camp

A camp is an earthen mound built over stored potatoes, turnips, swedes, or other root vegetables to protect them from frost and damp during winter storage. The vegetables are piled on the ground, often over straw or leaves for drainage, then covered with successive layers of straw and soil to create an insulating structure. The soil layer, typically 30 to 45 centimetres thick, must be compacted enough to shed water but loose enough to allow air circulation. A properly built camp keeps the interior temperature stable and prevents both freezing and excessive moisture, extending storage life by months.

The camp is built with a peaked or ridged roof profile to encourage water runoff. Ventilation is critical: a central ridge vent or straw projecting through the peak allows gases to escape without exposing the crop. The base must sit on well-drained ground or be raised slightly to prevent water pooling underneath. Camps range from small market-garden structures covering a few square metres to large commercial heaps 15 or 20 metres long and 3 metres high, holding many tonnes of crop.

Regional practice and construction

Camps have been used in Britain and northern Europe for centuries and remain standard in regions where frost penetration is reliable or where mechanical cold storage is impractical. Some farmers add a layer of bracken, straw, or dead leaves between the vegetables and soil to reduce contact rot. The soil covering is often removed in sections as the crop is drawn for sale or use, then replaced. In poorly drained ground or wet seasons, the soil mound may split or shift, exposing vegetables to frost or encouraging fungal disease.

The term camp is now understood as a dialectal or regional corruption of clamp, which is the more standard English term for the same structure. Both words describe the same method and both remain in use depending on locality. The origin of either term is obscure, though clamp may derive from clamping or pressing the soil together, or from Dutch or Low German roots in areas with strong trading links to the Low Countries.

Modern farms have largely replaced camps with mechanical refrigeration, grain silos, and purpose-built stores. However, the camp method persists in small-scale and organic production where capital investment in storage buildings is limited or where traditional methods are preferred. Understanding camp construction remains relevant to heritage farming, rural estate management, and regions where electricity or refrigeration remains unreliable.