Interactive lesson

Cellar checks, step by step

Interactive lesson: the weekly round, vents by the weather, frost and thaw, rodents without poison, mould, stock rotation and cleaning at the end of the season.

Free sample Chapters 1 and 2 (8 steps) are free. The full lesson comes with the Checking the cellar through winter module. Already bought? Unlock

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The whole lesson as text

1. The weekly round

A cellar is not filled, it is run: once a week, with a lamp and a thermometer.

Same day, in the morning — The round takes 10–15 minutes, for example on Saturday morning. In the morning the cellar is at its coldest, and you have time to process whatever you take out.
Min/max and humidity — Read min/max and humidity, then reset. The target is 0–4 °C for roots, cabbage and fruit, 4–6 °C for potatoes; below 0 °C is an emergency.
Nose and lamp — Sniff: earth or mould, sour, alcohol. Use the lamp to check the top layers, bottoms and corners.
Write it on the door — Keep a pencil, the weekly list and the inventory on the door. If you write nothing down, in two months you will not know whether the cellar was at 2 or 7 °C in January.

Why: The people with full cellars in March did not have better cellars than their neighbours. They had a habit. One rotten head of cabbage starts a nest of mould within ten days, and a ten-minute round catches it in time.

Every time you go in: glance at the thermometer, sniff, and switch the light off when you leave.
If several people live in the house, agree who keeps the list.

2. Rot and mould

Rotten produce out the same day, with its neighbours.

What to look for — Potatoes: damp patches on the sack or crate, a soft, slimy tuber. Apples: top layer, wet or brown paper, blue mould.
The one-fruit rule — A rotten fruit comes out together with the neighbours it was touching and the sand or paper around it. Check the neighbours and put them in the “use now” crate.
Bin out the same day — Rotten and doubtful produce goes into a lidded bin. Take the bin out of the cellar the same day; never leave it inside.
Mould on the wall — Wipe it with a cloth soaked in diluted household bleach (roughly 1 part to 10 parts water) or vinegar, with ventilation. Wear an FFP2/N95 mask, gloves and safety glasses.

Why: Mould comes from rotten produce, from wet straw and timber and from walls without enough air. Spores stay on into the next year, so rot is never left in a corner or in a bin inside the cellar.

Replace mouldy crates and paper at once; wash the crate and dry it in the sun when the weather is warm.
Never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or other cleaning products: they give off toxic gases.