Dana O'Driscoll

Dana O’Driscoll has been an animist druid for 20 years, and currently serves as Grand Archdruid in the Ancient Order of Druids in America (www.aoda.org). She is a druid-grade member of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids and is the OBOD’s 2018 Mount Haemus Scholar. She is the author of Sacred Actions: Living the Wheel of the Year through Earth-Centered Spiritual Practice (REDFeather, 2021), the Sacred Actions Journal (REDFeather, 2022), and Land Healing: Physical, Metaphysical, and Ritual Approaches for Healing the Earth (REDFeather, 2024). She is also the author/illustrator of the Tarot of Trees, Plant Spirit Oracle, and Treelore Oracle. Dana is an herbalist, certified permaculture designer, and permaculture teacher who teaches about reconnection, regeneration, and land healing through herbalism, wild food foraging, and sustainable living. In 2024, she co-founded the Pennsylvania School of Herbalism with her sister and fellow herbalist, Briel Beaty. Dana lives at a 5-acre homestead in rural western Pennsylvania with her partner and a host of feathered and furred friends. She writes at the Druids Garden blog and is on Instagram as @druidsgardenart. She also regularly writes for Plant Healer Quarterly and Spirituality and Health magazine.

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10 Comments

  1. A second update. A full year went by, and we continued to have wonderful veggies. When the warmth in April came, we pulled the remaining potatoes out and put them in the ground for this year’s harvest. So all in all, this root barrel was a HUGE success! I’ll be building more this year :).

    1. I live in Southern Calif where heat is the enemy. Do you think this would work here in zone 8-9

      1. Yeah, the earth keeps a constant temperature that is always somewhere between 40-70, even in hot climates. I think if you went down far enough, it could definitely keep things cooler!

  2. Fantastic idea! I’ve been longing for a root cellar, but I live in metro Detroit in a home with no basement and a small backyard (which is mostly garden!) I’ve put off growing things like potatoes as I had no where to store them. I’m definitely going to try to barrel technique – I’ll mound up some dirt on the north side of my shed and see how it goes. Thanks for the great idea!

    1. Barbara, since I also live in Metro Detroit, I know this works well for the region :).

      Thanks for the comment :).

  3. Have you had any issue with your barrel popping out of the ground during the winter since it isn’t below the frost line? I’m concerned about that as I wouldn’t want to lose my root vegetables.

    1. No. The biggest issue I’ve had is not sealing it properly after I get something out of it in January. I had one of them not seal properly and water got inside….

  4. Grew up on a farm in North Florida. Water table was very high so we used mounded dirt on top of the surface. No bucket, just a layer of hay, then build a little teepee of boards over the potatoes or rutabagas another layer of straw then pile the dirt around it. Need potatoes, just go pull one board up and reach in.

    1. Awesome! That would totally work in a high water table. I’m sure the soil kept the potatoes cool. The bucket is good for northern climates–otherwise everything gets frozen. Usually the haybale and bucket means you can still uncover it, even in the snow :).

  5. […] old-school homesteader trick, burying a heavy-duty bucket with a lid is a great way to […]

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