After a hot summer, autumn came with a rich harvest of vegetables and fruits. Now the main task of the summer resident is to collect and preserve the grown fruits so that they are enough for the whole long winter. Today we want to talk about what should be the temperature in the cellar, because this is the leading factor that determines how long your vegetables lie. What do you need to know first? A cellar is not a freezer, there should not be negative or too high positive temperatures. In addition, good storage ensures stable thermometer performance and lack of humidity.
Common mistakes
Usually this issue is not given much attention. First of all, the gardener is interested in the current problems that arise on the site during the warm period. Watering, top dressing, processing - a series of events succeeds each other, and usually they only remember a vegetable store when they put a new crop into it. They often just don’t think about what the temperature in the cellar should be like. And as a result, the cabbage begins to rot, the potato sprouts, and the carrots wither before our eyes. Is that familiar? Then let's figure it out.
Cellar preparation
Even before the crops ripen in the beds, you need to make sure that the vegetable store is ready to take the fruits. In the summer, it is advisable to open it and dry it well. After that, start cleaning. All that remains from last year: sand, the remnants of the fruit, roots or sprouts - must be obtained. Now you can carry out disinfection. It is very important to protect the walls of the room from infection by mold and fungi, as well as the appearance of various insects. And here again the question arises, what should be the temperature in the cellar. Violation of regulated norms leads to an outbreak of disease, which negatively affects the safety of your crop.
Surface treatment
Best if the walls are bricked. They need to be whitewashed well, which will be an effective measure of protection against mold and rodents, who really do not like it. Whitening is performed using lime with the addition of 5% copper sulfate. For shelves and racks take a solution of 10%. Do not forget that you cannot close the cellar for the duration of the work, so put up a warning fence and let it air.
Rodent repellent
If you did not think about what should be the temperature in the cellar, then you may encounter an invasion of rodents. Strong frosts attract pests to heat, especially since there is something to profit from. To scare off rodents and insects, it is good to use the proven method. Take two sulfur checkers and set them on fire directly in the vault. Sulfur gas destroys all life, and the smell will frighten away uninvited guests for a long time. They are sold freely in the economic departments. Putting the checker in a metal container, and after ignition leave the cellar closed for two days. After this period, you can open the store and thoroughly ventilate. A fine summer day is perfect so that there is still enough time ahead before the harvest.
If you notice freezing
It is necessary to evaluate what temperature should be in the cellar based on the purpose for which it should be used. In the case when you just need a pantry, it can be quite warm. Vegetables at a temperature of +10 and above are poorly stored, but cans with home preservation are excellent until spring. However, there are cellars that freeze during the winter cold. This is dangerous for all types of stocks, so it is important to exclude such a probability.
The vegetable store in this case must be insulated. For this, a part of the wall that is above the level of freezing of the soil is sheathed with sheets of expanded polystyrene. You can fix them with a mounting foam or special glue. It is advisable to take the lid of the cellar from wood, and trim it with a heater along the edge. Then frost will not make its way through the cracks.
Technical Subtleties
To vegetables lay until spring and retain their useful properties, it is necessary to provide them with optimal storage conditions. This applies to air temperature and humidity in the first place. Depending on the structural features of the structure, it can be heated and unheated. But be sure to pay attention to the fact that the temperature should be minimal, but positive and without freezing.
Insulation and ventilation are of great importance. Even the ideal temperature regime does not exclude the possibility of condensation if due attention is not paid to the ventilation of the room. The latter can be natural and artificial. It helps to avoid the appearance of fungus on the walls and mold.
Cellar or basement?
Often these words are perceived as synonyms. Speaking about what should be the temperature in the cellar for storing vegetables, it is necessary to distinguish between the differences between the two rooms. The basement is always located under the house and is below ground level. It is used for a variety of purposes. A workshop or gym is often organized here.
The cellar is different in that it can be built in any room. It can be ground and underground and is most often used specifically for storing vegetables. Near the high-rise buildings, they are built right on the street and serve their purposes perfectly. It is here that they try to create all the conditions in order to better store the harvest, to ensure normal temperature and ventilation.
The area and shape of such a room are selected in random order. However, most often they are square or rectangular. Be sure to leave a niche for deepening in the ground. It is used to store vegetables. Nearby shelves and racks are being built to accommodate conservation and other products.
Standard vegetable store
It doesn’t matter if you grow fruits in your garden plot or if you buy at a low price in the fall. They must be preserved until spring and to prevent damage. There are old proven standards for this. What should be the temperature in the cellar for storing fresh vegetables? Ideally, about 0 degrees. A slight deviation towards positive temperatures is permissible, but without freezing.
Humidity should be high - from 70 to 95%. It is important to ensure good ventilation, which will allow the condensate to be removed painlessly. All types of vegetables have their own characteristics, so the temperature range can be expanded from 8 to 1.5 degrees.
What's in the bins
The preservation of fruits depends not only on storage conditions, but also on how prepared the vegetables themselves are for wintering. It is very important to collect them in dry weather, give them time to dry out a little in the sun, and only then collect and transfer them to storage. Make sure that they are free from defects and damage. This can cause decay, resulting in damage to the crop. Typically, potatoes and carrots, beets and onions, as well as cabbage, are selected for long-term storage.
In addition, cucumbers and horseradish, herbs, pumpkin and eggplant are often stored in the cellars. But you need to watch so that too ripe or green vegetables do not fall into the lying. The former will begin to rot, and the latter will quickly fade. And of course, regularly check your stocks in order to take action in time if they suddenly begin to deteriorate.
Potatoes and carrots
It is these root crops that are usually stored in the largest quantity, so it is important to consider what air temperature should be in the cellar for their optimal storage. All harvested crops must first be dried well, and then held for two weeks in a dark room at a mode of +4 degrees. This is the answer to the question of what temperature should be in the cellar in the fall. The street is still warm, and the thermometer is unlikely to drop below, but this is not necessary.
For carrots, these conditions are also suitable, but you must take into account its tendency to dry. Therefore, if the humidity in the cellar is low, then put a container of wet sand. Then the vegetable will winter well.
Beets and cabbage
Both that and another perfectly transfer long storage. What should be the temperature in the cellar in winter so that until spring the vegetables will delight you with a beautiful appearance? Beets are not whimsical at all, they only need to be cool in the room. You can put it in boxes, sprinkle it with earth to avoid drying out and leave it until spring. It is not recommended to store directly on the floor. It can withstand even a temperature drop of -3 degrees.
Cabbage also loves the cool. For her, minor frosts are not a big disaster. Therefore, store it only in cold cellars, where the temperature does not rise above 0 degrees.
Wine Vault
If you grow a lot of grapes, then you should put a noble drink. Wine products are also best stored in the cellar. Build it in a country house is not difficult. It should be warm, that is, at any time of the year the ideal temperature is from 10 to 14 degrees. If it drops to 10, the wine ripening process slows noticeably. And if it rises above 18 degrees, then the drink will not gain the necessary freshness. Knowing what temperature should be in the wine cellar, you can in practice choose the necessary conditions. This is not so difficult, especially if you focus on our advice.
How to adjust the temperature
First of all, you need to hang a thermometer and monitor the changes. Very often, the instructions refer to what temperature should be in the cellar in the summer. A well-executed storage facility is stable regardless of weather conditions. If in reality everything is different, then it is recommended to pay attention to the methods of regulation. As a rule, this is achieved by thermal insulation of walls, ceilings and floors. If you leave the earthen floor, this will help to cool the cellar.
If the temperature is stably high, then it should be deepened. If you dig another 0.5 meters, all storage problems will go away by themselves. In the winter, fighting the heat in the cellar is very simple, just leave a small gap in the lid. In case of freezing of products, you need to deal with warming. You can verify this. Place a cup of water on the floor. If it is frozen, then the temperature on the floor is below zero. In this case, you need to flash the walls and floor with insulation and make a sealed cover.