PIT STORAGE

There are two kinds of pits that may be used for storage.  Those that are not frost-proof and those which are frost-proof.

Some vegetables are not injured by being held in a frozen condition during the winter months.  Cabbage is not injured by moderate frost.  Cabbage and parsnips will stand freezing and a little thawing, so they can be put in pits or better still, boxes or barrels set into the ground may be used.  Make the pit mound shaped.  If the earth is mounded around the box, barrel or pit, surface water cannot run in.

If using this kind of storage do not store the products until both the ground and the products are frozen solid.  The idea is to keep the vegetables frozen or to have very few freezings and thawings, and those few should be gradual.

After the pit has been made or the box or barrel has been set into the ground and filled with vegetables, it should be covered first with a piece of burlap or carpet, then with a mouse-proof board cover and finally with straw or similar material.  When taken from the pit, the vegetables can be thawed out over night in cold water, after which they can be kept in the cellar for a short length of time.

The pits for keeping vegetables free from frost must be carefully and thoughtfully made, but they are cheap and are very useful and practical when caves or cellars are not convenient.

The frost-proof pit for storing vegetables should always be placed in as well-drained a place as possible.  A shallow excavation should be made from one to two feet deep, four feet wide and as long as desired.  Line the pit with straw, hay or leaves, then place the vegetables in a conical pile on the straw.  Cover the vegetables with six inches of the material used in making the lining.  This is covered with three or four inches of earth.  The straw is allowed to extend up through the earth at the top of the pile, thus assuring ventilation.

When it becomes colder add more covering to the pit by another layer of straw and a layer of earth.  In very cold climates a layer of manure or corn stalks will afford protection against frost.

It is well to make several small pits rather than one larger one for the reason that when a pit has once been opened it is difficult to protect the remaining vegetables from frost.

It is advisable to store several varieties of vegetables in one pit so that when each pit is opened you have a variety of vegetables.  If you follow this plan separate the various crops by using straw or leaves.

Pits are entered by chopping a hole through the frozen earth at one end, large enough to reach into or crawl into.  After the vegetables have been obtained keep the hole stuffed and covered most carefully and deeply with old sacks and straw.

If the smaller pits are used, a decidedly better arrangement, take out all the vegetables in the pit and those that are not needed for immediate consumption can be placed in the cellar storage room, or other cool place, until needed.  Do not use those pits if you live where winter rains are abundant as the pits will become water soaked and the vegetables will suffer more or less decay.