# Root cellar



## tinkersdelight (Dec 24, 2010)

No decent place to store spuds and fruit. Filled bottom with washed gravel and covered with plywood and some insulation. So far this winter stays about 40 degrees. Water table not an issue here. 4' diameter 5' deep.


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

Cool. Do you have any insulation on the ply top? Have you come up with shelving or are you just stacking things in there?


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## tinkersdelight (Dec 24, 2010)

yes, glued/screwed styrofoam under the lid....So just stacking sacks of spuds, onions, squash and apples...


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## tinkersdelight (Dec 24, 2010)

*still dry*

big rain...still dry


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Very cool! Water table is a big issue here, otherwise I'd be copying this in a heartbeat!

I read somewhere about getting a fridge out of the dump and stripping compressor, etc. off, putting it on its side and burying it up to the door/lid - much like what you've done with your tube. Given our water table, we're going to try that. But I'm getting some ideas from your photos/experience - thanks for posting them, and keep 'em coming.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

tinkersdelight said:


> No decent place to store spuds and fruit. Filled bottom with washed gravel and covered with plywood and some insulation. So far this winter stays about 40 degrees. Water table not an issue here. 4' diameter 5' deep.


Great cellar! Pour about six inches of concrete in the bottom of the hole before you place the culvert and you have a cistern. You need to be certain that the construction of the culvert provides water tight seams.


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

Whole series of them around your property would be all kinds of useful for stashes and places to hide should you get run out of the house. Nice idea.


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

Love those photos. Ive learned of similar set ups, but it is so nice to see one and get a first hand report!


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

Well. It's been almost a year. 
Tinker: Can you give us an update?


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## talob (Sep 16, 2009)

Great idea! And I just sold the backhoe cause I didn't need it anymore.


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## tinkersdelight (Dec 24, 2010)

starting to stock up for the winter now, everthing was in good shape thru Memorial Day.
Never did get wet. here in the desert it did get hot, so not a great summer storage.


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## carol2999 (Jan 12, 2013)

We are considering putting a root cellar in our yard. Are containers the best way or can you dig and build walls and a ceiling and cover with dirt. No experience with this at all. We live in the northeast US. Any help/ideas are appreciated.


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## boomer (Jul 13, 2011)

One our neighbours has a mound root cellar. The floor is barely below ground level and then the structure is burried in dirt with grass stabalizing the soil. The entrance is on the east face to maintain cool in the summer and wind protection in the winter. This is intended to deal with a fairly high water table and has been in use for as long as anyone here can remember.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Not exactly familiar with your area, here we need to go deep to keep from freezing, or add a bit of heat. A lot depends on how good the drainage is on your property as well. Either covering a container, burying it, or building a structure are all fine, depends on your conditions and what you like. Soil is very heavy, especially when it gets wet, so anything you cover will have to be very strong. Having said that, I seen an old cellar built of charred logs stand up fine, don't even know how old it was, not recommended and probably a testament to how good the drainage was at that site.


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## carol2999 (Jan 12, 2013)

Thanks for the responses. I'm doing some research but I'm leaning toward covered containers. Every other option seems complicated.


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