Need idees for makeing a celler for veggies, jars, ect

[FarmboyBill]

I can get this tin box. Its insulated on the sides, and maybe on the bottom. Top is open. Thought of burieing it to make a celler of sorts, as from a book a friend (i hope) gave me. Questions I have, is, how should I bury it, how far above ground to keep ground water from seeping in. How or what should I cover the outsides with so they dont rust. What should/could I cover the top with to keep it warm. Should I add a heat lamp? This is in zone 6 if I remember rightly, NE Okla. Ill add a tarp on top to keep rain out of it.

[NCLee]

How big is it?

Lee

[ronbre]

if you have a deck, make a trap door in the deck and put it below that..and insulate the outsides with some foam insulation..then you can open the door to access your veggies..

[uncle Will in In.]

Hi BILL <> Don't you have a cool room somewhere in your house?? Sure would be a lot handier and safer than a box burried in the ground. If it gets real cold, you would have to carry a hot brick out and put in your box to keep your stuff from freezing.
It would sure be a lot handier to go in that cold room to get something than digging around out in the cold dark rainy sleet with a dim flashlight. <>UNK

[Aohtee]

http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/projects/rootcellar.htm

Here's an alternative. I like this idea for a variety of reasons. Cheap, strong, would go up fast and I wouldn't need to worry about providing additional moisture. You could also use this idea for storm shelters.

[FarmboyBill]

Hey unc. Yeah. I got cold rooms, namn cold in Jan Feb, Freezing cold. In July and Aug, there namn hot.

[uncle Will in In.]

hOW ABOUT A REFRIGERATOR IN ONE OF THOSE COLD/HOT ROOMS?? unk

[Darren]

Our cellar is a hole that was dug out of the bank of a hill. the original builder dry stacked stones for the walls. The ones against the earth sides are actually wedged shaped with the wedge point below the floor. The inside walls are vertical. Take it up above ground level and add a roof.

I didn't know how it was built until I had to run a water line into the cellar. I couldn't believe how many stones I had to go through. In the past, someone covered the inside with cement. The cellar always stays above freezing.

[FarmboyBill]

Bout the size of a shoe box for my feet, lol. Sides, how many jars could I keep in a BIG frig? Ive got around and over 200 jars of divers sizes, Maybe a doz gal jars. And a 1/2 doz of the big green ones with the zinc lid. Brought the thing home tonight. Its 4 1/2ft wide. Its 7 1/2ft long, and 30in high. That ought to keep me. Ive got a pantry with shelves, but that will be for what I eat summer and fall, plus storage for what I bring out of the pit in winter. Bought a gal of rustolum, red. That ought to get me 2 coats on it, and with any eft over, ive got plenty of IHC machinery I can put it on. Specifically my binder.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

you could build an ice house but for the reverse basicaly build a shed around your metal box put it on the north side of a hill or with good shade in the summer in the 1-2 foot cavity between your box and the inside of the shed fill the walls with saw dust and a foot or 2 over the top of your box
not sure how well it would do in your hot summers but should fair well all winter
here in the winter the inside would be filled floor to ceiling with ice cut from a pond or lake with liberal amounts of saw dust between the layers and if done correct it would hold ice thru till sept-oct when things start to cool down again

[Allen W]

Tin box? I have a friend who dug up a shipping container that had been buried and it was braced with timbers to support it when it started collapsing while being buried.

[NostalgicGranny]

Wouldn't a root celler be to damp to store your canning jars in? If they are full that is.

[NCLee]

If I understand your box correctly, I don't think it will work for what you have in mind. You want part of it out of the ground to keep water out. How deep do you have to go when you bury water lines to keep them from freezing in your area? Combine the height you plan to keep above ground plus your soil freezing depth. Subtract that total from the inside depth of your box. You many not have enough space below your freeze level to store liquids.

You mentioned covering it with a tarp to keep the water out. Unless you're planning to build a strong cover for your box, your tarp won't handle an ice or snow load. Even good quality tarps don't last very long when exposed to the sun, wind, and rain. Even a tiny abraded area can let in water that over time can fill your box without even being noticed.

A tarp doesn't provide any insulation value either. Most root cellars have some type of insulation on top. May be mounds of earth or bales of hay, depending on the type cellar. While the earth and the insulation on the sides of the box will help, they can't provide protection of cold air settling into the lowest spot. Hoping that you have some type of roof planned that will both accomodate the snow load and provide insulation and that the tarp will be put over that to simply shed water.

And, as someone else mentioned, you do not want to store either homecanned or commercially canned foods in a damp area. The lids will rust and break the seals.

If you decide to go ahead anyway, please let me make a suggestion. After you put it into the ground and cover it, place some rocks or other weight in it and keep an eye on it for awhile to see what happens. The rocks are needed to keep water pressure following heavy rains from pushing your box right out of the ground. Only after seeing how it behaves, would I commit canned foods or other valuables to storage in this way.

Not saying absolutely that it won't work, as I haven't seen it. But, from what I've read so far, I do have some material reservations. Would hate to see you lose a lot of hardwork preserving food, if my reservations are actually valid ones.

If I've misunderstood, please just ignore this post. If I haven't hope you'll consider it to be good food for thought that'll help with your project.

Lee

[Cinelu]

I have a dirt cellar under my house and always store my canned goods in it. I take the rings off the jars prior to placing them down there, because they will rust. My jars keep for several years that way. (My MIL passed away in 2001 and there are still a few jars of things down there that she canned.)

[NostalgicGranny]

Seems like if your rings would rust then your lids are rusting too - even if you don't notice it.

By the way, you should always remove your rings after the seal is complete.