Root Cellars

Proper planning is essential. Growing the right types of each vegetable or fruit for storage. Planting it at the right time so it will be harvested in the fall just before the frost. The next important thing is the root cellar itself has to have high humidity and ventilation. You do not want your stored produce to become shriveled or moldy. The third important point to remember is that you really need to check the produce weekly while it is stored. If something starts to look like it might not last, then now is the time to cook that for supper or feed to your livestock such as chickens, pigs, goats, cows or sheep.

We are working on remodeling our root cellar and adding a battery/water pump room. That room will be completely insulated against losing heat to the root cellar. I have been using my Root Cellaring - Natural Cold Storage Of Fruits and Vegetables by Mike and Nancy Bubel book.

What I really like about the root cellar is working that with your circle of garden, harvesting, preserving be in canning, drying or storing in your root cellar and the preparing......it is a very important element in the circle of your food supply. The Native Americans always believed everything was a circle, such as the circle of life.

Even if you live a modern life with a freezer, there may be a time when that option will not be available anymore and once built this will be available for all time.

Let's take a look at key points from the book "Root Cellaring" by Mike & Nancy Bubel that I thought were important.

The authors found with proper planning they could produce about 33 kinds of vegetables for winter storage.

Vegetables stored best if harvested at the peak of maturity. This takes a little planning when you are planning your garden.

Many storage vegetables grow best in the cool growing days of fall.

Unblemished, disease-free vegetables keep best.

Well-fertilized kale, collards and cabbage contain more vitamin C than those grown on lean soil.

Whole grains will remain in good condition for two or three years if kept cool and dry and protected from insects. Pick a tightly closed container that shuts out light and that insects and rodents can't penetrate. Grains don't belong in a damp root cellar. They won't last.

Cured meats, especially ham and bacon, can be kept in a root cellar if the temperature is 40° or below. (About 4° C)

You can even put potting soil in the root cellar over the winter so it won't be rain-soaked when you need some for spring seedlings.

Root vegetables can be left in the ground until hard frost, and that way the temperature in your root cellar is more likely to be at an optimal level.

It shouldn't be necessary to clean most vegetables, but handle with care and store only your best. Curing isn't necessary for most root vegetables.

Leafy tops of parsnips and beets are good to eat.

Lowering the storage temperature is the single-most important thing you can do to promote the longevity of root vegetables.

The optimal temperature for most root vegetables is around 32° F (0° C).

The majority of storage vegetables are biennials -- those that go to seed after a winter dormancy period. Nature intends them to last you the whole winter till your garden starts producing again.

Store enough items so that a few losses won't matter.

Inspect your stored vegetables weekly.

The main cause of shriveling in storage is low humidity.

The authors also discuss outside storage of vegetables in mounds, also known as clamps.

If you're willing to dig a hole for it, an old refrigerator can provide good storage space for vegetables. You bury the refrigerator to take advantage of the moderating and more constant temperature of the sub-surface soil. Keep the refrigerator well covered and protected from moisture, and you may need to install a vent.

If winters are mild (average temperatures over 30° F) you won't be able to reach the optimum temperature in a root cellar. In this case, the vegetables should keep well in a heavily-mulched garden row.

In planning a root cellar, temperature is the first consideration. You want to maintain temperatures at 32° to 40° F (0 to 4 C).

A little room built onto your root cellar entry way door may provide an additional degree of protection from temperature fluctuations. Insulation also helps maintain a stable temperature. You can use sawdust, wood shavings, cinders, straw, even dry leaves. But keep it dry.

The next requirement is high humidity, about 90% to 95%. This will help prevent the food from getting ruined. You can measure humidity with a hygrometer. If your cellar has a dirt floor as mine does, it will provide natural moisture. If necessary, you could place water in shallow pans. You can also pack root vegetables (especially carrots, beets, and parsnips) in damp sawdust, sand or moss to reduce surface evaporation.

A VERY IMPORTANT FACTOR!! You also need proper ventilation, and this means installing a low air-intake opening and a high air outlet on opposite sides of the room. In other countries, the pipes are often insulated to help prevent condensation. Don't place your storage shelves right against the walls. Your food can get moldy. If you place your storage bins right on the floor it can also become moldy. Palettes on the floor can solve that problem. That is what I use.

The storage room should be kept dark. I have two cellar windows that I have covered with a piece of stryrafoam.

You want to clean up the cellar at least once a year. Maybe in the summer before it's time to use it. You can even air it out a bit.

Crates utilize space more effectively than baskets. Baskets look great, but take up a lot of room. I am planning on nailing metal screening on my crates to keep the rodents out.

A space eight-by-eight feet is about the average size.

Root cellars are too humid for canned goods, as the lids of your canned goods will rust.

You don't want a strong wind coming in as this will remove moisture from the produce.

If the outdoor temperature is higher than the root cellar, keep the air-intake vent closed during the day. My air-intake vent is a window that I open during the night and close in the morning.

If it's extremely cold out and the cellar is reaching below 32° F, you can a kerosene lantern in there to warm it up.

Store only your best vegetables.

Keep them as cool as possible between harvest and storage.

Dug-in root cellars work well because they are insulated by the earth surrounding them. The soil is a poor conductor of heat, so the temperature of the ground six feet under the surface is cool and fairly constant. The natural moisture of the earth helps to keep humidity high. It is important to provide drainage around the cellar so there is no water-logged soil to freeze and cave in the walls.

You can cover a dirt floor with gravel, but you don't want a concrete floor. You also want a drain to allow excess water to seep out. Cover it with a screen. Excessively rainy conditions may call for a trench.

In many places, most root cellar crops can be safely left in the ground until November.

One thing I have never seen mentioned on any website or in any book is the big bin that was built into my root cellar probably when my house was first built in the 1850s. It has no legs and is connected to the celing. Pretty good size too. I am guessing it was used to store apples and apple trees are plentiful in my area and the trees that are still through out the state forest around me are the old types. The trees are old but with a little work they possibly could be brought back to a more productive life.

Apples: They are considered the 'queen' of all storage fruits.

Beets: Very good keepers. The 'Long Keeper' variety is just that -- a great keeper. The leaves are vitamin-rich. Can last 4 to 5 months in storage.

Brussels sprouts:I read that they might keep 4 to 5 weeks if kept in perforated plastic bags. I'd rather something like burlap or cloth bags.

Cabbage: if it splits, it won't keep.Some people hang them still connected to the roots and don't shake the dirt off.

Chinese cabbage: These can last up to three months. Replant them in a box of soil in the root cellar.

Carrots: A summer planting is best for winter keeping. They can be the center of any food-storage plan. The roots are rich in vitamin A and they can last several months in storage. Mulching them well you can even keep them right in the garden row for the winter.

Cauliflower: Keeps only a short time - maybe two to four weeks.

Celeriac: Another good keeper.

Celery: Keep late in your garden and then maybe you can get a month or two of storage out of it.

Garlic: Lower humidity is needed for it than other root vegetables. If you can find a cool, dry place, it can last seven or eight months.

Horseradish: Very hard and a good keeper.

Jerusalem artichoke (sunchoke): Can last several weeks in plastic bags according to some people or possibly in damp sand. I don't plan on storing my produce in plastic bags.

Kale: High in vitamin content, easy to grow, extremely cold-hardy.

Kohlrabi: the leaves are good to eat. Packed in damp sand or sawdust, it can keep well into the winter.

Leeks: Especially cold-hardy. Can make it through a winter outdoors if well mulched, or you can plant some in your root cellar in tubs of sand or soil.

Lettuce: Of course who doesn't know this? It has a short storage life. It is the item I miss the most next to tomatoes in the winter.

Onions: Seed-grown onions are especially good for storage.

Parsnips: These are said to be perhaps the hardiest of all root vegetables. Be sure to dig them out. If you pull them, you can lose half the root. If you nick the roots with the shovel, don't store them. Nicks and blemishes invite spoilage, and this applies to all root vegetables. For longer storage, pack them in damp sawdust. Leaves, moss, or sand will work well too. The leaves are edible.

Sweet Potatoes: The roots are vitamin-rich, and they can keep several months if stored well. Must be cured.

White Potatoes:Beware of planting the kind you buy in the store -- they may contain disease. Cool nights promote storage of starch, making for a longer-keeping potato, so the later-maturing ones are best for storage. Must be cured and kept in a dark spot. They can last four to six months.

Pumpkins: Those that have lost their stems won't keep well.

Winter radishes: They'll last until February if well stored.

Rutabagas: Will last two to four months in storage.

Squash:If it's well stored, it will keep for up to six months. Cure them for 10 to 14 days. Like pumpkins, keep them dry and moderately warm.

Tomatoes: Late-planted tomatoes are best for storage.

Turnips:These are among the hardiest of vegetables. In storage they might put out pale, leafy tops, good for stews.

So there you have a large variety of foods to eat all winter long that came right from your garden. When everyone is hollering about the high cost of groceries, plus using the root cellar as part of your food supply circle it gives that independence too.

I want to make my root cellar the best I can possibly do with cutting down some of my work. Like instead of canning everything, storing what I can and eating it fresh. Canning the things that don't last or that I didn't have time to do before because I was so busy canning the other things.

I like to think of myself as a modern day homesteader. But in truth, I am like anyone else just trying to survive in this world. I like the independence of growing my own vegetables and fruits or at least purchasing them locally from farms and market gardens. That way they are freshest and at least my own produce has no pesticides or anything else sprayed on it. I am the only one who usually touches any of them. I pick them and either we eat it that night for dinner or I can or dry it or I store it in my root cellar. One other point worth mentioning is that they are much cheaper than the store bought ones also. I buy whatever kind of seeds I want and if I see something that catches my eye I will try that also. Gardening is awesome! So is storing your food for the winter.