shortages

[Messybun]

I don’t have a hill anywhere in site and the water table is too high for a full sized underground one. But I’m definitely going to look into above ground ones! Maybe a place for my canning that’s not in my house. Y’all have got me thinking!
By the way, has anyone had experience with burying an old chest freezer? I’m wondering if it would store potatoes and apples. But, I’m not sure if it would actually work. I don’t exactly trust Pinterest without asking people first.

 

[Hinotori]

It would fill with water here. They arent truly watertight and I doubt the seal would last very long in the weather.

We have a high water table as well. And a very small house. That's why I put up that little shed last year and insulated it. A 100 watt bulb kept it from freezing during winter.

I'd need a shed with lots of thermal mass to have a bigger one out there. I'd been looking at the earth sheltered buildings again. I'd try cob but I think we are just too wet for it to do well.

 

[baymule]

There is an old WW2 ammo dump under the Beltway 8 bridge over the ship channel in Houston. The buildings are quonset type, metal framing with a thick layer of concrete and a couple feet of earth over that. Long abandoned, the land was sold off and there is now an industrial park there. Many of the businesses use the structures as storage. I've been inside some of those and in the heat of Houston summer, they were cool inside.

Just did a google earth look-see on Appelt Drive and There is a lot more industry there now than when I was down that road many years ago. I couldn't tell if any of those old structures were still there.

Point being, something built above ground, strong and insulated with earth, will last a long time and be cool inside.

 

[flowerbug]

Heard on news ... Baby formula. Since no babes, not something I'd notice.

Oh, I love the chocolate Stauffers animal crackers. . But only occasional buy.

My grand parents lived in WV, in the hills. So one directly behind house. They had dug into it. Framed in that section and added a roof, which was covered with excavated dirt. Shelves all along the walls for canned goods. Worked really well.

there aren't many hills around here. it is very flat. it is funny to be driving along and to see something named Hilltop <whatever> and the change in elevation is only a few feet. one way to tell the earlier land-owners around here from everyone else is that the earliest places claimed the highest ground. not a bad idea when you're building in what used to be a swampy area or an inland sea.

 

[Messybun]

It would fill with water here. They arent truly watertight and I doubt the seal would last very long in the weather.

We have a high water table as well. And a very small house. That's why I put up that little shed last year and insulated it. A 100 watt bulb kept it from freezing during winter.

I'd need a shed with lots of thermal mass to have a bigger one out there. I'd been looking at the earth sheltered buildings again. I'd try cob but I think we are just too wet for it to do well.

How about an earth bag house?

 

[tortoise]

My barn has cement block foundation and had a room to one side with a separate entrance. DH built a wall to separate it from the barn, put in 12" or so of insulation - some sprayed in, some foam sheeting - and installed a mini split with a coolbot that allows the minisplit to bring the temperature lower. It's amazing how well it holds the temperature even without using the minisplit. We use the room for butchering, but could use it for cold storage if we have more produce than we can process at a time.

 

[Hinotori]

How about an earth bag house?

Hubby vetoed those because he doesn't like the looks of it. I think he's just afraid it would collapse on me. Mother Earth News had featured one as a small storage space years go.

 

[Messybun]

Hubby vetoed those because he doesn't like the looks of it. I think he's just afraid it would collapse on me. Mother Earth News had featured one as a small storage space years go.

I just found Mother Earth news. I’m smitten!

 

[baymule]

I just found Mother Earth news. I’m smitten!

Mother Earth News articles are too short and make me go to the internet and dig for more. Great place to get ideas.

 

[Hinotori]

It is. Gives you an overview and doesn't take that much research to find more on topics.

Heck I sent Mom a copy of the egg storage experiment they did back in the 70s recently. She was trying to tell me what she'd read in a shared Facebook post, so I sent her the link. MEN article came down to unwashed eggs in an airtight container in the fridge to make them last. I don't keep them past 2 weeks so none of it applies to me because the girls make more.

I'm waiting to hear from someone who's tried liming eggs to say how the eggs kept.