like it to be cool around harvest time but unfortunately it seems that’s when it’s warmest.  

One idea would be to use a refrigerator and run it at least during the autumn season. It could be set to just above freezing. This seems good for garlic and onions.  Perhaps potatoes could go in a standard-temperature fridge.  Apples might go in either one, or wherever there’s space.

If you have a ton of produce, you could consider buying or making a walk-in cooler. Some farmers actually modify the thermostat in window box air conditioners to work as the refrigeration unit.  Maybe put onions down low in a cooler spot, potatoes up high in a warmer spot?

I know paying for a fridge/freezer and electricity  isn’t ideal, but at least the heat can be pumped into a living space. It also may be a time-saver in the busy season, or could work as a temporary solution.

Where in the word are you? Just a general location may help you get better answers appropriate to your climate.

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:Where in the word are you? Just a general location may help you get better answers appropriate to your climate.

I agree -- important information! Humidity and nominal deep soil temperatures are really a big factor in planning.

I would never run an A/C unit for veg. But I do run a  reasonably efficient second fridge in the basement, and it provides hand grown carrots, beets, parsnips, fridge pickles, sweet pickles for the whole year. It also supplies our neighbours with surplus. And it provides an occasional cold frosty for the hard workin' dude who's been on the business end of the shovel all afternoon.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:on the business end

If I was on the business end I’d be drinking too.

Mike Philips wrote:

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:on the business end

If I was on the business end I’d be drinking too.

LOL! I need to review my posts before hitting "Submit."

Hi, everyone, thanks for the comments so far, sorry I didn't give enough information.  I am VERY new to forums, like I've never done this before.  Giving info on the internet is always a cautious adventure to me.  Okay, so I live in central Iowa, always seems like it's very high humidity, and we are in year 4 of a drought.  I have been canning, freezing etc all my life with my family, but specifically with my husband, (who has an addiction to canning jars) for about 25 years I think.  We moved out to my family farm in 2016, rebuilt the house, didn't think about a root cellar which in hindsight was dumb.  I have 80 acres to my name.  5 of it is the house and outbuilding site.  The rest is corn and soybeans that I rent out because I'm not that type of farmer.  I now have 3 garden sites to grow to my hearts content.

Three years ago we decided to plant more onions, potatoes, garlic, and pumpkins to store over the winter to cut back even more on grocery bills.  We do pretty good till about January and then things start to head downhill quickly simply because we can't regulate the basement temp very well.  BTW I have to run a humidifier most of the winter as our new house was built so well if I don't it looks like my ceilings are bleeding water.

I try to keep air moving around the produce with a fan.  Around December when we see the potatoes start to take a turn I go into hashbrown mode and fill the freezer.  Onions end up frozen toward the end.  Maybe this is perfectly normal and produce shouldn't last months on end, but I remember my mom storing things for a long time.  So, I'm just trying to find something temporary and inexpensive while we explore something more permanent.

I have another option for the winter, but I hate to do it, I have a shed on the farm that my husband fixed up for me to have all my sewing, library, crafts in....it does have an AC and a space heater.  In the winter we keep the temperature at about 45 degrees when I'm not using it.  I imagine, we could clear out one side to store everything this year once the temperature starts dropping in about October and then we could see how things hold up.

Carol, that is very helpful information.

It sounds like you need to keep heat out in summer, and retain some heat in the winter. The arrangements might have to be flexible so you can move insulation where it's needed for the season.

In summer, what is the temperature of the concrete basement floor in your temporary cold room?

FWIW, it takes a pretty amazing cold room to keep things for more than 5-6 months; after that their condition starts to deteriorate. Potatoes do well in cardboard boxes, which keeps light out and slows moisture loss. Onions do best in a mesh hammock (dry them very thoroughly before storing, and stir them around periodically).

Douglas thanks so much for that info.  I guess I was thinking as long as temperature/humidity was good I could keep stuff longer.  The area in our basement where we are storing things right now is about 62 degrees near the floor and 66 near the ceiling.  With the AC on this summer it can get cooler in there.  Winter time obviously is warmer because we can't keep the heat out of the area.  I think maybe I need to cut back on my onions.....we do most in mesh bags and the rest are sitting on wire shelving that is not a solid panel so air circulates a lot.