Monday, November 15, 2010

Our Harvest Storage System for Colder Storage


Since we finally got around to storing our potatoes and apples, I thought I would take this opportunity to show you all our cold storage system.  We keep our potatoes and apples out in the garage.  Our garage is unheated, so we've located our storage bin in a corner that has 2 inside walls.  For the other 2 walls of the bin, we stacked a few straw bales for good insulation.

Here's what it looks like:


Inside, we put in a little piece of plywood as a divider to separate our stacks of crates.  Not completely necessary, but since we are storing apples with potatoes, we thought every little bit of separation would be helpful.  (Since apples give off a gas that helps other veggies to ripen faster - something you definitely do NOT want in a winter storage system...)



As for our bins, we took some old grape crates and fitted them up to make them rodent proof.  Well, Nick fitted them up.  I just said 'thank you thank you thank you!'



First, he wrapped the whole crate in 1/4" hardware cloth (not really cloth at all, but a metal mesh) and stapled it in place.  Then he attached some scrap wood to the top and and front flap of the bin.  This allows an air gap between the crates when the are stacked on on top of the other.

To the edges of the piece of wood on the front flap, he added some hooks that will clip into eyes that he screwed into the front of the crate.




It looks like this from the back:



And, behold!!  A rodent proof storage bin that will hold about 1/2 bushel.


Stacked.


And put into the garage bin.


Apples in the back, potatoes and garden seeds in the front.


And topped off with some found insulated cardboard, foam board, and cardboard pieces.


1 comment:

Jessie said...

What a crafty family! This makes a lot more sense with pictures. Thanks for documenting for those of us who aspire to do such things some day!