Do you have to have all of the crowns out of the sand or is it ok to completely bury some of the rutabagas at the bottom of the bucket?

I covered all the rutabagas with sand, including the crowns...but back to the question at hand :)...

Unless there was pronounced rot last year that got all over your sand, you probably don't have to, but I will defer to the experts on the forum. Did you sterilize the sand before using it last year?

Can't say I have ever even heard of doing it for any reason. Sand doesn't provide much in the way of food for any contaminants to survive on.

Winter storage of root vegetables can be done in all sorts of materials - we use peat and wood chips for many things. Come summer all the storage material is just spread out on a tarp in the sun to dry well.

But if you want to do it just put the sand in some sort of fine sieve and pour boiling water through it. Then let it dry well before storing anything in it.

Dave

I think if I were concerned about something being left behind by last years vegetables, I'd dump the sand in the garden outside, wash the bucket, replace the sand. I can get an 80# 'tube' of clean sand for about $2.69 at the masonary/cement supply on the edge of town. It's an awkward shape to handle ( and I can only drag it without help) but would take less time and effort than washing, drying sand, probably less money than a couple of servings of rutabaga from the grocery store:)

Well, I'm also of the opinion that it's cheap enough not to be worth the bother, but if you want to do it, it's simple. Just put it into a big roasting pan or similar and bake at 350 to 400 degrees for about an hour. Be sure to let it cool completely before handling it.

Thanks everyone. Just checking to make sure I don't need to sterilize. Just started home brewing beer, where cleanliness is godliness, so kind of paranoid. I'll just reuse...Thanks! Adam