Basement Vegetable Closet Keeps Potatoes From Sprouting

Basement Vegetable Closet Keeps Potatoes from Sprouting FARM HOME Miscellaneous 11-1-6 "It's too warm in my basement during the winter for potatoes and they sprout," says Joseph Shearer, Genoa, Ill., who solved the problem by building an insulated 44-in. long, 26-in. wide, 7-ft. tall vegetable storage "closet" in his basement. Besides potatoes, he also uses it to store onions, carrots and apples. He notes that it'll hold 12 one-bu. crates, plus a shelf for storing small bunches of vegetables. The walls for the insulated closet are made with 2 by 4-in. studs with blanket insulation in-between. Over the studs and insulation Shearer put asbestos board and plywood. He also insulated the ceiling and door. From fall through spring, Shearer uses outside air to keep the closet cool. (he doesn't use it in the summer.) He notes that it stays about 40? inside the closet while basement temperature is usually about 60?. Cold air enters from outside via a box that fits up against the window and through 5-in. dia. flexible pipe. Shearer manually controls the amount of incoming air by opening/closing the sliding basement window. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Joseph Shearer, R.R. 1, Box 233, Genoa, Ill. 60135.

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