The potato harvest continues.
I am looking at purchasing 7-gallon, fabric "pots" for storage.
Mrs ERJ likes five-to-seven gallon size containers rather than the larger apple or banana boxes. Five gallons is roughly 1200 cubic inches, seven gallons is about 1600 cubic inches while an apple box is nominally a bushel which is 2160 cubic inches. So if the apple-box is 100%, then the seven-gallon and five-gallon containers are 75% and 53% respectively. Or, if an apple-box holds 40 pounds, then the seven-gallon container will hold 30 pounds and the five-gallon container will hold about 20 pounds.
In other chores for today, I plan to cut some of the Black Locust that are infiltrating a row of chestnut trees. This will be a good time for me to assess the harvest.
Ceiling fans
One of the challenges of having a small operation is that a squirrel or other pest does not need to travel very far to find something to eat. Cecil Farris who lived just east of Lansing's Groesbeck Golf Course. was a breeder of hazelnuts and he fought a constant war against them. One growing season he kept a log of every squirrel he shot. Cecil knew that he shot a lot of squirrels but even he was surprised when he added them up and it was 177 squirrels. No wonder the compost he made was so rich (which is how he disposed of the bodies).
Cecil used an airgun. He was also on the Township Board (a position nobody else wanted) and knew every Township policeman by their first-and-last names. He never turned down an invitation for a ride-along. A little bit of human connection goes a long way when you are "poaching" squirrels in town.
So I decided that I need a "drying room" for my staples.
Many foods have a "growing period" and then a "dry-down" period. During that dry-down period they are vulnerable to predation and to rot by molds and mildews. One solution is to find a space that will keep the rain off of the harvested crop, a space that can be enclosed with netting and with good air flow.
I have an overhang on the south side of my garage that comes close to that description. It is a little too shady and in needs a fan to help with the air-flow.
My plan for the air-flow is to install an indoor/outdoor ceiling fan.
Back in my aquarium days I used to use old DC fans from electronics. You can find them in computers, Console TV's, printers, all kinds of things. Simple, 12V fans.
ReplyDeleteComputer power supplies, you know those little bricks with cords? They have their output ratings printed on a sticker, usually 12 V DC, and a wattage or amperage number.
Smart people with a screwdriver can spend 30 minutes or so at the local garbage pile sourcing these things gratis. Wiring DC is a breeze, black to black, white to white. If you're asking parallel or serial, you're above my pay grade, but get the idea! ;-)
I favor Walmart plastic milk boxes. My Grandmother used wood apple crates in her root cellar to keep ventilation up, excessive weight from crushing and encouraging rot and easier to do the monthly checks to catch and remove spoiled veggies and fruit.
ReplyDeleteAs they come in colors you can even color code your root cellar.
Easy to wash and make ready for next years crop.
ERJ, I can confidently state that a produce box is generally 40 lbs. I also do not think they would make the best storage for long term, as there is not enough air circulation in them (as well as the weight for moving them).
ReplyDeleteThe local blueberry industry uses 30 lb harvest lugs. 1900 cu in, stackable and nestable. They occasionally fall off the trucks and I’ve retrieved a good number of them. That’s where my cured produce rests in my garage for my cold storage.
ReplyDeleteSquirrels in my sole walnut tree ….. ah yes, front yard in subdivision—- so must use my air rifle with much discretion so the swat team isn’t called (Canadian). Have caught 19 rats so far this season. Fans are a great idea. All the best with your drying.
Whatever happened to the use of burlap bags? Is that still an option? I remember my grandparents used to have that for all the potatoes and onions.
ReplyDeleteYep, airflow IS critical to moving the moisture 'away' from the harvest.
ReplyDeleteI use woven plastic fiber sand bags for potato storage. They hold about a half bushel. Dry things like onions in the green house providing heat as needed. We have already been down to 22 here in Copper Basin, Alaska! Onions go in woven mesh onion bags and hang in storage room in the house when dry.
ReplyDeleteHardy, har, har; Joe.
ReplyDeleteWhen you wrote that you needed a drying room, heh,heh,heh, I was anticipating that is was going to be a full-grown structure housing a predator sniping nest.
Gave me a chuckle.
Milton