Leaf-Bag Clamp Partial Failure2016

Dateline: 22 March 2016
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A hill of tri-grown carrots

I've been interested in the concept of storing root crops over the winter in clamps for some time, and I've written about it at this blog over the years. Then, back in 2014 I showed an idea I had for a leaf-bag clamp on YouTube (Click Here To Watch).

Last year I decided to try keeping some of my tri-grown carrot crop in a leaf-bag clamp outside the back door of my house. It would be more convenient to get to than a garden clamp.

Here's a picture of the clamp as I was making it last fall...

As you can see in that picture, I have a bundle of goldenrod stems in the center. That is something different from my previous clamp. I figured the bundle would act as a ventilation shaft for the carrots, which is a feature I've seen in old books, though they typically used twisted straw for the ventilation chimney. 

I went out to the clamp in January, took the cover bags off, and harvested some perfectly preserved carrots. Then, today, (March 22) I decided to harvest the rest of the clamp. Here's what the clamp looked like before opening it...

As you can see, there are no carrots in the uppermost section of the uncovered clamp. They were removed in January...

I expected to find perfectly preserved carrots, just like I've always gotten from my clamps, but that was not the case. The carrots were all mushy, as this picture shows...

The carrots froze and turned to mush. They are mushy just like if I left them in the garden over the winter and did not cover with any insulation. Very discouraging. 

But the clamp contents were not a total loss. As I picked the mushy carrots out, and got nearer the bottom of the clamp, there were several unfrozen carrots. They were firm and unaffected by the freeze. These carrots were at or below soil level (much of the clamp was above soil level).

So, I was able to get some good carrots, as you can see in this picture...

When I harvest carrots from a clamp, I bring them indoors and wash them. But I don't scrub them. I just rinse and hand-rub them to remove most of the soil.

After they are thus cleaned, I put them in ventilated plastic bags, and from there into the crisper drawer of the fridge. They will keep very well there for several weeks.

I had some carrot rust fly damage to my carrots last year. But it wasn't too bad, and it isn't a big deal. Perfectly nice looking vegetables are not a necessity when it's food for our own use. Even still, I'm going to have to do some research on how to prevent that.

As for the leaf-bag clamp idea, I still think it's a valid option. But I guess my goldenrod stem chimney is not a good idea. It lets the cold in.

I read recently that Eliot Coleman stores root crops in a small galvanized garbage can that is buried in the ground. He lines the cover with a piece of styrofoam. And he puts a bale of straw over the top. Sounds easier than making a leaf-bag clamp. That's what I'm going to try doing next year. But I'll pile some leaf bags on the top instead of straw. A bale of straw is expensive these days, unless you're a farmer.