Cold Storage Closet

Last year some of the squash went bad because I just couldn't use them up fast enough. The air wasn't moving around in the basement space, it was damp with a dirt floor and they simply spoiled! We didn't want to have that happen again, so after brainstorming, watching some 'you tube' videos and reading about how other people made their cold storage units we came up with a pretty cool plan!! Pete really is the 'mastermind' to this whole project! I just kept finding more information to show him and gave him some of my ideas, but he's the one who made it all happen!!

Pete had quite a bit of the materials already! Check this out! He bought some plywood and PVC pipe, we had leftover paint from the 'ooops' section of Home Depot from a few years ago, a patio door that would have been taken the dump from an old job, some 1X1 scrap for the shelves, and he found the black tubing at the dump!! (The men that work at the dump love to see him come and swap ideas with him!)

 

Here's the finished cold storage closet!!

It's kind of hard to see the size... but it

is roughly 35 inches deep and about

85 inches wide and tall enough for my

'TALL' family members to stand with extra

space over head so, it's probably 7' tall.

 

The venting system allows for the air exchange!

The long black hose/tubing is bringing in the cold

air from the outside and the PVC pipe allows

for the exchange of warmer air to escape!

(He is also adding a small fan to keep the air moving...

photo to follow when it is installed!)

 

I'm taking pictures from standing in the doorway...

 

Here's a look to the right. The shelving is not totally

finished, but enough for our produce this year.

The back wall is cinder block and we're hoping

this will work to our advantage.

 

There is lots of space to add shelving for

apples, carrots, beets, potatoes etc.

 

Here's a look to the left....

spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes,

butternut squash and potatoes in bins and ready to eat!

 

Now I'm standing outside of the 'closet'. You can see

the black tubing going straight to the right... that

will lead to the outside to draw in the colder air!

The short white tube is the PVC pipe for the warmer

air to rise and escape!

 

And, this is the outside view where the

cold air will enter the PVC/black tubing!!

 

FYI: Yes, there will be some screen added

to the outside of this PVC to prevent

the little furry friends from find the

'banquet hall' that we call our cold storage closet!

 

Next on the docket... 

 

 Doing some research to find out if

certain fresh foods really do cause other foods

to spoil faster! It seems to me, that years ago,

I read 'something' about NOT keeping apples and

squash or apples and potatoes or potatoes and something

in the same area... but, I don't remember the conclusion!

 

I'll keep you posted!

 

I've shared this on Simple Lives Thursday!

Please take some time to look at some of the

other blogger's ideas.

Elderberries

They've arrived!!

 

Our dear friend Petra told us about

elderberries this summer. After doing

some research, and discovering that

they are easy to grow and should grow

quite well around here, we ordered

some, four to be exact!

 

(Two each of two varieties!)

 

They arrived and are bigger then

I thought they'd be! I CAN'T WAIT!

 

I'll keep you posted!

AND THANKS PETRA!!
I wish you were going to be here
this coming summer!

 



Home Grown Sweet 'Taters

Check out this crop of sweet potatoes!

 

 

 Pete dug these up last week and

was thrilled at the size and quantity!

 

The garden is not really this wet!

He sprayed the dirt off the potatoes so

he could take better pictures of them!

 

 

 .... not to mention the flavor!!

DELICIOUS!

 

 

You can see the roots & the top of

what was the plant growing on top

of the ground!

 

 

 

These are a definite re-do for next season!

I couldn't get this picture to turn no

matter what I tried!!

Hopefully, you can still read the

scale: 9 POUNDS

 

NEXT ON THE AGENDA:

Finishing up building a cold storage

that is MOUSE proof and cool enough

to keep potatoes & squash!

Wine Cap Mushrooms

Look at what Pete found last night!!

He was walking out past the asparagus -

mushroom bed and they caught his eye!

 

Can you say

'Holy mushrooms Batman?!' 

 

 

In the spring we started inoculating logs to

begin our adventures in mushrooming. What I

didn't tell you is that he also 'planted' some

wine cap mushrooms (spread the spores?) in

the asparagus bed in with wood shaving/sawdust.
Check out the above link to Field & Forest!
 

 Scientific name: Stropharia rugosa-annulata
 

We weren't sure how long it would be before

we'd see any results!

 



 

He went back out this morning and quickly

came back for the camera!

 

 

It's pretty amazing ...

 

 

Check out this cluster of mushrooms!

 

 

Myself, not a lover of fungus... still, I'm

finding this pretty cool!!

 

 

I've looked up different ways to preserve...

methods are simple!

 

1) Cut them up and freeze on a cookie sheet then

put them in a freezer container.

These should be used within 3 months.

 

2) Cut them up, blanch for 1-2 minutes, cool then freeze...

will last for up to 1 year. Add them to your soup

recipes in the last 20 minutes of cooking! (Add frozen)

 

3) Cut them up and saute in 2 TBsp of olive oil

or butter. Allow them to cook for about 5 minutes,

cool and put into freezer containers.

Use within 9 months.

 

4) Cut them up and steam them. They are suppose

to hold their flavor & texture the best using this method!

They will keep up to a year!

 

For more info. check out

Mushroom-Appreciation.Com

 

 

 

Now I need to find some good recipes...

I'm thinking cream of mushroom soup

or a veggie soup will

allow the flavor to be appreciated!

I'll be looking around and keep you posted

as to what I find!!

 

 

Check out this Gi-Normous Grouping!

 

 

Yup.... I see mushroom farming

in our future!! (OK, right NOW!)

This post was shared on
Simple Lives Thursday!
Go check out what other awesome
ideas were shared this week!

Round Two

Here we go again!

Round two...

I know, I know!

Yes, they ARE very cute

when they are a day old!

Trust me... they are NOT so cute

at 9 or 10 weeks old.

**Just for the record**

Yes, the hatchery ships them

in these containers, usually 25 chicks to

a section. We order with a few other

families so when I take ours home,

they aren't so crowded.

Yes, they are shipped out at 1 day old.

IE: Hatched & shipped on Wednesday,

we get them EARLY on Friday!!

Yes, God is awesome the way he

designed birds! The chick is formed

from the 'white' part of the egg. Just

prior to hatching, the bird drinks in the

yolk part... all that liquid protein gives

the birds strength and durability to

get out of the shell and have the food

it needs for a day or two!!

Yes, they almost always all survive the

ride and do very well at growing!

Yes, when they arrive at the Post Office 

they are peeping and letting everyone know

that they are ready for water & grain! 

Yes, they really do arrive at the post

office and the post master 

gives an early morning phone call

letting us know they have arrived!!

******

I remember when I was just out of

high school....  I worked at a local bank

and one morning as I was walking to the

book keeping dept. the bank president

called to me as I was walking by his office....

"Check this out." Mr. Pettingill said to me.

"I got called from the Post Office at 4AM today

that my bees were in! He wanted to know how soon

I could come get them!"  Now, I know I was all bug-eyed

as I looked at the little buzzing box on his desk!!

He had a queen bee and her colony of 

15-20 THOUSAND bees! NO WONDER THE

POST OFFICE WANTED THEM OUT OF THERE!

Bees travel similarly to chicks...

1-2 days from shipping to arrival,

and they arrived all safe & sound!

He chuckled at my naive reaction...  he

was anxious to get his new 'babies' home to

their new home too! It's funny all the

things that travel through the mail!

We've thought about raising honey bees...

but, so far, it's just a thought!!

'Tis the Season...

... for canning beans again!

I thought I was behind schedule

compared to last year but when I looked it up,

I guess I'm not so far off. Phew...

I have managed to get two pickings into the jars and on the shelf.

Here's a few pictures from the first batch!

Eleven out of the first twelve came out just fine!

Yes, one jar didn't get filled up quite enough,

and....

One jar was an epic fail!!

The glass broke in the canner

and obviously, the beans and jar

was thrown out!! It doesn't happen

often... but every once in a while,

we have to toss one out!

(I did keep the ring for next time!)

End of day today... 23 quarts on the shelf!

Chicks.... 3 Weeks Old

Here they are...  

3 weeks old & almost fully feathered!

We put them outside in the growing pen for

another 6 weeks of growth.

Toby Found His Watering Hole

I had planned on buying Toby a baby

wading pool this summer to

HOPEFULLY keep him

from finding the mud holes!

 Pete had this tub rinsed out and was using it

to soak his mushroom logs and ....

Toby jumped in and claimed

 it for himself! He takes his

Frisbee in with him to clean it off!

I guess that saves me from buying a

pool and he got quick relief from the heat!

He's such a fun and goofy dog!

New Chicks Are Here

40 new chicks have arrived!

They look sooo small....  It's

hard to believe that all these little

buggers will grow into

full maturity in 8-10 weeks! 

A closer look....

Ben's little finger just can't wait to

feel the softness!

The Adventures of Mushroom Farming Begins....

Here in three neat stacks are 213 logs

cut from hardwood last week.

Each log is 40 inches long.

This angle grinder has the bit attachment

needed to drill the holes on all the logs!

These are the inoculators!

(They will deliver the mushroom spawn

into the holes in all the logs....)

                    

Here are the blocks of cheese wax.....

They are melted and used to seal the holes of spawn and

the ends of the logs!

Here is ONE of the bags of mushroom

spawn that were used!



All together used 4 bags of

spawn to fill all those logs!!

(That equals 22 pounds)

NOW the hard part...

 WAITING FOR NEXT SPRING!

I've shared this on Simple Lives Thursday!

Please go check out some

wonderful ideas shared by others!

Mushrooms... The Next Step

Pete is drilling the holes, approx 4-5 inches

apart all the way down the log.

Depending on the diameter of the log,

you can drill a few rows.

 Pete and Arnie are filling the drilled holes

with mushroom spawn.

Audrey & Steve are painting cheese wax over the

spawn and over the ends of the logs.

This helps keep the moisture in over the

next year until they start growing!

 As the day went on.... the 'party got bigger'

We have a whole assembly line of helpers now!

Pete built the cool table so that the logs

can just be rolled down the line from holes,

filling holes (with the bags of spawn in the

center area), to waxing them up on the end!

Abby, Austin and Audrey are working on

the waxing process here!

A bit out of order, but once Austin helped

get the waxing caught up, he and Steve started

drilling holes on another stack!

Pete & Donna are working the palm

inoculators as Rita is keeping the log steady!

Can you see the wax seals?

The end of the day....  all the logs

are inoculated heading down to a

shady place where they will be stacked

again and

rest until spring!

In the spring, these logs will be shocked by

putting them into a cold water bath for up to

24 hours and then within 10 days the fruit

of mushrooms should begin to grow!!

We have ONE log from last year when Pete & Steve

went to a training seminar that has been shocked.

We are awaiting the fruit!!

I'll keep you posted as it grows!

This was shared on Simple Lives Thursday!!

Go check out the other wonderful

ideas that folks have shared!

Corn

My hands are tired from all the picking,

husking & cutting of corn! BUT... thinking

about the rewards of eating yummy fresh-tasting

corn during the cold winter months

make it all worth it!

I picked three rows of corn and blanched the ears about

8 at a time (roughly 6-8 minutes in boiling water,

followed by immersing the ears in ICE COLD

water to end the cooking). The ears fit into a

medium sized laundry basket and the cut

off kernels fit into two large bowls

 and a 9X13 baking pan!

I packaged the corn in quart and gallon sized

freezer bags... the larger bags will be perfect for

corn chowder or shepard's pie and

 other yummy recipes!

 Roughly, 58 cups of corn all neatly packaged

and ready for the freezer!

Corn stalks cut down and ready to go

feed the pigs!

This has been shared on Healthy 2Day Wednesdays
and Simple Lives Thursday!