Making a Cold Storage Pot, for Homestead Sunday #11

Welcome to Homestead Sunday, where we share what we have learned, what we do on a regular basis, and what projects we are building, rebuilding or working on. Who are we? We are a three generation family living on six acres in South Eastern Texas. 

And while we have only been in Texas a short time, we have had the homestead mentality and lifestyle for quite a few years. Starting out with our time living in Montana. And, although we are not experts in any way, I hope that what we share with you with this series is helpful, as well as inspirational for you and your own homestead journey. Or even with your own home and yard in the suburbs. Because to homestead is an much an action as it is a lifestyle.

Once the garden began offering a harvest of food that needed to be stored, 

I found myself in the position of having no where to store it properly. So I took a look back in time, and noticed that often folks would make a cold storage pot to keep their food colder to help prevent spoilage. Traditionally the storage pot was pot in pot like this one, however they were made of pottery and not plastic. 

Working with what I had on hand, I did come up this this Cold Storage Pot for use in the storage building on our property. The original design was to capture the natural cooling from the earth. This one made of modern materials AKA what I had on hand, is designed to be on a concrete or gravel floor to take advantage of the natural cooling of the earth. Let's begin...

Using some of the larger nursery grow pots we received from swapping compost with our neighbors down the lane, I came up with this design:

Start with the largest pot you have!

Basic supplies needed: 

2 nursery growing pots, one smaller than the other. 

2 large plastic trash bags. 

1 smaller trash bag (if desired) 

1 gallon sized heavy duty food storage bag, to use as a funnel. 

Plus sand or dry sandy dirt. 

Old toweling or cotton sheets. 

Once you gather the supplies, this takes about 10 minutes to put together. 

Use the two large trash bags to line the largest pot. The nursery pots do have holes for drainage, but for this project you want the sand to stay inside. 

Place the smaller inside pot inside the outside pot. You will need at least 1 inch space between the pots. 

Remove the inside pot and add enough sand to the bottom of the outside pot to form a foundation for the inside pot to rest on. 

Return the inside pot and check for depth. You want the rim of the inside pot about one inch below the rim of the outside pot. 

Don't make the same mistake I did, the first corner I cut, was too small and did not allow the sand to freely flow down into the space between the two pots. I recut the corner after struggling to get the sand to leave the bag. I recut the corner as shown and it worked so much better!

I did place a plastic bag over the opening of the smaller inside pot, hoping to prevent sand from getting into the pot. I am not sure it helped that much, the choice to use or not use, is yours! 

To use the gallon bag like a funnel, tuck it down between the two pots and add sand to the bag, as the sand flows out, move the bag around the rim and continue to add sand until the space between the two pots is filled with sand. 

Carefully remove the plastic bag covering the inside pot. You will probably get sand dropping into the inside pot, clean out as much of it as you can. 

Important: place the Cold Storage Pot where it will sit, before filling with water. 

Place toweling or cotton sheets into the bottom of the inside pot. 

Fill the sand with water. The sand may be resistant to taking the water, but slowly it will absorb the water. Continue adding water until it pools up slightly on the surface. I used a narrow spouted watering can, but a hose with only a trickle works also. 

Add your harvest. 

Cover the food with additional toweling. 

Also important: you will need to keep the sand wet at all times, I check the sand weekly and add more water as needed. 

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Resourcing for free, for Homestead Sunday #10

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