In early October, we finish up the filling of the larder for the winter. This year, it required a little more work. Because of a funky foundation that shifts as the ground grows wetter and then dries out in the summer, we have cracks between the wall and the foundation in the space that was once the garage and is now our cool storage area. There are already vents into the space and insulation surrounding it, so it was not the cold air that was the problem. It was the large slugs that found their way in last winter, slimed all over the walls, and munched on the beets. Gross! When we emptied the space this fall to examine the problem, we also realized a rodent had visited once or twice, leaving behind some droppings. Gross!!
Mark has spent the last week consulting and working on a solution. We filled a large crack in the floor with sand, first. We considered a caulking material that could fill in the gaps around the foundation, but Mark was afraid it would not hold when the foundation shifted in the winter. I wondered if it would not just squirt out the other side. After several conversations, he decided on a fine hardware cloth, to tight for slugs or rodents to squeeze through, held in place with a wooden rail on top and heavy shelving bricks below. It would move with the foundation, he thought. As he worked, he also cleaned slug slime off of the walls and washed down the board and block shelves. It looks much better. We lifted the two 25 pound bags of onions in, added some garden squash and pumpkins, and some seed potatoes. Or the next few weeks, the stores will grow as we add more squash and garlic, some fermenting veggies, and an occasional haul of greens.
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