| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Ladybek9756 |
Posted - Jan 01 2017 : 05:31:13 AM
I just moved to Maine and do not at this point in time have a place to store my canned goods. My husband and I are studying different areas that are possibilities. However, I have a few questions so we can find the right place to put the storage together. Here is what I have at this point that are possibilities.
1. The basement. (Just insulated the area but we need to know how cold it needs to be to work).
2. The Pioneer Room ( A room attached to the house which gets very cold). The temps around here are in the low teens and real feel is in the minus degrees. The room is not insulated and we are not sure if it will work.
3. There is a possibility of building a root cellar away from the house. The problem with this choice, is the amount of snow buildup by the door, and the minus temps outside could be as low as -40.
4. In the house upstairs on the one side, we have what we call the barn workshop. It is a big room, no insulation, very cold, but possibility with some changes a small part could be converted to a room where I could put my canned goods.
So any thoughts or suggestions on storing would be greatly helpful. I plan on putting in a fairly large garden and will have lots to can. I also have the ability of freezing everything if necessary, but I prefer not to go down that path.
Thanks for any information that you could share that would help us find a good place to put my canning storage.
Becky
May the stars carry your sadness away. May the flowers fill your heart with beauty, and may hope forever wipe away your tears.
Farm Girl of the Month December 2016
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| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| queenmushroom |
Posted - Mar 19 2017 : 12:52:57 PM
I live in Maine too. We have an old rock cellar with a poured cement floor and heat with wood down there. My washer and dryer is there too. We just have a basic metal shelving unit (you can get them at Home depot or Lowe's) with adjustable shelves. Never have had a problem storing goods that I've canned or bought at the store.
Lorie
Patience is worth a bushel of brains...from a chinese fortune cookie |
| hudsonsinaf |
Posted - Jan 03 2017 : 08:59:45 AM
We use a room in our basement, which is where our woodstove is, as well. Our cold storage room is actually insulated away from the rest of the basement... the back concrete wall is still exposed, so there is no insulation from the outside, on that wall. Then it was walled in and insulated away from the rest of the house. While it gets really warm/hot down there when the woodstove is going, the cold storage room stays cool. Does that make sense? I can take pictures, if you'd like.
~ Shannon, Sister # 5349
Farmgirl of the Month - January 2016
http://hudson-everydayblessings.blogspot.com/ |
| Ladybek9756 |
Posted - Jan 03 2017 : 08:38:32 AM
Marilyn, I have heard about those rooms. I think that would be so cool to have one of them.
As for the basement, my only concern is our wood furnace stove is down there and I do not know who warm it will make the basement. I have on the other side of the basement, a hope that is perfect for my needs. My husband is going to put a thermometer along the way and we shall monitor it this winter to see what the temps are especially when the winds blow and the temps dip into the minus mark. I have been told that it does get to -40. I am hoping that it stays within reason and not too cold and not too warm.
Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. I just don't have any room in the house for storage except our pioneer room which does freeze. The basement is the perfect choice and I am hoping it will work for us. Will know by March as we are just entering to winter season here this month. Today we are expecting ice and snow for the next 24 hours. The low tonight is going to be 1. Winds are to be around 35mph so for us it might even get colder as I live on top of a rise.
Becky
May the stars carry your sadness away. May the flowers fill your heart with beauty, and may hope forever wipe away your tears.
Farm Girl of the Month December 2016
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| YellowRose |
Posted - Jan 03 2017 : 06:27:27 AM
Marilyn, I love the history behind your Indian Room.
Sara~~~ FarmGirl Sister #6034 8/25/14
FarmGirl of the Month Sept 2015.
Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth. |
| Marilyn Hartman Sullivan |
Posted - Jan 03 2017 : 06:24:47 AM
We have what we call an Indian Room in our downstairs. The whole thing is below grade and stayed right at 55 degrees until we finished it for living space and added heat and A/C. We left the Indian Room for storage, and I keep canned goods and dehydrated things in there. It is nice and dark, so that's good too.
Explanation for the Indian Room - Out west, there were lots of old houses built with a hidden room -- sometimes a sliding panel or a hinged bookcase or something. The idea was that if Indians came raiding, you could hide in that room and they wouldn't find you. There were several houses with them when I was growing up and I always thought they were the coolest thing! After raids became a thing of the past, some folks converted them to living space and lots were left to use for storage. Every now and then, someone would discover one in a house after starting a remodeling project -- so much history! So when we built our basement into living area, there was space behind the pipes that lent itself to a nice storage area and I immediately dubbed it The Indian Room.
Farmgirl #6318
"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight." |
| levisgrammy |
Posted - Jan 02 2017 : 5:08:05 PM
I keep mine in my pantry off the kitchen. It is actually between 2 rooms. The office is on the other side of it. I keep it fairly dark in that room. The rest of the canned goods are kept in the basement. It is very small so that is the reason we keep it in the pantry also. I don't know the temp. difference between the basement and pantry. I know it is cooler in the basement. We don't get the below 0 temps that you do but it still freezes here.
~Denise~
Farmgirl Sister #43
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105
http://www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com/
http://www.torisgram.etsy.com |
| texdane |
Posted - Jan 02 2017 : 4:48:26 PM
Hi there,
I am in Connecticut, not too far from you. I store my cans in the basement. The garage gets too cold and they might freeze, but the basement stays cool and dark.
Never had a problem there.
Farmgirl Hugs,
Nicole
Farmgirl Sister #1155
KNITTER, JAM-MAKER AND MOM EXTRAORDINAIRE
Chapter Leader, Connecticut Simpler Life Sisters
Farmgirl of the Month, January 2013
Suburban Farmgirl Blogger
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| Ladybek9756 |
Posted - Jan 02 2017 : 09:46:37 AM
It is funny you mention potatoes. We have moved our potatoes about three times just this last month. Mostly because of freezing temps. Still trying to find a good place for them.
Becky
May the stars carry your sadness away. May the flowers fill your heart with beauty, and may hope forever wipe away your tears.
Farm Girl of the Month December 2016
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| Kiltie Girl |
Posted - Jan 02 2017 : 09:31:27 AM
We keep our canned goods in the old cistern in the basement. DH had to insulate it a bit more to keep the temperature even. We can't keep potatoes or onions down there though as it's too warm and they start to sprout. We end up keeping them in the garage, which is almost too cold, but we keep them in bins along the house side and it helps.
***********************
Jenn
Farmgirl Sister #7120
"Leave room in your garden for the fairies to dance." |
| Ladybek9756 |
Posted - Jan 02 2017 : 05:33:28 AM
Thanks for information. My only concern with the basement is it being to warm. But seeing the temps can be between 50-70 it might be the best choice. I would prefer it to be in the basement, I have a space that would work perfectly. Paul's concern was it would be to warm, especially with the wood stove in use. What we plan to do is monitor the temps especially where I would like to put the canning room. It is on the other side of the basement, which is a dirt floor, so that adds to the possibility as well.
Becky
May the stars carry your sadness away. May the flowers fill your heart with beauty, and may hope forever wipe away your tears.
Farm Girl of the Month December 2016
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| nubidane |
Posted - Jan 01 2017 : 07:36:58 AM
I vote for the basement, as I doubt it would get too cold, especially if you have any mechanicals or plumbing there, which will need to be kept somewhat warm to avoid malfunctions.
"We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” – R.R. |
| YellowRose |
Posted - Jan 01 2017 : 05:50:26 AM
Becky, one of my canning books gave 50-70 degrees F for storage of canned jars of food. Sorry I can't help you with more. Here in Texas we don't deal with your cold winters. We do have 100+ summers. We don't have basements either but I think they would be handy for a lot of things.
Sara~~~ FarmGirl Sister #6034 8/25/14
FarmGirl of the Month Sept 2015.
Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth. |
