With the help of a grant from the Hunger Mountain Community Fund, we were able to complete construction on an 8x8 walk-in cooler this fall. We plan to use this cold storage space to store our vegetables post-harvest. This allows us to harvest at peak freshness and store our produce until it is ready for market. The space is also perfect for holding storage crops such as roots over the winter so that they can be consumed during the cold winter months. Down the road, we will also use the cooler to lager and cellar beers that we brew on the farm using local ingredients wherever possible, as well as adjuncts we grow on the farm, such as berries and herbs.
With the help of family, we constructed our cooler inside our woodshed to protect it from the elements. We are using a Coolbot to override the thermostat on a window air conditioner unit in order to provide the cooling power to the highly insulated room. In order to run the cooler through the winter to store salad greens at the proper temperature, we also needed to install a small heater for days that are below freezing. Through careful thermostat programming, we are making sure that the heater and air conditioner are never battling each other, and overall the structure is far more energy efficient than a traditional compressor-run walk-in refrigerator. We have already used the cooler for our winter storage crops and winter greens!
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