And he was in it (in childhood) another symbol - potatoes. Many were then a vegetable garden. It concerned, including engineers, military officers, university teachers, chiefs of departments and laboratories, accountants and other urban residents. On it, the then office plankton with his own family with their own hands, polol, plunged, sprayed, digging and exported potatoes from him. It is impossible to say that it was absolutely all, but a significant part of our fellow citizens is quite accurate. We were carried on the roofs of overwhelmed Muscovites, on corporate kamaz and in Avoski. And in almost every family there was a cellar, where the father of the family with the eldest son was walking every two weeks on Sundays for surpluses. And often this cellar was somewhere on the knocked in the other end of the city, where it was still to stall in the cold for about twenty minutes from the end bus stop.
At least in my childhood it was so))
Now there are few billets for the winter, especially in major cities. At least in my circle of office workers.
Indeed, the economic benefit is not so obvious. Wholesale price of potatoes in the season in the wholesale market 10-12 p / kg. Retail price in the store near the house 20 p / kg. During the year, the price grows to about 40-50 p / kg. It would seem that price increase from 10 to 50 r / kg - gives profit five times! However, firstly, the price grows during the year gradually and as a result, savings are obtained in three or four times. Secondly, in absolute values, the savings are also not impressive. For example, if you buy 300 kilograms of potatoes of 10 rubles, and not 40 in the supermarket, then we will spend 3000 rubles, and not 12,000. Savings comes out 9000 rubles - not bad! You can buy a policy of Osago and a full gasoline tank, for example. But this savings are evenly smeared by a thin layer all over the year and it is almost impossible to collect it. Thirdly, my generation has no cellars. Just because they are not needed. And in new houses, the cellar is not provided as it was in the Soviet five-story buildings. And even those who have them in the house or in the garage, stops lazy to climb somewhere in a dirty basement, dust, breathe dust, etc.
In addition, potatoes have a significant drawback - it must be cleaned. )) In this respect, it greatly loses the same torr and cereals. For the width of the spectrum of the use of potatoes, no pasta dreamed of nice fruits - mashed potatoes, frying in a pan, soups, casseroles, datrants, potato zrazy, home chips and generally on that fantasy.
In general, our fellow citizens most prefer not to make workpieces, but buy food in supermarkets. I understand them perfectly, myself is.
Nevertheless, I decided to try to stock up the potatosk for the winter. So far as an experiment. Although, somewhere the undertaking may seem doubtful, there are several reasons for it: firstly, the economy is experiencing not better times, prices grow and saved money will not be superfluous, even evenly smeared. Secondly, at least a feeling of some kind of food security is created. Loss of work, unforeseen spending, force majeure - In any case, a bag of potatoes and a couple of cans of pickles will allow the family of four more or less normally.
The purpose of the experiment is to determine the feasibility of purchasing potatoes for the winter, to identify the possible additional advantages and cons of this action.
Now essentially. I was lucky. In my garage workshop there is a cellar. The usual, which is in most garages most of the garage cooperatives of our country. And from the old owner got some kind of fiction for potatoes - a small box without one wall for a couple of bags. It is clear that I was not suitable for this situation and therefore it was decided to make a branch for potatoes with my own hands. I wanted to resolve the issue of storing potatoes once and always to not return to him anymore.
The basic requirement for the storage for potatoes - it should be located 20-30 centimeters from concrete walls and gender. In addition, the walls and bottom should not be solid to ensure air circulation. Potatoes are recommended to pour a layer of no more than meter. For a lot of reliability, potatoes can be laid with rowan leaves or pour beets from above.
After some conversion of the design, I decided to make a metal frame with plug-in wooden lattices. Such a design seemed to me the easiest in the manufacture, reliable and durable. First, this design will easily endure the load of several hundred kilograms. Secondly, the cutting and welding of the metal is easier and faster than the manufacture of some carpenter or carpentry connections. Thirdly, the welded design never breaks, will not die and does not sleep. The decisive argument is a metal box easier to put on the legs described in the technical task.
The framework decided to cook from my favorite fiftieth corner. 1700 rubles left for metal.
Scroll dimensions: height 700 mm, width 1400 mm, depth of 700 mm. The distance from the floor to the bottom of the box is 300 mm. Such a drawer sizes in my height of 185 cm allow you to comfortably gain potatoes at the beginning practically without flexing, and at the end freely reach all the corners of the box.
However, the sizes of the hatch to the cellar do not allow to lower the finished branch into it. Therefore, the cutting of metal and welding of the main parts produced on the surface.
Thus were cut and cooked legs, bottom and top frame frame.
And already in the cellar itself produced a large-sized assembly. This assembly did not take much time, because Details were adjacent on the surface. Therefore, the smoke did not have to be silent. Work from the purchase of metal to the welded carcass took almost five hours.
Painting should increase the anticorrosive properties of the potato box. And the appearance is not in the last place. For the paint gave 250 rubles.
The bottom and walls of the box are made of rail 50x25. To minimize waste, it was necessary to buy three meter rails and delivered on their passenger car. It is good that the base of metal and board is literally fifty meters from the gate of my garage cooperative. For the rail paid 800 rubles.
All night before my visit was raining on the base. Therefore, sculpted in the size of the rails had to sit a little. In the morning only the natural moisture of wood remained. There was a crazy idea to stive up the boards to make them smoother, but I attach that you will have to harvest about hundreds of blanks from four sides. After all, it is just a branch for potatoes.
Next, it remains only to knock down the lattices on the walls and the bottom. The distance between the bars of 25 millimeters. Self-tapping heads are slightly recessed into the wood to eliminate their contact with the contents of the crust.
Before installing the shields sprayed them with a strong manganese solution. It turned out that manganese can now simply just buy in a pharmacy. Drug addicts have learned how to cook some kind of drug from it, so it is included in the list of potent substances and is released only by the o_o recipe. Well, that I found in the country a bubble more Soviet production, which I used it all. How to continue and how to make a border next year - I do not know. It will be necessary to find something safe.
In the operating mode of the wall and the bottom is held in the weight of stored potatoes. But nevertheless, I made a few holes in the box frame and pulled the lattices to the frame using self-samples.
The design of the box is such that excludes the contact of the stored potato with any metal parts - only a warm tree.
That's all. Production of the fusion for potatoes was 2750 rubles. Not too expensive even for the experiment. Despite the fact that, according to the idea, he should serve several decades, I think not a bad attachment. To account for the cost of making the crust in the experiment, I will establish a 10% depreciation rate per year or 275 rubles.
Next, the direct purchase of potatoes for the winter. This is a whole science. The potatoes should be without disease, is not affected by the wire, not damaged by the agricultural token when digging, it is not crushed during transportation, should not be early and desirable to have a yellowish color of the cut, which should not be dark enough in the air (feed potatoes rapidly), tubers should not Be too large and should not have green spots.
Studes purchased from three different sellers three bags. A total of nine bags of potatoes were purchased - just over 330 kilograms at a price of 11 rubles per kilogram. Directly for potatoes are paid without a small 3,700 rubles.
Before booking a potato to store it, it is necessary to go through the tubers with detected defects that will not be able to be stored for a long time, to use it in the first place.
Roughly published 325 rubles. Well, I'm bored. I myself am surprised. Consider the cost of exporting potatoes in winter does not make sense, because And behind the potato and the store I will go by car, so there is no difference.
Honestly, when I saw the volume that the bags occupy in the trailer began to doubt that they would fit in my branch.
But when it began to fall asleep potatoes in the branch, it began to evenly fill the volume and became clear that the places would be enough with interest. It can be seen that another couple-triple bags will easily enter.
To make reserves in the cellar conveniently use the block. However, it must be attached to something. That was not welded, and the father in the garage is such a bracket.
It is done. Potatoes are harvested.
Expenses:
275r. - depreciation of the crust,
3700r. - Purchase of potatoes,
325r. - cost of delivery.
Total: 4300r.
The experiment began.
A source