Progress Report (as of February 21, 2020)
The off-grid root cellar is now "up and running"! The storage chamber is completed: wall insulation, insulated raised floor, solar panels and electrical storage batteries, and air circulation fans are installed and operational. Trial quantities of donated root crops (carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, and turnips) have now been in the storage chamber for six weeks. The coldest part of the winter has passed and the root cellar's monitoring and control system has successfully met the challenges of maintaining the optimum storage conditions (90 to 95 % humidity and 0 to +2 C.) required by root crops.
Please contact us at info@deeprootsfoodhub.ca if you would like to store some vegetables in the fall of 2020. Our aim is to serve commercial small-scale food producers and community food distribution groups, but will gladly accept community-oriented donations from household gardeners.
