A Build-Your-Own Barrel Cellar

My son attributes an article in Mother Earth News for giving him the inspiration to build his own barrel cellar. He had an especially good potato crop, growing Red Pontiacs, Kennebecs, and Russets. He dug them in September and then needed a good place to store them.

My son Josh

After he gathered his materials (a 55-gallon drum, a drain pipe, a piece of wood for a lid, some gravel, wire mesh), the actual work only took "maybe five hours total" to build his cellar and he dug it by hand on a September weekend.

"The cellar did remarkably well!"

Look inside. You'll see the remnants of the 120 pounds of potatoes Josh stored over the winter.

Not one single bad potato!

The original design was for the barrel to go in at a 45 degree angle. Josh built it on a hillside near his backyard and didn't need that much tilt. He also drilled holes in the bottom of the barrel to allow drainage, if necessary, then added gravel under the barrel and a gravel-lined ditch for a drain line to be sure no moisture would be trapped from condensation. Wire mesh was added to the end of the drain line so that no little varmints could crawl up in it. Josh says he never saw the first sign of water, condensation, or creepy crawlies.

"The potatoes last so much longer," Josh says. "No rotten potatoes, no eyes have been growing, and no dehydration. And none of them froze!"