Building a simple root cellar

Evening all,

Due to lack of space at my home (I live with my grandparents and parents) I currently have no space to store any surplus produce I grow (until I get my shed that is).

So I was thinking of making several underground cellars for extra produce (in addition to storing items which are not safe to be left in site/in the shed such as fuel for the camping cooker).

The locations would include underneath my future shed in addition to within the polytunnel (between the raised beds so that you walk over it - see picture).

Thus it would be something that you essentially just put a plank over and remove to put in produce say in a dustbin buried underground.

The additional soil would come in great use for filling the raised beds as well.

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice on this?

Many thanks,

Samuel

 

Its potentially a good idea, but have you ever dug a well? When I was a kid, my dad shared an allotment with a couple of other people, so it it was always fully utilised. But the nearest water tap was a good 100 yards or more away, and was shared by a good many people, so it was a nightmare getting water to the allotment. The solution was simple. We simply dug a massive great hole in the ground, about 6ft deep. It wasn't too long before it was half full of water.

I mention this because as I see it, your idea is basically the same principle, except that you want to store things in there. You'll need to take adequate steps to keep it dry. Maybe you could line it with some strong plastic sheeting or something? Then you'd have to think about prevent surface water run-off from filling it in every time it rains. All doable I reckon, but maybe not as simple as it first seems.