Experiment: Mini "Root Cellar" from broken freezer (for storing potatoes)

UPDATE: Mini Root Cellar Experiment (after 3 months of potato storage)
• Update: Mini Root Cell...
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After successfully harvesting 337 lbs of potatoes, we only had one problem: Where to store them?!
Since we don't have a root cellar, I came up with another idea using an old broken chest freezer and some simple parts from the hardware store. Now to find out if it actually works...
For those wanting to skip the background information, here are some quick links to the content:
00:37 Curing freshly harvested potatoes
02:20 Root cellar basics
05:03 Constructing the mini root cellar
10:28 Limitations to this design

[@mrsclfb9697]

This reminded me of something our Dad did when we were kids back around the mid-50s in the Kentucky mountains. He did it not so much because we had no other choice, but to teach us. That fall we had a lot of apples from an old orchard on the land we rented. He gathered us around out in a garden area and dug a fairly deep hole in a bowl shape. He lined it with clean straw and we began to layer the best apples in the straw until we had about a bushel of apples worked in. He covered them with another thick layer of straw, and then covered the straw with the dirt taken from the hole. Several months latter at Christmas time we went out and opened the apple bed. I still remember the smell of apples as we took them out. They were fragrant and fresh and crunchy. Precious memories... and delicious too. Thank you. Love your ideas and experiments.

[@247KW]

Loved this. Thank you for sharing your memory with all of us.

[@pby1000]

Awesome! I will try it.

[@lazygardens]

It's called a "clamp" ... you can do it with potatoes, carrots and turnips too.

[@rebeccapettifer6553]

@Russell Gerdes This makes me so sad. My uncle Sam was in WWI and they experimented he found out later with mustard gas on him and a bunch of his fellow soldiers. He was sick the rest of his life and he was just like your dad. Worked and worked in a garden and sold potatoes. It was the easiest for him to just plant with a lot of help from his many nephews and nieces. Then come harvest they all came and helped him dig them up and put them on hay wagons, picnic tables they all brought and the porch to dry out. It was the easiest crop for him to grow since they don't take a lot of work in between. He then would plant his home garden for him and Aunt Adena. Although instead of people coming to him for potatoes; he piled them in his wagon and delivered to people. In our small farming area all the people knew him and most didn't plant potatoes so he could have some money to live on. Its amazing how kind people can be. He was my favorite great uncle. He was a man of faith and kindness. He could have been bitter but he wasn't. I don't know if this will reach you after 2 years but I wanted to talk about Uncle Sam. Loved him so much.

[@elmtree33]

I also would like to thank your dad: he taught you this, you shared it, and now I've learned something new which could prove valuable to survival.

[@limojoy]

Be sure to put screens on the intake and outflow vents to prevent rodents and pest.

[@kristenoberhauser8228]

Exactly what WE forgot to do and now we have so many nice!@Mark OnTheBlueRidge

[@judyhowell7075]

My beds are deep so no weeds will come from bottom, covered and smothered with cardboard first after hardware cloth. I’m in panhandle of Fl and through some potatoes in ground temperatures about 50-60 currently and I have many heading up, I may get potatoes this late in year.

[@pby1000]

Great idea.

[@pby1000]

Mark OnTheBlueRidge Another great idea.

[@altha-rf1et]

@@judyhowell7075 Altha Fl here

[@lindabarnes1585]

To preserve some of your harvest, you may want to consider canning some of your potatoes. After peeling 10 pounds of them, cut into chunks about 1.5 to 2 inches square, roughly, then place in a large stock pot adding water to cover. Once the potatoes are heated through, but not cooked, ladle them into a warmed quart canning jar, add the hot liquid from the pot, seal with canning jar lids and rings and process in a pressure canner. See the Ball Blue Book for specific canning directions. The finished project nets you potatoes firm enough to slice and fry, yet soft enough that if they were reheated, they could be mashed and served. 10 pounds of potatoes fit into 7 quart jars which is exactly the number of quart jars that fit into most pressure canners. These poatoes will keep for a minimum of 5 years if kept in a cooler, dark place like your basement. There is more to know about the canning process than described here so read the directions in the named book above for more specific info, especially if you have never used a pressure canner before. The only great canner to own is the All American. It is the safest.

[@AdlerMow]

You don't need the fan! You simply need to rise the exhaust tube a off the ground couple of feet higher than the intake tube, and paint the exhaust tube black (it will turn into a solar chimney). Also, you can put a 3 inch layer of wet sand on the floor of the freezer, so it acts as an evaporative cooler (like a zeer pot). That will greatly boost the efficiency of your system.

[@IowaKim]

I was thinking that too, for the "chimney effect".

[@ItAintMeBabe99]

I also was going to suggest that, but you beat me to it. The higher the exhaust tube, the greater the flow.

[@lulabelle4760]

My grandparents stored Apple's and potatoes buried in straw in a smallish, unheated shed. I have an unused bedroom where I set up shelves(that I already had), closed the vent and drapes and store pumpkins and squash. Potatoes and tomatoes in paper bags, plus all the canning. There is a window ac incase the winter sun heats up the room. This is the first time using this system and so far it's working great! It's all about being creative within your skill set!

[@suzettecalleja3122]

exactly

[@susiearviso3032]

ZZZzzzzz ..............

[@rtjs14]

@@susiearviso3032 that was mean, but it made me laugh. lol

[@rtjs14]

thank you for sharing

[@geod3589]

Probably one of the better ideas for those have no basement or storage shed.

[@ensign4Him]

I hate when videos waste my time BUT having just discovered your channel and watching a half dozen of your videos, I am very impressed!. No endless chatter and brevity to boot. You are a great teacher.... Very helpful. Thank you!

[@longgowhereto]

Tell you from Hungary. After one real farming season as a rooky, I used my rootcellar for potato, zucchini, pumpkin, betroot, melons. It is an old house and I try to keep it simple. Potatoes lay on the earthy floor. After weeks I came for a look and on top of the potatoes sat a toad. She did not move at all. She watched her food (isopods, woodlice) eating my food (potatoes). I like your title "back to reality", thats what I feel again and again.

[@kvitravn6354]

What part of Hungary, I was born in Budapest but raised in Rakoskereszten.

[@AliMuhammadAli]

I really Like your experimental approach to learn :)

[@grantquinones]

Your name is so original haha

[@pathopkins4882]

Wish I had you as a teacher when I was a kid, I would have got better marks! 😉Excellent video! 👍

[@StraitD2]

Wow. I spent my entire life not understanding how root cellar ventilation worked. I had it wrong in my head all along. This was the simplest and best-explained example ever. I feel so dumb and much smarter now at the same time. Thanks!

[@lizardlady4324]

Great idea. Thank you. Root cellars are named “root cellars” because they’re for storing root vegetables . . . not because they’re built underground. 😉 Edit: Watched this again. Really quite brilliant!

[@tjjordan8994]

My family stored hundreds of pounds of potatoes in a ventilated, open bin in the basement. Never had a problem.

[@judyhall2736]

@Russell Gerdes That was very intreasting!!

[@MFaith777]

Depends on the house/basement/humidity/geography.

[@Mark-xt8jp]

Could you leave an open mason jar full of water in there, and let the water evaporate as needed? You could then look in and quickly top it off as needed.

[@BackToReality]

That's a great idea. I'll give it a shot! Thanks!

[@elwhitman4779]

so thorough and useful and without drama or distracting music. Thank you.

[@stoffmeister7095]

Try to run the fan on a potato battery, that's another experiment for you

[@mariannewyles2501]

Now that's creative thinking

[@Draakdarkmaster6]

plenty of potatoes for it, thats for sure

[@trollforge]

I think the freezer idea is genius!

[@seanhenderson8870]

You could skip the freezer and just make it any size, just using that stiff pink insulation.

[@Wendy_Blank]

Amazing little gem of a recommendation. Thank you KZbin. Not sure how I ended up getting this recommended from watching an UK documentary on homelessness; I'm glad I did. I've been wondering about storing my potatoes in an unused crawl space within my basement (used to be the spot where a fuel tank was housed). It may be too cold as there is no insulation just bare block walls similar to what you'd find getting into a basement through an outside bulk head. In any event this has given me an idea that may resolve my storage issue. Thank you!!!!

[@plurmingo1]

Florida here, I am using your idea about rolled over sod as planting beds, I just took it step further since I have moles. In layers, plastic ground cover, 1/4” hardware cloth, 3’x6’x2’ box, filled with compostables and turned the grass onto that, planted my garlic and covered with more grass/leaves clippings. Thanks so much for the great, in-depth details that you put into your videos. I’m a visual learner so it helps me a lot. Thanks again.

[@judyhowell7075]

Brandy Gallegos I’m in Florida too, raised beds with hardware cloth for the bottoms when we plant our next potatoes, moles, voles get ours

[@plurmingo1]

Judy Howell reason we (I) use the plastic ground cover is it’s good for weed barrier, plus I want to be able to pick up my soil (turn) without loosing it to the ground. The here burrow threw the roots and have destroyed so many flowers before I ever planted anything else.

[@myra7273]

I liked learning about this experiment, because: -- It uses something that would otherwise be thrown away. Chest freezers of all sizes can be found for free. Instead of them becoming landfill material, you have developed a way to have a well-made insulated box at your service. -- It does not cost much money or work to convert the chest freezer into a mini-root cellar that will probably last for the rest of your life! -- Light will not shine on root vegetables every time you enter and use the basement. That matters a lot. -- It isolates stored root vegetables away from rodents, insects, and other pests -- It is likely to lengthen storage times before sprouting or rotting. This increases the number of both food potatoes and seed potatoes that you can use. That can be critically important if you only have a small amount of a great, but uncommon heirloom strain of potatoes that you want to increase by growing them for multiple years. -- It makes it easy to check the crates of potatoes for rot/sprouting -- There is no need to carry lots of bushels full of straw, sawdust, or dirt into a residential basement. They can be heavy (especially if they are filled with dirt or sand), they tend to make messes over time, and they encourage life forms to move in when they are left out in the open in crates of root vegetables. --This solution is easy to clean and disinfect, and that is SOOOO important when it comes to storing root vegetables. -- Humidity is more regulated than it would be in an open air storage system in a basement or shed. -- You can build them one at a time, try them out, and make improvements as you learn more about what works best for you. Well done! I've been a homesteader and gardener for many years. I like seeing your videos.

[@stephenh7336]

One of the best things I've learned to 'keep' potatoes is to dehydrate them. 3 years ago I dehydrated sliced for scalloped, shredded for hashbrowns, cuts for fries, and mashed. 3 years later and the slicded and shredded are great, am going to try the fries and mashed over the next few weeks. I waited a while to see how they'd hold up for storage and flavor. So far so good. And if you're concerned about electrical costs, there are several videos on different solar dehydrators out there. ;)

[@BackToReality]

Funny enough, we've been thinking about dehydrating some too! We have dehydrated many other veggies in the past, so we're already somewhat set up for it. I'd be really curious how the fries work out for you, so please let us know, once you try them :)

[@pieterbezuidenhout2741]

Watched your video on planting potatoes then this on storing them and absolutely enjoyed both. No nonsense and just down to facts. I'm 66 yrs old with a bit of commonsense and you woke up my rusty old brain and l learned something. Thanks a lot. Hope there will be more practical tips like this in future. God bless from South Africa.

[@V.Hansen.]

Kind of off subject but I'm using a broken freezer to store dry goods while I figure out a mouse problem. Works great. Also people don't think about the fact that you can paint appliances however you want. I've painted a sort of chevron on mine in black and I love it.

[@alicel3992]

V. Hansen, thanks for the ideas😀

[@EllieChristine744]

As far as the rodent problem is concerned, we live in an old house, and we had mice in every fall.. we did our best to cover up any and all openings larger than the width of a pencil... but could still hear them galloping around in the walls and sometimes they found a way in .... Then i bought several small bags of Ammonium Bicarbonate... if they smell this it gives them a really painful "sting" up their little noses... try it yourself, he he. I left some under the zinc, along the wall here and there... and even in the wall a couple of places before shutting it up.. I have heard no more running around, and no more mice. My son had the same experience when he tried it. As long as it is dry, the smell will linger on for a loooong while. Good luck!

[@mdouble100]

This seems like a nice practical method for storing smaller items. We live in Ontario as well, and totally relate to the problem of things getting to cold in winter. For me the idea of a thermally controlled cold room makes sense. We have a heated basement, part of which has had the normal warm air duct closed off. This area is our food pantry where we also store canned and or packaged food, some of which is prepared for long-term storage. Our plan is to actually build a full cold room in a corner of the pantry area, vented with outside air. A solar powered fan, with automated valves will be used to maintain a constant temperature of +10C. during those parts of the year when it is cold enough outdoors.

[@smde1]

Here is a useful tip. If you want to preserve raw potatoes for a long time and you want to inhibit sprouting. Smoke them. Simply expose them to wood fire smoke for some time - about 1.5 - 2 hrs .... do not heat them - simply expose them to smoke. This will inhibit sprouting . This idea comes from the fact that potato farmers have noticed that forest/grass fires on or near their farms have inhibited sprouting in their seed potatoes.

[@zmdeadelius]

This is the second video I've seen so far and I must say I love everything about your channel. The logo, the name, the presentation of the videos and the empirical nature of the experiments. Wishing you millions of subs!

[@wes9451]

Planted 40 cloves of garlic and 30 seed potatoes into mulch I've been moving into the yard all fall. Thank you both for the inspiration. Its going to be a long winter with just some hydo lettuce and red wigglers to hold me over.

[@livingladolcevita7318]

I just dry and set my potatoes in the sun when I harvest then put them in paper sacks in my garage on top of carpet and wrap an old duvet around the sacks. I then transfer them from one sack to another, checking the potatoes for any rot every 3 weeks or so, but we don't get very cold weather in Britain.

[@Aaron16211]

Nice video. I would pick away at digging a root cellar by hand or get a machine to do it. Looks like you have the land. Yes, it is super satisfying to grow and store 100's of pounds of potatoes on your own land. I store my potatoes and apples in the cool, damp and insulated basement on shallow plywood shelves lined with newspaper. I put my apples in large but shallow cardboard boxes on the insulated bench. I also store up to 500 units from 7 varieties of jam along with jars of peaches and tomatoes stacked on my heavy duty wall shelves. Works well. Thank you, I am going to try this method of potatoes production. Good work.

[@sailingsolar]

Have you considered boiling some potatoes and dehydrating the mashes potatoes (no butter, e.g. fat) for even longer storage than fresh whole potatoes? You could also can them in glass glass. Both options to consider for further preserving options. Cheers.

[@BackToReality]

We HAVE considered that actually. :) In fact, we're hoping to give it a shot soon. We'll post another video about that too, if we have time. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@sailingsolar]

@@BackToReality Not just mashed. Potatoes thin sliced (1.5, 2 mm), par boiled and dehydrated store nicley on the shelf. Used to make scalloped potatoes or potatoes au gratin as you likely know. Paula needs some more screen time so you two might consider doing some cooking video using your home grown bounty and stored/preserved items. That could be awesome content. If you like.

[@bethaddis4377]

Yes you will need a way to damper the cold air flow. We did a similar thing. In Wisconsin it gets pretty cold too. We added a ball valve on our pvc pipe. You can make a pretty awesome off grid fridge this way.

[@BackToReality]

Ok, good to know. I suspect I will have the same problem. Thanks for the tip!

[@bethaddis4377]

Also adding a damp tile sponge will help with the moisture. I use it for root crops and chicken hatching

[@SJLamb-te3dt]

I watched your carrot onion and radish experiment results and thought planting your carrots and onions together was very clever! I did think you might have gotten better results if you had worked the soil with a broadfork beforehand because they loosen the soil at greater depth without tilling.

[@martiensbekker]

Great idea and thanks for a detailed presentation. I have made a simple slatted wooden box and lined it with mosquito mesch. Plan to place layers of potatoes and carrots separated with brown/news paper. We live in a zone5/6 in Telemark, Norway. Our cellar stays fairly constant at 4°C. This will be our first attempt. A couple of years ago, a farmer friend gave us a bucket filled with potatoes. I then hung this temporarily from the basement ceiling and unfortunately forgot about it completely. Found it only mid spring and was surprised that it had grown shoots. That surely means they were OK during the whole of winter?

[@freemab222]

Changing the subject for a moment, I found a different use for a defunct chest-type freezer: A vermicomposting bin. These freezers have a drain, so I elevated the freezer enough to collect the liquid run-off, then put some logs in the bottom, topped that with plastic fencing (with holes about 1.5" square), topped that with black garden fabric, and then with whatever compost was handy. In went some shredded autumn leaves, kitchen compost and red wiggler worms. But in cool weather, the worms aren't happy, so I added a 100W incandescent light bulb for heat -- which is plenty to keep the bin warm in freezing weather, even with the lid barely cracked to provide a bit of air for the worms.. That worked well, but the bulb burned out twice before I repurposed an old 4-socket photobar device with a "dim" setting in which the four lamps run in series -- at about half voltage. With 100W bulbs in each of the 4 sockets, this provides roughly 150W of heating. (If one bulb burns out, the other three will continue burning, providing heat.) Now, however, I was concerned about keeping the worms warm without overheating them. So I got an ebay $15 special, a 120V thermostat, mounted it in a weatherproof electrical box (maybe $10 more) and ever since the worms have been warm and toasty, through snow and rain and weather. I feed the worms mainly kitchen scraps, though I did add some clean scrap paper when I felt the compost was too damp, and added a half gallon of water when I felt it was too dry. Very little maintenance.

[@tophinski]

This is the most satisfying video I've watched in a long time. Great job!

[@michaellasiter278]

Thank you. I live in Alaska and curently have the exact same conundrum and freezer idea as a solution. I am so very glad i watched your video first. Excellent execution on your part

[@piratepartyftw]

I love the side by side experimentation. This kind of content is great. It helps everyone learn. Well produced video, too.

[@lisagauvin]

This is the best explanation on root cellars I have seen. Thanks!

[@marcusburau7227]

To fix your moisture problem you could line the freezer with cork board like a humidor box for cigars. Hope this tip helps.

[@BackToReality]

This tip is VERY helpful. Thanks!

[@slaplapdog]

I think an upright freezer or fridge might a better choice for your next root cellar, due to the ease of access to the contents and taking up less floor space. Most fridges are cooled via vents from the freezer section of the design. The upright freezers seem to use coils built into the shelves. Either way, they should be easier to drill into, and the vertical orientation aids in creating height difference for the intake and exhaust. If you want to avoid using a fan, consider using black painted galvanized duct as a solar chimney on the exhaust. A thermostatically controlled incandescent lightbulb,could be enough of a heater to keep the contents from freezing. I use one as chicken coop heater. The bulb is in a ceramic socket,tucked under a stone tile inside the hollow of a concrete block.

[@laurieanne9712]

This seems so complicated!!! My grandparents just stored theirs in straw or sawdust in bushel baskets (LOTS of them!) put them in their dirt floor "root cellar" basement. No venting, temp watching, etc. just the old timey country way. They never had any probs.

[@Andy81ish]

It was explained that a 'Root Cellar' is the best way of doing it. But not everyone has a root cellar or can build one due to local conditions. What if you live on the side of a rocky mountain with only 0.5 m of soil over rock? or near the beach or a river with a water table that comes up to just below the surface and you have to grow in raised beds?

[@norxgirl1]

Tools and modifications above my skill level....but good info and ideas....

[@suzettecalleja3122]

but he doesn't live in those places.

[@bkipme3766]

Great idea and good execution. My comment is simply that keeping food in cellars is pretty forgiving. The temperature and light being most important. Few cellars are perfect and food tends to do fine if not left to years before being consumed. Controlling moisture accumulation is a big problem in underground situations and can cause mold. But your solution should work really well as the vent pipe lifts the potatoes above any moisture accumulation. Thanks for sharing the video.

[@kimalexander8378]

Love how your initial idea was thoroughly explored and challenges addressed. Caution on the burlap, however. My extensive research shows majority of available burlap contains chemicals you might not want food to touch. A safe alternative is hemp matting…the kind sometimes used as a substrate for growing microgreens. It comes in sheets and rolls. I prefer the roll and cut as I need. Thicker than burlap, and, yes, a little pricey, but hemp matting has many uses, including outdoor gardens. And it’s reusable in many non-microgreen applications. Right now, hemp matting is laid out around my tomato and pepper plants… (I have a small garden)…doing a great job protecting the soil from drying out during our current scorching temperatures. I think the roughness of the hemp is also discouraging crawly creatures from getting near the plants. Win-win! Something to consider. Happy growing…and preserving!

[@GloriaBerrisch]

Awesome presentation! The Children's tv network should hire you to teach the small children, life at the homestead by showing your videos. There's lot's to learn that they can apply in life. This will help our future generations get more healthy. I enjoyed watching, thank you. (P.S. Contact the children's tv people and tell them about this idea who knows how many kids you'd be able to help maybe millions...)

[@cynthiaclark8050]

THANK YOU for this! I have all the materials already including a broken freezer of the same size! I had thought about this but wasn't sure how to make it work. I have a detached garage/work studio that I had replaced a window frame with plywood and an exhaust fan. There's room below the fan to set up 1.5" pvc intake and venting. I have a heat pump that I use to keep the place about 40 degrees unless I work in it, which shouldn't have the heat increased long enough long enough inside to affect the freezer contents, potatoes and perhaps a few sunchokes in case I can't pull those direct from the ground. Again, thanks for this practical solution!

[@gingerreid8569]

We are new to homesteading...just moved in about 4 months ago, so we missed being able to do a fall/winter garden - 9 horses and 6 dogs (rescues) had to be taken care of first...so now, Feb. 6, 2019, we have built our greenhouse and also want to plant tons of potatoes, tomatoes, and onions just to name 3...we don't have a root cellar but we do have a shed on concrete with a new window a/c that may be able to work the magic you have shared...thanks!

[@KaydenFox]

The reduction from 4" to 2" on the cold vent will also help with the vacuum effect as the same volume of air won't come in as quick as the hot goes out unless it goes faster.

[@susanlaplante7170]

Robert Boyle, Daniel Bernoulli, and Giovanni Venturi would be very proud of you. ;-)

[@benczyrny6523]

When I was a Kid I saw my Grandma Farm storage potatos in a hill. Was simple build with straws & sand. 3-4' Hole in the ground & layers was: sand on bottom, straws on top, potatoes on top & again straws, sand, potatoes, and again straws, sand & potatoes. Also was some spots mix w/mint branches between with the layers. All shelter was covered with thickly mount layer straw & sand on top the ground, maybe 4' High. Potato was dig out almost a year..

[@ElderandOakFarm]

I have this same dilemma right now- I planned to have a walk in cooler for my cutflower & vegetable farm products by now, but my husband & I are still working on it... it may not be until next year... i thought about ising my crawl soace but I'm afriad that will freeze everything in the coldest part of winter. Thank you for thos awesome video- from the editing, to the "root cellar" build, to the experimenting woth the several different options...

[@thinlizzy535]

Very well thought out! Thank you for the time, the video and the advice. I’ve been wanting a cold room for years, (I’m in Alberta,) but now I see I won’t have to go through all the trouble and expense. (I’m widowed and have a bad back, but love my garden!). I can try something similar to this! So many thanks to you brilliant individuals for such wonderful ideas! Bless you!

[@maccliff2115]

2 years ago I saw your 337lb potato 🥔 haul. I just saw this video. I think it’s cool and functional. I think it was your channel and that video that gave me the confidence to start growing in my small backyard. And Derek, I greatly enjoy how you explain everything, I can follow it all the way through and the graphics are perfect. Keep up the great work. 👍🏼

[@Aesgor]

Just found this channel today and in love already. These are really well produced videos! Reminds me of a professional DIY channel tv show but more genuine! Great graphics and great commentary

[@robertoperezjr.1119]

what about using an upright refrigerator or freezer that isn't working. You could stack your containers in there. And you might have the height too. I've drilled small holes in the back of some fridge/freezers for temp sensors and had luck not hitting anything. I love your idea. I hope it works.

[@kvitravn6354]

I turned mine on it's back after gutting it and added the sleeve and so far so good.

[@strive4impact]

Excited to hear the results!

[@billk9628]

My Ex's Father used to store his potatoes and onions in a 55 gallon drum buried under ground in his lawn shed, just a heavy steel lid and he did this for his whole life and no issues. The shed was just a tin shed for a lawn mower type deal about 8'x8' This was Wisconsin as well. And his mother used to grow potatoes in the basement of their old farm house, in old tires, lay out one tire, fill it with dirt, plant seed potatoes and wait, once the plants got about 2 foot tall, ad another tire, fill with dirt and repeat. at the end off the season you have to do nothing, but remove as needed.

[@digitalranger4259]

Great video. FWIW, I've driven a fan like the one you showed with a small solar panel, so you should be able to keep it off grid.

[@ml9517]

Would suggest a cheep solar panel attached directly to a 4" fan, that way the fan runs itself and only pulls air out (and therefore cool air in) while its light outside, meaning you only pull in the relatively 'warm' winter air rather than the really cold night air. Great videos BTW.

[@curtb.]

Or use that PC fan you showed, very low amps, and would run only daytime on a small panel without a battery... Thanks for the great vid, learned a lot about root cellars from your comments! Thinking of digging one in a hill below the house one day.

[@ml9517]

@@curtb. Sorry, should have said a pc fan was the best option. The 4" size (100mm for the young folks out there!) should fit quite nicely on the end of the ducting. Or even be butt jointed between 2 pieces inside to avoid weather damage.

[@curtb.]

@@ml9517 yay! Good stuff...

[@CiaofCleburne]

We ate a lot of potatoes growing up. My dad purchased a house that had an amazing basement. Between food storage and tornadoes, Id say he did good. He had to build another room on upstairs every time a new baby was brought about! We ended up in a large house w/lots of mouths to feed! Gr8 video!!!

[@ceepark114]

Great video, I will show my husband and see if he can make one of these next year. We don't have a basement, probably can use our barn though, Thanks.

[@FoodForThought.]

Great idea. I'm growing a lot more potatoes than normal, but no where near your amount. I too am in Ontario so was trying to think of a way to store and I'll have to try something like this. Thanks.

[@MsBestsunshine]

Wow as a child of the 1950s I remember my grandparents having a root cellar. A few potatoes I retrieved for cooking had some potatoes a green spots. My grandma would just cut the green spot off before cooking them. Thank you now I know why there’ were green spots. Awesome thank you for sharing this video, very informative and educational ,

[@valeriejones5458]

Great explanation of root cellars. Thank you

[@suedavis681]

Great video and I so enjoy learning from you. I will never be one to utilize what you are sharing about root cellars but I do to refer others to your site. Have you and Paula thought about dehydrating some potatoes? I have a vacuum sealer that I can use with quart canning jars to remove air and seal jars for dehydrated veggies. I'm sure that this is probably "preaching to the choir", but you never know....someone may find this useful. Again, thanks for sharing with the rest of us!

[@Andy81ish]

Looking forward to the results after your winter. I live between the two tropic lines and have been trying to work out a system for storage. I think I might take your idea and build a room in my shed with a working fridge built into the wall with the door taken off (so the cold part of the fridge is on the inside and the radiator is on the outside. I know that will cost me power as the fridge will probably be running full time just to get the room down to 10 or 15 degrees C. Maybe some solar panels, we have lots of sun all year round.

[@billybass6419]

Looks good, but what a hassle. Here in the NW Florida panhandle, our house is a couple fee off grade. We harvest the spuds in May. I put a layer of pine straw under the house and lay the potatoes in a single layer. We eat them all the way through spring and plant the leftovers. It gets as hot here as it gets cold there, but the heat doesn't seem to hurt them, and the winters are mostly just coolish weather with a couple short freezes. Enjoyed the videos, especially the Ruth Stout garden.

[@mehkzkhem]

You might need to make that exhaust pipe little higher say top of your house as hot air rise up resulting low airpressure below, if still not enough air flow then use cheap heat conductor pipe colored black at top forcing top to heatup from sun forcing airflow and one thing keep the top opening side horizontal

[@BackToReality]

It's like you're reading my mind ;)

[@mehkzkhem]

@@BackToReality May be we are same like minded persons , you said that system took only half of your potatoes then why not use "Heap And Pit Storage" methods for rest?

[@sueg2658]

Cool experiment. Perhaps also check into dehydrating your potatoes, veggies, etc. I'm sure you can DIY a dehydrating system too. Good job! 😊

[@BackToReality]

We've added dehydrating to our to-do list for the next few weeks ;) Thanks for the suggestion!

[@cornwallcelticexperience1867]

In the UK it is traditional to build a potato clamp which is a layer of straw with the air dried potatoes on it covered in another layer of straw a drain pipe section is laid flat at one end and another is stood upright with a small cover (like a chimney cover) then the whole lot is covered with earth then you uncover it bit by bit to get your potatoes out.... Of course we don't freeze quite as solid as Canada!

[@ShinKyuubi]

neat little idea..my dad would love something like that. He loves having a fresh vegetable garden whenever he can even if it's a small one..largest one he had was when he had a full home back in the day and had a fairly sized garden..like two rows of corn, some tomatoes, various beans and of course taters. My dad and me don't get a long very much but I can respect his desire to try and be self reliant as possible whenever he can.

[@freqgirl]

Wisconsin and Ontario have very close to the same climate. You gave me some really good ideas for use on the other side of Lake Michigan.

[@oby-1607]

Very interesting. If going again with the deep freeze method, maybe go with an upright freezer to get the height differential. Thanks for all the research and ideas.

[@buckobango]

Do nicely done! The thoroughness, the computer aided graphics, methodology and overall production, better than some network professionals. Watch out, you may be approached by HGTV!

[@tovaritchboy]

Is a good system and should work fine, specially since you HAVE means to monitor and hope catch before it freezes.

[@benjaminvogel3490]

Hey brother. I'm a homebrewer with a kezzer. I like how you crossed hobbies by using that design. I am currently attempting the box sand technic in my attached heated to 40F garage with beets, carrots and winter radishes. Can't wait to compare results.

[@BackToReality]

I figure if the root cellar experiment fails, then maybe a beer keezer will be next ;) Please let us know how the sand storage works out for you. I have high hopes for that part of the experiment too!

[@DrValerie800]

Brilliant; love it! I've been trying to figure out how to store food in a condo in the southwest...no basement, no cold space anywhere but I do have a very efficient heat pump/air conditioner. However, it gets so hot here for at least 6 months a year, it probably wouldn't work to do this freezer conversion. But, I've archived it for future reference, should my living situation change.

[@thelovepig]

since it's in your basement at non-freezing temps and you're circulating air anyway, you probably don't need the crazy high r-value of a freezer. You could make something room scale with laminated r-max insulation, aluminum tape, and shower board. I think a cubic yard of storage would be $250 and be at least 5x the size of your current setup.

[@Desron58]

2" thick blue board has the same R-value as the insulation of a chest freezer I believe and one could build a cold storage unit many sizes larger then in the video for a relatively cheap price.

[@missyrabbit5250]

the Earthship houses in New Mexico, use this principal for passive air flow in their homes. They lay their intake pipe low, and horizontal to the ground, then use elevated ceilings and skylights that open to release hot air. That is why their interior greenhouses thrive, and along with the tire reinforced walls, keep the interior temperature in 60's. Good thermal insulation.

[@Desron58]

I thought of using a chest freezer as a cold storage unit but it'd be a working one where the temp is controlled by the same type of control people use to convert a chest freezer into a keg refrigerator. For humidity, place a bowl of water in the chest freezer with a towel to act as a wick and increase surface area and monitor with a hygrometer. Air exchange would be manual by opening top and drain plug when needed. This unit could be placed anywhere in house where there's a properly sized electrical outlet and the space and used year round. A 7 c.u. freezer should hold about 5.6 bushels of produce.

[@spockmcoyissmart961]

Well done. Looking forward to results. Good or not so good. Something to learn from all.

[@tatymschneider6681]

Your animations are so pleasant and enjoyable to watch, really great timing, never a lack of visual interest for my short squirrel attention span. And on top of that your hair is looking awesome in this video! Great job all around! (-:

[@linkylou13]

Seems like your best bet is to build the little insulated room you mentioned. It's good you have an existing basement.

[@hobbyhomesteader984]

I think your idea is Great. I stored my last crop in an old seller which I turned into an indoor workshop. The problem was it was heated. I was not aware about moisture and air flow. So my taters sprouted and dried up. With your video I have learned A LOT. THANKS YOU FOR THAT. Around here (Spokane, WA.) I can find many non - working standup as well as chest freezers for free. I too don't have a dirt root cellar. So like you I'm going to barrow your idea,

[@dchubb42]

Why keep an eye out for another chest freezer? Make as big of a box as you need out of 2x4's, 1/2" plywood and the affor mentioned 1.5" foam board.

[@mariannewyles2501]

Freezers are free, material is not.

[@68rastas]

that was my thought too. no size problems and if you use a corner and insulate well it should stay pretty cool. on another note my dads family had to knock a hole in the basement wall to find a bad water pipe. probably done in the 50's or 60's. it's still there and i could see how you could make a root cellar connected to your house this way a little cutting and a lot of digging. plus its concealable. long pipe network underground would help keep the air cooler also.

[@barthamburg4351]

I cannot wait to see the results from this experiment. Please keep us updated. Thanks

[@Last-Varangian]

If you'll paint the outside portion of the exhaust tube black, it'll vent much better. This actually goes back to the Romans, who had a crude form of A/C using a similar method.

[@MrBilld75]

Just built one, but with smaller pipes, cause they are going out my window, which stays open a couple of inches all winter long. Top floor, it gets warm, inefficient furnace and I have no control over the heat and Landlord doesn't care. Anyway, with the help of a small fan, I've been able to get it down to 10C some days, not others, but this is only late fall. By early/mid winter it should be running completely passively. Got a temp and humidity meter in there and so far, so good. Humidity is going to be an issue as winter progresses, same as you, except further North in Ontario, so it gets dry. But it's hovering around 75% anyway right now, inside with a couple of bowls of water. Already had the broken freezer (glad I didn't recycle it yet) and it's working great as a cool storage. And with food getting more expensive, we want to keep it longer, as does everyone, so I shared your vid. on my FB page I loved it so much and thought it was so useful. I got away with using 2x4, so it was super cheap to build. All of $30 worth of parts, awesome.

[@ruthlongridge2137]

I love this! I have also seen one of those old steel soda fridges with the sliding doors on top transformed into a powerless freezer

[@BushImports]

I hope that works good for you. I've thought about digging a root cellar under my house for such a thing, but right now the price and quality of potatoes seems to be ok, and I don't eat tons of potatoes, so I have not done it yet.

[@michaelglenning5107]

Paint the exhaust pipe black, that will warm it up and create air flow. Try using air crete to make larger storage bins. If you could cut holes in your floor, you could create food storage bins with lids that you can walk on. So instead of taking up space for food storage, you would have all free space.

[@McCoysOakHillFarm]

An interesting way and experiment to use an old freezer for food storage. It will be fun to see how it all turns out by spring.

[@AB-qs7wi]

This is a pretty cool idea because I live in south Louisiana and we cant have a root cellar hear because 2 foot down and you hit water unless you make one above ground some way .

[@cherylemaybury2540]

I love your approach to farming. I wish I knew all this thirty years ago, I would still be living on my farm now. I am loving watching your videos and they are so informative. Hopefully my grandchildren can use all this knowledge to be successful on their land and help supply me with fresh vegetables. Things are a little different here in Queensland Australia because our temperature is much higher all year round. I have four raised beds where I grow two crops a year of vegetables which are doing the job for now but I don’t grow potatoes or pumpkin which I would love to have.

[@MichaelSHartman]

Ask a major appliance repairman for any available discarded freezers. Canada might be too cold for a clamp. The Irish method is to bury potatoes deeper for spring crops. I have put more soil, and leaves on top for insulation then harvested as needed. Again this may not work with Canadian winters.

[@marythompson2603]

I love this idea. I would consider making the collar taller to improve ventilation and then just the vent closing /opening apparatus.

[@HivesToHome]

Very excited to see how this progresses, I have thought of doing something similar. A thought I had for humidity (although I like your low tech sand solution): Get one of the low cost atomizers (ultrasonic vaporizers) like are used for aroma therapy, and plug it into a cheap humidistat inside the chest freezer.

[@BackToReality]

I love that idea! If the sand doesn't work, then I'll give that a shot! Thanks!

[@brendamashaw1760]

Thank you for all the information. You explained everything so well. I think I can do this.

[@trishwoottenchhc7042]

Great idea! I have a broken upright refrigerator to use ... might just shift it into chest freezer position.

[@emraldeyz1]

I like your fact/evidence based approach.

[@mikehenry01]

Free-keeng brilliant! I clicked on this video thinking, "Neat idea. Maybe I could try it." Half way through, I was like, "Holy cow, there's no way I could do that!" You've explained it all very well, though (and I love the graphics). It's just beyond my skill level.....

[@AaronHahnStudios]

Excellent upload. Informative, great effort on the graphic effects, and well spoken. Sadly I have a chest freezer in worse condition than yours, but ...well.... it works. So mine remains a freezer. ;-)

[@cheriedewald5282]

Sounds like mine! It is a dinosaur chest freezer - probably 65+ years old! The people that bought it died years ago - their kids (who are in their 80s) gave it to my husband and me. We have been using this freezer for the last 20 years now! We weren’t sure (when it was disconnected and moved to our house) that it would withstand the move and work ok but it sure did! Appliances made today do not last like that.

[@gaylefynaut562]

Love the ideas. I live in central California and have hard pan and the temperature in summer is 🥵. I want a root cellar so bad.