Sure hope this works. I got 25 heads to save. How do you store them? Like can they be packed on top of each other ? Or should they be hung from the cellar ceiling ?
@@TheHomesteadatFlatrock currently they are in buckets of water. 5 in a bucket out in my shed at about 2 to 4 degrees c. I intend to move them into a cellar that am in the process of finishing off. I built one this summer/fall out of rocks and floored ( roofed) it over with 2 by 10 joists. Also put 1.5 inch plank for the floor on top of the joists .The next plan was to insulate the roof and ends over it. However due to running out of time I put 2 inch starofoam over the floor and threw cardboard over that. Also the floor joists has 2 layers of fibreglass insulation. I have a 1.5 inch vent from the cellar bottom passing up and out the back of the cellar structure end ( here I am having doubts that it should go straight up with no bends) . Another 1.5 inch pipe is coming up threw the floor ( covering over the rocks). It is venting the ceiling part of the cellar but is not going outside yet . Not sure if my explanation of the cellar makes sense so will make another attempt. I piled up a large circle of rocks. Poured a 1 foot sguare concrete ring around to level up and joist it over. This would be the top. Then over that I put a 16 inch high knee wall and put a sharp roof on the knee wall. The temperature in the cellar is not near as cold has my shed yet. Not sure if need a larger vent or what to get it to come down. If this works I have a place to get in out of the rain right on side of a large piece of land that I am making new ground for growing. To preserve cabbage I have tried several other things that people said such as; one year I buried the cabbages with fir branches while left in the ground. By end of dec my 2 heads of purple cabbage were sour and by end of Jan my late cabbage was also sour. I had lots parboiled besides that. I think the freezing thawing part of our climate never helped. The second attempt was to wrap the heads in plastic wrap and store in coolers in the shed. It worked for about 3.5 months in 2020 but in 2021 never worked near as good. Again the weather seemed milder this pass winter. It was early feb before any snow or significant frost. Was out the shed last week and getting hungry , so I chopped up some cabbage and onion. Threw in the cast iron pan with olive oil , cooked a while then put 2 eggs in it ( from my hens) and a little flour . Also a large garlic clove and some garlic powder. It was very good. Had it 3 times now. Thanks for your reply. I will try storing them in the cellar wrapped like your doing.
I would steer clear of storing in water. There are a couple of problems with this method. The first is that you’re storing veg in a low acid potentially anerobic environment. This could lead to botulism although there maybe enough oxygen exchange at the water surface if the buckets were open. The second is that it can sour due to lacto fermentation. Which is fine if done properly with the addition of the right amount of salt so the lacto bacillus quickly populate and acidify the storage solution which would prevent botulism…like I said if done properly. my cabbages stay in the ground until the night time temps hit about -3. On nights with hard frost, I cover with a tarp. Cabbage is the last thing to come out of the ground.
@@TheHomesteadatFlatrock thanks for the info. Tarps is what I will use next year if all goes well. The cabbage will be taken out of water , wrapped with paper and plastic bag over the roots. Bought a roll brown paper yesterday. Never heard about botulism developing before in cabbage . Sure do not want that to happen.
